Promoting healthy lifestyle choices and a cleaner atmosphere for the Sea to Sky Corridor are just two of the key objectives of an upcoming commuter initiative coming soon to an airshed near you.
Squamish and Whistler residents are being invited to explore two-wheeled options for getting to work and around town during Bike to Work Week from May 28 to June 3.
Funded in communities across B.C. by the provincial government, the initiative can be undertaken in teams or individually and punctuated by challenges involving different businesses within the same sector, neighbourhood vs. neighbourhood or even different groups of co-workers, Kim Slater, executive director of the Sea to Sky Clean Air Society, which is organizing the event.
Following on the recent Compute the Commute event at the Squamish Adventure Centre, Bike to Work Week fits perfectly with the society's mandate, which is to promote clean, healthy air by developing innovative air-quality management practices and educate residents and visitors on ways they can help improve air quality.
Celebrating the short- and long-term successes and sharing the stories of those who are making a difference are important parts of the initiative, Slater said. For that reason, morning and afternoon "celebration stations" are planned in both communities, and those taking part are being invited to share their stories online at www.biketowork.ca, going to the "choose location" tab and finding your town on the pull-town menu.
The celebration stations - currently planned in Squamish at Tantalus Bicycles, Nesters and the Adventure Centre -will include refreshments supplied by Nesters, Galileo Coffee and Starbucks, Slater said.
"There's a lot of storytelling surrounding the event, so if people visit the Bike to Work Week website they can tell some of those stories," Slater said.
"There are amazing groups who are pillars of the community - SORCA and WORCA, the bike shops that have a huge following. This is also a chance to celebrate that and their role in the community."
Individuals and teams who register online will find all the information they need to list those participating, record the number of kilometres they have ridden and even issue challenges, Slater said.
Those who find it difficult to bike to and from work can also receive credit for performing errands by bicycle or can try the option of putting their bike on the bus and then using it to get around near their workplaces, she said.
Those who register will be automatically entered in a prize draw. Slater said the prizes are being finalized and that there's a chance there will be a "grand" prize handed out to one lucky person or group in each community.
"I would hope that it's about the fun and benefits that cycling provides, not the prizes, that draw people into the event," she said. "That's what we're trying to promote."
