Go By Bike !

In my previous posting I challenged you to stop and think every time you are about to hop into the car to travel downtown. "Can I do this errand on my bike?"

The embedded video does a much better job than I could ever do of explaining why it is so important to think about your choice of transportation options and the message it sends to your kids. Please consider the 2 Mile Challenge for a day, a week, a month or.. just may... as a lifestyle.




When I first started the Freiker program at Almond, I was a sport cyclist meaning I rode my bike for fitness only. If I needed to actually go somewhere, 95% of the time I did that in a car. I can attest that, with a little discipline, you really can loose 30 lbs of weight by riding it off. I did just that! But after being involved with the program for the last 6 months, I am beginning to see the value in bicycle commuting and how to do that more efficiently. I'm trying to make the 2 mile challenge a lifestyle choice. Wish me luck!

Every Ride Counts!
Jon

A Special Thanks To The Freiker Sponsors

The following sponsors have supported the Freiker program at Almond School this year. Some of them gave money and some gave merchandise but all have contributed whatever they could to to make this fun and rewarding for the students. If you are in need of any of the products or services that they offer, I ask you to shop with them first this summer.

Without the donations of the following 3 sponsors, this program would have never happened! I think we all appreciate what they have done for the school and I, for one, am a committed customer (and have been for many years).

• The Bicycle Outfitter
• Palo Alto Bikes
• Monta Vista Velo Cycling Club (MVV)
  

The following sponsors should be recognized for their more than generous donations. It takes a lot to fuel the Almond Freikers. Without pizza and ice cream they could never have walked or ridden 9,000 miles!

• Baskin-Robbins on State St. in Los Altos donated 475 ice cream cones!
  
• Spot Pizza on Main St. in Los Altos donated 60 large pizzas!
  

The following sponsors have given to the program in various and important ways and have made it just that much more special for everyone!

• Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SBVC) for all of the bike to work bags! These make great shopping bags as well.
• REI for donating some water bottles and gifts for the Bag-O-Goodies!
• Rick's Cafe for helping with some much need funding along the way.
• JambaJuice for helping with some much needed funding along the way.
• Specialized Bicycles for all those cute little Freiker water bottles!

And, of course, I'd like to thank the folks at Freiker.org for giving us such a cool program to work with and helping me get through the last 3 months. Great job everyone!

It's been a fun 3+ months for me and (I hope) for the kids at Almond School. Please say thank you to our sponsors when you are in the area - we need them all back next year :)

Here is your summertime challenge... If you find yourself about to hop in your car to drive downtown - take a moment and ask yourself, "Is this errand something that I could do on my bike?" If the answer is yes, just do it! It's fun, it good for you and it's good for the planet. Besides, it sets a great example for the kids that are working hard at this already.

--
Every Ride Counts!

Stevens Creek Trail Dedication Ceremonies

The Mayor and City Council of Mountain View

cordially invite you to attend the

DEDICATION CEREMONIES

FOR THE STEVENS CREEK TRAIL AND

WILDLIFE CORRIDOR

Saturday, June 13, 2009

MOFFETT BOULEVARD OVERCROSSING DEDICATION at 10:00 A.M.	EL CAMINO REAL TO SLEEPER AVENUE DEDICATION at 11:30 A.M.

PROGRAM OF EVENTS

DEDICATION OF MOFFETT BOULEVARD OVERCROSSING

10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Event parking available at the Whisman Park or La Avenida trail heads

GUIDED 2.5 MILE COMMUNITY WALK

TO SLEEPER AVENUE BRIDGE

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Provided by the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail

DEDICATION OF EL CAMINO REAL TO SLEEPER AVENUE

11:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Parking available at the Yuba Drive or Landels School trail heads

Refreshments, group photo and entertainment will follow the dedications

For more information, contact the Shoreline at Mountain View office at (650) 903-6392.

To fill the one hour walk time, at 10:30 am adult bicyclists will be invited to ride first to trail mile marker 0.0 at Shoreline Park before heading to Sleeper Ave. More ambitious bicyclists will then be invited to circle Shoreline Park on their way to Sleeper Ave.

Aaron Grossman, Executive Director
Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
22221 McClellan Road
Cupertino, CA 95014
cell 408-202-2802

Almond Freikers Arrive in L.A. !

Week #12 is now in the record book - and what a week it was! The Almond Freikers continue their trek around the United States and the goal for the final week is to make it back to the Almond School parking lot before school lets out on Wed. I think they can do it!


Stats For Week 12 !

Well, the second to the last week of school was a remarkable week for the Almond Freikers! Here is how they did...

• Amond School remains the #1 school in the nation by almost 400 round trips!
• The Almond Freikers logged a total of 559 round trips for the week.
• Total round trips since March 16 is 5,681.
• Total miles since March 16th is 8,521 miles.
• 2.85 Tons of C02 emissions were prevented from reaching the atmosphere.
• 426,000 kids calories were burned.
  

Almond Freikers Arrive In Los Angeles !

After slogging their way across the US to the Lebec, ME, then down the east coast to Key West, FL, the Almond Freikers have now traversed the US a second time and landed in Los Angles, CA! I'm sure the kids are enjoying themselves on the beach right now in the land that is too hot, too smoggy, too crowded and too everything!

Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States (next to New York, NY). Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over 498.3 square miles in Southern California. Additionally, the Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to nearly 13 million residents.

Los Angeles!

The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva (or Gabrieleños) and Chumash Native American tribes thousands of years ago. The first Europeans arrived in 1542 under Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese-born explorer who claimed the area as the City of God for the Spanish Empire. However, he continued with his voyage and did not establish a settlement. The next contact would not come until 227 years later, when Gaspar de Portola, along with Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2, 1769. Crespí noted that the site had the potential to be developed into a large settlement.

In 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra built the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel near Whittier Narrows, in what is now called San Gabriel Valley. In 1777, the new governor of California, Felipe de Neve, recommended to Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, viceroy of New Spain that the site noted by Juan Crespí be developed into a pueblo. The town was officially founded on September 4, 1781, by a group of forty-four settlers known as "Los Pobladores".

New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, and the pueblo continued as a part of Mexico. During Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico, made Los Angeles Alta California's regional capital. Mexican rule ended during the Mexican–American War: Americans took control from the Californios after a series of battles, culminating with the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847.

Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923 Los Angeles was producing one-quarter of the world's petroleum. By 1900, the population had grown to more than 102,000 people,^[15] putting pressure on the city's water supply. 1913's completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, under the supervision of William Mulholland, assured the continued growth of the city.

In the 1920s, the motion picture and aviation industries flocked to Los Angeles. In 1932, with population surpassing one million, the city hosted the Summer Olympics.

The post-war years saw an even greater boom, as urban sprawl expanded the city into the San Fernando Valley. In 1969, Los Angeles became one of the birthplaces of the Internet, as the first ARPANET transmission was sent from UCLA to SRI in Menlo Park.

Also in the 1980s, Los Angeles became the center of the heavy metal music scene, especially glam metal bands. In 1984, the city hosted the Summer Olympic Games for the second time. Despite being boycotted by 14 Communist countries, the 1984 Olympics became the most financially successful in history, and only the second Olympics to turn a profit – the other being the 1932 Summer Olympics, also held in Los Angeles.

Spots Pizza Awards !

The Spot Pizza Contest is now over... 57 Freikers will be receiving coupons this Tuesday for their hard efforts!

Freiker Award Ceremony !

• Almond Freikers:
• All Almond Freikers will receive a special canvas gift bag with few assorted goodies including a reusable water bottle and a Freiker bracelet! These will be passed out on Tuesday during class.

• Frequest Freiker:
• The following students walked or rode at least 75% of the time. This shows commitment to the cause and is deserving of a special recognition. Their will be a special assembly held at 1:45pm on Tuesday in the Multi. The following students will be asked to attend and will get to choose a special gift.

• Freiker Elites
• 12 Freikers registered during the first 3 days of registration (when we had the Freiker table set up in the front) and never missed a day from that point on. They will be recognized at a special assembly on Monday morning where they will receive their medals. In addition, they will be attending the special assembly at 1:45pm on Tuesday in the Muilti (see above). The three whose names are preceeded with a '*' represent a perfect Freiker record of registering on day 1 and never missing a day and will lead the assembly.

Freiker Rolls To Foothill College !

We will be leaving the Almond School parking lot today at 1:00pm to ride to Foothill College. We'll do a lap around the campus, pause for a rest and a drink of water and then it's off to Baskin-Robbins where we will cash in some of those ice cream coupons. After ice cream, it's back to Almond School to end the ride.

Unfortunately, I am going to be cancelling the Freiker Rolls to Hidden Villa next weekend! Sorry for getting everyone's hopes up on this but something has come up that I need to attend to and will therefore not be able to make the ride. Maybe some time this summer!

My Saturday MVV Ride !

Well, my Saturday we a butt kicker that took us on one of the hardest cycling climbs in the bay area... maybe even the world !! :) We road out of the The Bicycle Outfitter around 8:30am on Saturday morning and headed south towards Almaden Valley. Don't ask me the route because in the 25 times I've done it I still can't figure it out. It takes 3 maze routes through some beautiful residential neighborhoods down into Los Gatos. From there we go over Kennedy Rd. into the Blossom Hill area and this is where the fun starts.

We end up on Hicks road when circles Almaden Quicksilver Park. After going past Guadelupe Reservoir, you start up a 2.5 mile climb. At the base the uphill grade is about 15%, in mid-climb it pitches up to about 23% and then settles back down to 10% at the top! If none of this means anything to you let me give you some benchmarks to go by:

• Mt. Hamilton is a 5% grade for 22 miles. Considered a gradual uphill that starts to wear you out near the top.
• Old La Honda Rd. This is an 8% grade for 3.2 miles. Everyone knows this climb and knows their time to the top. It's steep... but not that steep.
• Moody Rd. This is a 12 % grade for .6 miles. It is just up past Hidden Villa. It's hard but doable given that is is relatively short.

When you are talking grades of 10%-23% for 2.5 miles you are talking 4 mph at best and grinding every pedal stroke out as if it is your last. If you are really brave, you can take a right at the stop sign at the summit and go up Mt. Uhmanhum Rd. which is more of the same for another 2 miles. Not me! Not this time! I did that once before and changed religions twice before I got to the top!

Here are my ride stats!

• Distance: 65 miles
• Ride Time: 4 hrs 14 mins
• Ave Speed: 15 mph
• Max Speed: 47 mph
• Elevation Gain: 4,800 ft.
• Calories: 4,500 cals
• MotionBased Map: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8388505

That's all for this week...

Every Ride Counts!

2008 James L. Oberstar Award

I wanted to share this with all of the readers. This is quite and accomplishment and something that I hope the students at Almond would be able to achieve someday. I think we are very, very close and the students at Almond should be proud of what they have achieved this school year!

December 10, 2008

Bear Creek Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado, wins Oberstar Award

CHAPEL HILL, NC — The National Center for Safe Routes to School announces that Bear Creek Elementary School in Boulder, Colo., is the recipient of the 2008 James L. Oberstar Award. The school’s Safe Routes to School program involves 70 percent of students in walking and bicycling activities throughout the year.

“All the applications were outstanding, but Bear Creek’s goals and achievements mirrored Congressman Oberstar’s intentions for sustained change in families’ travel habits when the Safe Routes to School legislation was passed,” said Lauren Marchetti, Director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

“We are trying to create a new culture of daily car-free habits in this young generation,” explains Vivian Kennedy, parent volunteer at Bear Creek Elementary. A City of Boulder study conducted during the first year of the school’s Car-Free Commute program (2007-2008) showed a 36 percent reduction in cars and corresponding traffic congestion. During the program’s second year, students accrued 4,800 miles from 6,600 Car-Free Commute trips in a single month (September 2008).

Bear Creek Elementary School, one of the first in the country to have walking school buses throughout the school year, keeps track of students’ travel through monthly tallies. Kent Cruger, principal at Bear Creek Elementary, challenges students daily with his own examples of car-free travel.

“We are grateful for the support of district personnel, the Safe Routes Program, the City of Boulder, and especially our parent community at Bear Creek,” said Principal Kent Cruger. “This team effort has had an incredibly positive impact on our students.”

"I am extremely proud of the Safe Routes to School program at Bear Creek Elementary,” says Congressman James L. Oberstar, after whom the award is named. “The students, parents, faculty, and staff have given us an outstanding example of how we can change the lifestyle habits of an entire generation. I heartily congratulate the Bear Creek community for its achievements and would like to see it become a model for Safe Routes to School programs across the country."

The award is named for Congressman Oberstar (D-MN) to honor his dedication to American school children as the pioneer for the National Safe Routes to School Program. Oberstar, current Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, sponsored the Safe Routes to School legislation that strives to create safe settings to enable more parents and children to walk and bicycle to school.

Organizations that promote pedestrian and bicycle safety offered their expertise in reviewing the applications received by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. America Walks, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Governors Highway Safety Association, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the National Center for Bicycling and Walking and Toole Design Group all were among the organizations that assisted the National Center for Safe Routes to School in the selection process.

The 2008 Oberstar Award sought to recognize outstanding achievement by a school or community in establishing a Safe Routes to School program with Federal funding. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school and encourage more children to do so. The Oberstar Award is given annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School to an exemplary SRTS program in the United States.

In July 2005, Congress passed federal legislation that established a national Safe Routes to School program. The program dedicated a total of $612 million towards Safe Routes to School from 2005 to 2009. These funds are made available to individual States to develop and administer Safe Routes to School Programs through the Department of Transportation.

Established in May 2006 through funding from the Federal Highway Administration, the National Center for Safe Routes to School assists communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school. The Center strives to equip Safe Routes to School programs with the knowledge and technical information to implement safe and successful strategies. The Center is located at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.

Please see entire case study on Bear Creek Elementary School at http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/case_studies/pdfs/CO.bearcreek.pdf.