Bicycling challenge saves gas, tires and boosts health

They pledged to pedal, and the miles racked up.

For the 31 days in May, people across America stepped away from their steering wheels and grabbed bicycle handlebars instead. They were celebrating May is Bike Month by making mileage goals and cycling as much as possible to reach them.

Three days a week Oregon House resident Sondra Spaethe hops on the commuter bus for a trip to the valley floor so she can ride from Marysville to Yuba City, where she works as an air quality planner with the Feather River Air Quality Management District.

By switching from driving to bicycling, she saves 60 miles worth of gas and wear and tear on her car. May is Bike Month was a great impetus to start the bus-bike commute, something she’s thought about since moving to the foothills a year ago, she said.

“And it’s a really good month for riding, it’s the start of the nice weather,” Spaethe said. “Taking the bike is really great. You ride over the bridge and see all the ducks in the water.”

Her office goal is 310 miles, and as of May 26 employees had hit 239 with the goal of pushing strong through the three-day holiday weekend to reach their goal. Spaethe had about 20 more miles to go.

“I’m quite proud of them. A couple weeks ago we had 50 percent of our office who came to work by bike,” Spaethe said. “That was pretty cool. We kind of compete with each other and it encourages us.”

Marysville resident Gaylene Sanderson hit her 100-mile target a few weeks back. She kept riding without logging but figures she’s reached another 100 by biking the 4 miles to work at Caltrans, along the Shanghai Bend levee and out to the Sutter Buttes, or to run errands.

“I’m just trying to stay healthy,” Sanderson said. “A big deal is keeping your muscle tone and your heart in good shape with cardio. In a car you don’t get any of that. You just sit on your hiney and get wider.”

As public health program coordinator for Sutter County, Michele Blake sees a value in burning less gas and more calories.

“We have an obesity epidemic across America. The month of May reminds us to get our bicycles out and get some physical activity and fresh air,” Blake said.

She has bike commuted in the past but her 45-mile May goal gave her more incentive. She helped the county initiate the program and start a friendly competition with Yuba City employees.

“We always challenge each other to a good clean fight and see who logs the most miles,” Blake said May 26. “We are still neck to neck.”

They were supported by New Earth Market, Great Harvest Bread Company and Van’s Bicycles, which offered freebies or discounts to participating cyclists. And every Thursday, Yuba City and Sutter County employees would meet in front of the health department and take a 30-minute lunch ride.

“We all came together and became like a little bike club on Thursday afternoons,” Blake said. “It’s just been a lot of fun.”

The county’s goal was 1,000 miles between about 25 employees, and as of Friday, they were at 845. Blake hoped a final push would surpass the target.

Yuba City’s goal was 2,600 miles, after hitting 2,500 in 2010. While they’d only broken 1,000 as of the third week of May, accountant Spencer Morrison hoped a surge of last-minute riding would boost everyone closer to their pledges.

He’s ridden his bike to work for about six years, riding rain or shine, and has become a cycling spirit leader of sorts for the city.

“Riding a bike for errands or for commuting to work or recreation is just part of my lifestyle,” Morrison said. “But for May I tried to make more of a concerted effort.”

At the end of his son’s track meet May 26 at River Valley High School, Morrison could have easily thrown his bike on the family car but he wanted the miles, so he pedaled instead. And the next night when he went to dinner at a friend’s, he opted to cycle the distance, even if it was just one mile driveway to driveway.

It’s also one mile from his front door to his desk at work.

“That’s one of the reasons why I ride,” Morrison said. “Because of the wear and tear on your car. To turn it on and drive for one mile is about as abusive as you can be to a vehicle.”

Cycling has become a family lifestyle. When they chose to move away from south Sutter County, the family chose a central location where Morrison could ride to work and his wife and kids could ride to school at Butte Vista, where she’s a teacher.

“It’s that village concept every city planner proposes,” Morrison said. “I’m very thankful that we have a committee now that is offering direction to city planners and county planners.”

In conjunction with May is Bike Month, Yuba City kicked off its four-month Bike Yuba City campaign this month and hosted several bike-related events for implementation of its Bicycle Master Plan.

Crews painted 176 “sharrows” on roadways to encourage motorists and cyclists to share the streets. They also added 3.25 miles of bike lanes, 15.62 miles of bike routes, restriped 18.6 miles of bike lanes and restored 177 bike lanes legends and arrows.

The city would like to see biking taking center stage all 12 months out of the year, not just May, said Parks and Recreation Director Brad McIntire.

“We clearly believe that reducing the carbon footprint is important and will continue to be important as we’re trying to create other modes of transportation for our community,” he said. “We want to create a safe and bicycle friendly community and a cheaper way of getting around.”

Sanderson wishes conditions were a little more cyclist-friendly on the other side of the river.

“I haven’t seen a whole lot of other riders. The cars are moving fast and there’s a lot of congestion in Marysville,” she said. “But people wave and they’ll smile and that’s all that matters to me.”

Blake lives in north Yuba City, where she says there are great bike paths and the city’s new traffic calming measure seem to have an effect. The main cycling obstacle she has found is a lack of secure places to lock up bikes and the challenge of crossing Highway 99, but she expects that to change.

“You can see people have become more conscious and aware of cyclists and want to share the road with them,” Blake said.

The new Yuba-Sutter Transportation Management Authority that is running Yuba-Sutter’s May is Bike Month wants to reduce vehicle miles traveled and vehicle trips by advocating ridesharing, cycling and other driving alternatives. Since Jan. 1, it has reduced 1.6 million vehicle miles, said executive director Bob Andosca, who’s own May is Bike Month goal was 60 miles.

Spaethe loved that May is Bike Month tracked the impact of the undriven miles for the six-county region, only wishing it calculated her personal impact and that of her coworkers.

As of May 27, more than 1,110,031 miles had been logged for the month, keeping 386,417 pounds of global-warming carbon dioxide and 5,368 pounds of other air pollution out of the atmosphere and saving 19,876 gallons of gasoline worth $83,281.73.

The environmental benefits of bike commuting are a driving factor for Spaethe.

“Working at the air district I’m obviously really cognizant of riding and getting out of the car and reducing vehicle miles and pollution,” she said. “I just love riding and I feel so much healthier already. Bike Month definitely helps people get out of their old ways and try something new.”

The cyclists admit the change takes some planning.

Sanderson has to leave earlier to avoid heavy traffic times and to give herself time to get to work. She hydrates more and also carries a backpack instead of a purse.

“You’ve had to adjust from throwing something in the car to throwing something on your back,” she said.

Bike commuting can also require packing a lunch and change of clothes, said Morrison, who is often sharing tips with coworkers.

“I only really bug people during the month of May. I’ll tell them, ‘Just because you live too far away to drive from home to work doesn’t mean you can’t ride. You can park three miles away, one mile away, and ride in,’” Morrison said. “Every mile counts when it comes to conservation or health or just getting out of your car.”

CONTACT reporter Ashley Gebb at 749-4783.