What's New

Bike Bucks 2009

Announcing the official implementation of a pilot NIHBCC program to reward bicyclists for the miles we travel on our bikes, instead of in motorized vehicles.

We have initiated the NIH Bike Bucks project that rewards bike commuters for providing the pollution-reducing, traffic congestion-reducing, fossil-fuel conserving, health-care cost reducing service we provide. We ultimately hope our NIH effort can serve as a local and national model for other such programs.

You are already aware that other NIH commuters who sacrifice driving to participate in the Federal Transhare program also provide some of the same environmental benefits asserted above, but these lucky commuters get federally funded metro-checks to cover (partially to fully) the costs of commuting by bus, metro and/or train. Bike commuters currently get no such federal fiscal reward.

The basic idea of our Bike Bucks program is that you, NIH Bicycle Commuters, log your bike-commuting miles and for every one hundred (100) bike-miles logged, five (5) Bike Bucks will be rewarded. These Bike Bucks are actual, physical "monies" that have real fiscal value with select participating vendors. Participation in the Bike Bucks program does not affect your rights to claim Federal Transhare benefits.

There are currently FOUR places you can spend your Bike Bucks.

You can use Bike Bucks to cover up to 15% of the cost of a three-month NIH Fitness Center membership,
Bike Bucks can be used to cover up to 50% of the purchase of goods (not labor) at Proteus Bicycles in College Park, MD...
...and can be similarly spent (50% of goods, not labor) at The Bicycle Place in Silver Spring, MD.
You can also use your Bike Bucks towards the price of your NIHBCC jersey.

To begin logging your commuting miles and earning your NIH Bike Bucks complete the NIH Bike Bucks Program Application after reading and agreeing to the rules for earning and spending Bike Bucks (contained within the application document). Then start logging your miles using the Bike Mileage Excel Spreadsheet. Note to Internet Explorer users, right-click on the above link to download the Spreadsheet and then open it with your local copy of Excel

If you have questions or comments about the program, if you have an idea about a vendor you would like to see honor our NIH Bike Bucks, or if you are yourself a vendor interested in more details about the club or the Bike Bucks program, contact NIHBCC president Angela Atwood-Moore (atwood@box-a.nih.gov) directly.

NIH Bicycle Commuter Club
An R&Wclub

Commuting to NIH

Routes
Mentors
Cycling on NIH campus
- Safe cycling
- Bike racks and lockers
- Showers
Surrounding area
- Bike paths
- Local maps, routes, clubs

NIH Bicycle Commuter Club assists at first NIH Take a Hike Day

(Excerpted from the NIH record, May30, 2008. Vol. LX, No. 11. Story by NIHBCC member Jenny Haliski, photos by Bill Branson)

(from left): NIH Bicycle Commuter Club members Maggie Beddall (NIMH) and Al Yergey (NICHD) rode behind the runners and walkers to monitor the route.

Almost two thousand NIH employees and contractors participated in a non-competitive walk or fun run on May 6. The NIH Office of Management—in partnership with the Office of Research Services, Division of Amenities and Transportation Services, and the NIH Clinical Center—coordinated the event, which was held in conjunction with the 2008 National President’s Challenge and the HealthierFeds initiative.

Bike To Work Day, Friday, May 16, 2008

2008 NIH Bike to Work Day stronger than ever, despite rain

The NIH Bicycle Commuter Club (NIHBCC) drew 465 registered riders—the strongest showing yet—to it's pit stop for the Washington Area Bicyclists’ Association’s (WABA) 2008 Bike to Work Day (BTWD). NIH had 324 registered participants in the 2007 event and won the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government's (COG) award for the area employer with the highest registered BTWD participation in 2006 and 2007. Confirmation of the NIHBCC’s third win in a row will come in mid-June.

NIH Record coverage of BTWD

Read the full NIH Record story at
http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2008/06_13_2008/story2.htm

Jean-Charles Grivel (NICHD), Brandy Fureman (NINDS), Al Yergey (NICHD), and Beda Brichacek (NICHD) formed part of the commuter convoy that started in Olney. Fureman’s first bike commute was on BTWD.	Joe Cox of the Division of Amenities and Transportation Services (DATS) in ORS distributed about 500 red blinking safety lights with the NIHBCC’s slogan, “NIH non-polluter commuter.” Randy Schools (at right), president of the R&W, which sponsors the NIH Bicycle Commuter Club, holds a box of blinkies.	Helping check-in registered riders were NIHBCC President Angela Atwood-Moore (NICHD) and Harold Perl (NIDA).
Diane Bolton (VRC) distributed WABA T-shirts to arriving cyclists.		Margarita Valencia (NIMH), commuted for the first time from her Mt. Pleasant neighborhood with the help of friend and colleague Jerry Overman (CC).
Nona Colburn (NIAMS), who commuted to NIH by bike every working day in 2007 and lost 20 pounds in the process, with her bike.	Helping check-in registered riders were NIHBCC President Angela Atwood-Moore (NICHD) and Harold Perl (NIDA).	Keith Killian (NCI) and daughter Anais ride to NIH together every day from Bethesda.
	Ehud Golvin (NHGRI) wore booties from surgical scrubs to keep his non-waterproof shoes dry.

Donate used bikes to Bikes for the World

Ellen Condon of NIMH and the
NIH Bicycle Commuter Club
gives a ride in a Bakfiet—a
Dutch cargo bike—to Christina Hernandez, daughter of Carolyn
Harrison, NINDS program
specialist at NIH’s MRI
Research Facility.

Read the NIH Record story on
the 2008 Earth Day event here

In honor of NIH Earth Day and National Bike Month (May) the NIH Bicycle Commuter Club again collected used bikes for the non-profit Bikes for the World in a symbolic attempt to contribute to the recycling and re-use of old bicycles, and to emphasize ways in which bicycles truly make the world a better place.

However, if you couldn’t make it to Earth Day, you can donate your bike to Bikes for the World all year long!

Donated bikes will go on to assist the poor by providing personal transport to work, school and health services, to build international bike communities and to supply clean, efficient and healthy transportation means around the globe. A $10.00 donation per bike is needed to help defray the costs of overseas shipment. Donation receipts for tax purposes will be available. If you have an old bike you are no longer using, come on by. Bikes for the World also accepts old cell phones and sewing machines.

If you have questions about how to donate your bike to Bikes for the World, contact Ellen Condon (ellencondon@mail.nih.gov) directly.

Road One Cycling Safety Instruction

Interested in taking a bike safety/maintenance class later this spring?

If we have enough interest, Richard Hoye, a League of American Bicyclists (LAB) certified instructor will teach LAB's Road One Basic Cycling Safety course here at NIH. This is an intense, structured course with lecture, multi-media and on-road segments designed to teach cyclists safe and sanctioned bicycle riding behaviors. It is a dense 12-hour class, to take place over a Thursday evening AND a day-long Sunday session, dates TBD. The class is being offered to NIH employees for the reduced price of only $45.00 per student. Registration slots will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, and will only be guaranteed upon receipt of the $45.00 registration fee.

The lesson plan includes modules on proper bike fit, basic bike maintenance, safety and legal considerations for various bike facilities, local laws for cyclists, how to ride in traffic, and practical bike handling skills. Coursework will conclude with a written and practical examination resulting in a nationally recognized certification from the League of American Bicyclists.

We’re in the process of selecting course dates in late May or early June, 2008. A message will be sent out via the club list when we’re ready to accept registrations.

NIHBCC Jerseys

NIH Bicycle Commuter Club Jersey orders are available to purchase. Jerseys are short-sleeved, hidden zipper, and are made out of "technical micro-poly fabric." Jerseys will be ordered from Custom Sublimation. You may order women's or men's specific sizing and the company suggests the jerseys tend to run small.

The jerseys are bright yellow for visibility. Thanks to Holly Gannoe for the final design and to Maggie Beddall, Al Yergey, and Steve Friedman for design contributions and for researching production companies.

Jerseys will cost approximately $70.00 each, and funds must be received before orders are placed. We will be placing periodic orders as we meet minimum order thresholds, with the first order expected to be placed on March 30, and hopefully delivered in time for Bike to Work Day 2008. More images of the design (pdf file)...

Contact Angela Atwood-Moore (atwood@box-a.nih.gov) with questions or to place an order.

Sign up for the bike club listserv:

Either

Send e-mail to listserv@list.nih.gov with the following text in the message body:
subscribe r-w_bicycle-l your name
LISTSERV will get your e-mail address from the "From:" address of your e-mail message.

Go to the NIH listserv home page, at http://list.nih.gov/
click on browse icon.
Go to the R section, and click on R-W_BICYCLE-L.
Follow the prompts to subscribe.

To post to the list:

You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Compose and send your message to R-W_BICYCLE-L@LIST.NIH.GOV
When the list moderator approves your message, it will automatically be sent to everyone on the R&W Bicycle Commuter Club list.

NEW: For details of upcoming events, see the NIH BCC calendar.

Get news regarding bike commuter issues by e-mail; join the NIH BCC listserv.

Check out the democratically selected NIH BCC Top 10 action items for 2006.

This document was last revised on January 12th, 2009 by Ron Engle.