August was awesome for BCC!

August 2009 has turned out to be our best month to date, with 1,088 miles commuted on two wheels and 173 times we didn't climb into a car! Way to go team BCC!

Our grand totals now stand at 2,717 miles and 379 trips.

That's a LOT of gasoline saved, and 70,642 calories burned!

Welcome to new members Alan and Julie Casamajor, who are retired but very active! They cycle together in lieu of car trips for errands and trips.

Hilary and Kristie Gross have also joined our small but mighty team. Hilary commutes by bike out of Pleasanton to Concord, and Kristie rides to work at Amador Valley High School.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

Welcome David Beals!

We're pleased to welcome David Beals to our club!

David is a database administrator at Transdyn, Inc. (located in Hacienda Business Park in Pleasanton) and he comes to us via PTownBikeAdvocates. Thanks to Jim Van Dyke for sending out a very nice email to that club's members, encouraging them to join BCC!

David lives in Walnut Creek, near the Pleasant Hill BART station. His commute is about 21 miles one way, mostly along the Iron Horse trail.

David notes that he biked this commute 2 or 3 times a week for the past 5 or 6 years, but hasn't been commuting by bike quite as much lately. He's joining us in the hopes we'll help keep him motivated!

To check out David's route (which he logged with a GPS biking trip logger) check it out at: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=205432

Kudos to David for joining us and inspiring US to ride.

Kudos as well to Jerry Pentin who has now commuted to work for 17 straight commutes with no end in sight!

Welcome new members!

Let's give a hearty BCC welcome to two new team members! These two commute to work by bicycle several times a week. Thanks to Ursula Goldstein and Pamela Ott for referring these individuals to our team!

Jim Van Dyke is the president and founder of the financial services firm Javelin Strategy and Research http://www.javelinstrategy.com/. Jim is also the founder of PTown Bike Advocates, a cycling and advocacy group that inspired the city of Pleasanton to create its Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee to seek ways to make Pleasanton more friendly to bikes and pedestrians.

Over the years, Jim has forged excellent connections with the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. He encourages BCC members to be on the alert for any hazards that affect bicycle commutes and report such hazards using the EBBC Online Hazard Reporting System. http://ebbc.org/?q=hazards EBBC will forward our reports to the proper authorities. Jim also notes that hazards in Pleasanton should be reported directly via email to the traffic department. Emails can be sent to Mike Tassano, at Mtassano@ci.pleasanton.ca.us.

Julie Harryman is an assistant city attorney in Pleasanton. She discovered the joy of cycling to work during Bike to Work month in May, and just kept on riding! We are pleased that she is joining BCC and helping to change the way people get to work!

Hope to see you out on the road on two wheels! Kudos to all who have already ridden this first week in August. The miles are starting to add up.

July was a great month for BCC!

Congratulations to our small, but mighty team of commuter cyclists. In July we rode 617 miles and saved 79 car trips! This is our highest month since we started in April 2009. May was our second highest at 533 miles and 62 bike trips.

Special kudos to Jerry Pentin who commuted by bike to work in July for over two straight weeks! Way to inspire us, Jerry!

The weather has been great out there—perfect for cycling. Let's see if we can keep the momentum going through August before summer begins to wind down.

By the way, congratulations to Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, and Lance Armstrong for their outstanding performances in the 2009 Tour de France!

Welcome Karen Swift!

Let's give a big BCC welcome to new team member Karen Swift, a just-retired school teacher from Pleasanton who enjoys using her bike to get around town. Karen is on the score board already with 9 trips with 53 miles!

So far this month (July), it's been pretty quiet. I've only heard from a few of you regarding the miles you've ridden. So if you're commuting and running errands on two wheels, let me know at jott@unclecu.org.

The good news is July is ahead of June's mileage total, at 342 (versus 311 in June). This is mostly thanks to Peter Norquist who has logged 150 miles commuting to and from work.

Keep riding and talk to me!

More new members!

Let's give a great cheer and welcome to new members Peter Norquist and Tim Andrews. Both gentlemen live in Pleasanton and work at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in Livermore.

Peter Norquist rides a recumbent bike and leaves the car home nearly every day. He's been commuting by bike since 1986! Peter suggests that a handy way to record ongoing cycling mileage can be found at http://www.bikejournal.com/ . We're so pleased to have him on our team.



Tim Andrews joins us saying he is "very pleased to see others with this approach to environmental activism, and the personal conviction to encourage others." For June he rode to work 16 times on a 12 mile round trip. He has been riding to the Lab for 28 years, which equates to some 70,000 miles. "I have been fortunate enough to continue at a steady rate for a long time," he writes. "It has had significant positive effect on my health. And, it has saved 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of gas."



We wish we could mark their miles up on the big board, but because both Peter and Tim joined us in July, we'll start counting their miles this month.

It's nice out there, so make a commitment to ride this week and email me at jott@unclecu.org.

Welcome new BCC members!

This week we welcome Ursula Goldstein, Bob Coomber, and Mike Centrelli to our team.


Ursula Goldstein is a member of the Pleasanton Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (known as BPAC) and she's already adding big miles to our scoreboard with a whopping 136 miles for June! Ursula doesn't commute to a job, but she often leaves her car at home to run errands, meet with friends, recycle newspapers, and pick up groceries. She's a great role model and inspiration for all of us about how it is possible to cycle in lieu of driving.


Bob Coomber joins our team as a man very familiar with two wheels, as he utilizes a wheelchair not only to get around town on various errands in lieu if driving, but to hike trails and climb mountains. Bob writes a regular column in the Independent about outdoor adventures, and he is incredibly fit. (Don't even THINK about arm wrestling him!) Thanks for joining us Bob!

Mike Centrelli also joins BCC as a dedicated bike commuter to his job at ADP in Pleasanton. His round trip is 3 miles and since he joined us in the final week in June, we're able to post 15 miles and 5 bikes trips to the scoreboard thanks to Mike!

Kudos to everyone who cycled in June. We posted 48 saved car trips for 311 miles. (If you haven't emailed me all your June numbers, I can still update these totals.)

Reminder to everyone that for your miles to get on the big board, you need to email me when you cycle. The best email address is jott@unclecu.org.

Let's take advantage of these warmer months to cycle to work when possible!