whee - winter campaign!

[lph]

As I maybe mentioned in another post, we have a nation-wide "Ride your bike to work"-campaign in spring, that runs May to June. My company has always participated and it generates a lot of friendly competing and minor arguments as to whether total no. of days biked or total no. of km. biked is more "worthy". (Km, of course!!) You can win a (not very good) bike and a few small prizes.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I started my own small winter campaign, sent an email to a handful of biking colleagues, and encouraged them to pass it on. So far 18 people have signed up, but only about 10 of them are actively logging their rides.

But somebody got the idea that we should have prizes and hoo-hah too, so suddenly today we're on the company intranet, with this picture, meant to illustrate that one can bike in winter either with all the cool gear (that's me on the left) OR in a more urban, feminine manner (that's my colleague Tharan on the right). In the picture I'm pointing out how her fresh lipstick underlines her point...

And the sign in the background says "Parking for company vehicles only". Cool pic, huh?


PS. It IS winter here, even though there's green grass in the picture. Had a snowfall on Monday, most of it rained away and the temperature is now around freezing. Up where I live there's ice everywhere.

[nuthatch]

So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong for Bike to Work week at my office! No prizes! Maybe if I offer prizes I'll get someone besides me to participate!

Thanks for the picture - It's always fun to see someone's set up for riding in the cold.

[lph]

Well, actually, in my original e-mail invitation I pointed out that the only thing one could win was street cred and the adoration of incredulous colleagues

But the company "sports organization", no idea how to translate that one, (athletic society?) wanted to offer prizes, I think reflective vests and blinky lights.

I don't really expect anyone else to sign up, but we do get some nice PR.

[nuthatch]

Heck, I'm impressed with your company having some sort of employee health program. The only approved exercise at my small company is walking from your desk to the kitchen for coffee and cake!

Good luck with your recruiting!

[Geonz]

Great pic!!!

Gear is everything I'm so grateful for my gore-tex gift... it's made it possible to stay ahead of Howard in mileage a few more days because a few gusts and drizzles don't get in my way...

[nuthatch]

It's gonna gust you right into a field today! 45 mph gusts up here in north IL.

[Trekhawk]

lph - love the pic. You look toasty warm.

[Geonz]

only 39 here. (MPH; a balmy 41 degrees... oh, and raining of course!)

29 without the gusts - that 3/4 mile right into it was definitely tough!!! But ALL TO STAVE OFF HOWARD for another day... (233 miles ahead of him at this point).

He says he's doing a century Satuardya... so one of the guys in a somewhat nearby town in IL might be coming by to join me in doing one here! (Winds should be 10 mph... NUTHIN!!!) Of course, *he* has admitted his wife will be riding support and may even ride him out 100 miles and have him ride back with the wind! No problema... (though I ***am*** doing my level best to send at least a minor snowstorm to Fort Collins!!!)

[lph]

Good Lord. 28 people in total have registered, 20 of them have logged rides this week.

Wheee!

And my main competitor (who rides 40 km a day when he rides) hasn't logged anything for a week, so I've *just* managed to creep past him in mileage.

He's probably just hoarding them, and will register a week's worth this afternoon, but for now - I'm in front!

[Duck on Wheels]

AHA! The secret's out. Lph works for the Norwegian national power company. What's the lowdown on water levels in the resevoirs? Has our mild Fall helped any?

As for company health and sports programs ... pretty much every largish company has one. At my university they've combined the employee sports program with the student sports league. I get to use the student gym for about $70 per semester . There's also a swim night at the city pool once a week, orienteering races twice a week in orienteering season, ski trips, huts we can rent for hiking or skiing, some canoes we can borrow, etc. etc. All pretty cheap. But then again, that means there's no excuse for being a couch potato -- except that the work load is such that I just collapse and fall asleep after dinner every day. Next semester should be better though (teaching fewer courses) so my 2007 goal is to work out enough to get a head start on the bike season (I'm not a winter biker ) and then get in good enough shape to ride to Hell'n'back before Fall. I've done the distance and then some last season, but the "road to H'll is paved over hills". If I make it to Hell'n'back early in the season, I can stretch the route longer by going up to our cabin and taking the backwoods route (gravel roads) home.

[lph]

Dang! I should have realized you would recognize that sign

Actually I work with licensing hydropower plants, with a side job as a glacier monitor a few weeks a year. And as far as I know nothing EVER helps the price of electricity...

[Duck on Wheels]

Æsj! Energy prices probably _should_ go up, as long as we make sure we have a decent tax and social security system so the poor don't bear the burden alone. When I asked about the state of the resevoirs I was more concerned about the ecosystem than about what I'll pay for heating here this winter. We do our best to save (timers that set lower temps during the day when we're at work and night when we're asleep, quick showers, switch off appliances when they're not in use ... the least one can do, but every little bit helps) and we can afford what we do use. But can the globe afford that we're using it??? What "price" will our kids have pay, or our grandkids (if we're ever so lucky)?

[lph]

<total hijack of my own thread>
I agree, energy prices are way too low here, talking of an "energy crisis" as long as people build huge houses with heated driveways and outdoor heated Jacuzzis is just plain ridiculous.

But we are lucky enough to have a clean power source (as long as we're not importing energy, that is, to support those driveways and Jacuzzis ).

Re the ecosystem, I'm more worried about the idea that it's a human right to drive a car, or worse, take a plane, anywhere you feel like, or at least anywhere you can afford. And that greenhouse gases are somehow somebody else's problem, preferably a politicians'. A colleague and friend of mine was on Norwegian TV yesterday (Dagsrevyen) telling how all our glaciers are receding and losing mass. I help in with these measurements every year. Glacier melt is one of the first and most sensitive signs of climate change, and the signs are absolutely unequivocal. It really makes me sad to think that my son won't be able to see the same glaciers I see today, not to mention all the serious effects like flooding in other parts of the world.

Sorry, got a bit carried away here. <steps off soapbox>

[emily_in_nc]

Re the ecosystem, I'm more worried about the idea that it's a human right to drive a car, or worse, take a plane, anywhere you feel like, or at least anywhere you can afford. And that greenhouse gases are somehow somebody else's problem, preferably a politicians'. A colleague and friend of mine was on Norwegian TV yesterday (Dagsrevyen) telling how all our glaciers are receding and losing mass. I help in with these measurements every year. Glacier melt is one of the first and most sensitive signs of climate change, and the signs are absolutely unequivocal. It really makes me sad to think that my son won't be able to see the same glaciers I see today, not to mention all the serious effects like flooding in other parts of the world.<steps off soapbox>

lph, I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, I'm in the minority here in the US. If all cars and planes were suddenly banned, I'd jump up and cheer. I read articles about the polar bears and penguins and other creatures harmed by glacial melt, and it just breaks my heart. So, I donate to organizations that help, but it seems like such a small thing to do when we live in such a fossil-fuel-based country and the population of fossil-fuel burners just keeps increasing day after day.

Sigh....

Emily

[Kitsune06]

but heated jacuzzis are nice...

If travel could even be minimized, I'd jump and cheer. People in airports who *have* to get there at *that time* drive me nuts. Sorry, I'm that chick leaning on her luggage eating either food I brought with me or something cheap, thinking about sleeping until my flight gets in- it's late? no rush. Whenever, man...

To completely close down those types of travel would be unreasonable, but I know what you mean.

As far as heated driveways etc go, it boggles my mind the kind of vacuously huge houses people will build for their family of four (that could house maybe 30 people in a foreign country) with all these rediculous ammenities, a hummer in the driveway and a game of golf to 'get them out in nature'. Gimme a break. A golf course is so far from 'nature' they can't even be compared.

These will be my new gripes about my new job, because the above describes 9/10 of the folks there.