Bike Commuting Discussion w/ So Co Bike Commuter of the year, Tu, 5/16, Santa Rosa

[Portia]

In honor of Bike to Work Day (www.511.org)

Bike Commuting Panel Discussion with Sonoma County Bike Commuter of the Year Andy Bunnell
Sponsored by LITE, Car-Lite and Community Bikes
Tuesday, May 16, 2006, Free
Come anytime between 4:30 – 6:00 pm (Library closes at 6pm)
Santa Rosa Library, Forum Room
211 E St. at Third St, Santa Rosa


Visit 511 More info on bike commuting and stories will be posted on the Car-Lite website on Monday 5/15 or sooner.


On Tuesday, May 16 from 4:30 – 6:00 pm, LITE member Andy Bunnell, Sonoma County Bike Commuter of the Year, and a handful of fellow commuters will lead a free discussion on the pleasures and tribulations of bike commuting in all weathers. Held at the end of the work day at Central Library in Santa Rosa, all interested parties are welcome - regardless of biking skills or plans to commute.

Andy commutes from Graton to Sebastopol every day for his job at Greenacre Homes. He is an active member of LITE, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, Sonoma County Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and a number of other groups.

Car-Lite and Community Bikes are programs of LITE Initiatives, the sustainable practices group that initiated Car-Free Day - the first Sunday of every month and which operates the Community Bike Shop. A volunteer run bike shop, Communuty Bikes offers bike maintenance and safety information and classes, biking presentations and sells used bikes and parts of all kinds. For more information please visit: www.car-lite.org


Here is the recent award announcement from the 511 website: https://www.bayareabikes.org/btwd/awards.html

Bike Commuter of the Year Awards 2006
The verdict is in! The winners for the Bike Commuter of the Year Award in each of the nine Bay Area Counties have been determined! These recipients were chosen because they are committed to making every day a “Bike to Work Day” and because they actualize the health, environmental, social, and economic benefits of bicycling! Each award recipient will receive an official Bike Commuter of the Year Award 2006 plaque and a complimentary Bike to Work Day t-shirt.

We gratefully acknowledge all of you who nominated someone from your community who you feel is deserving of this award. We had so many people with inspiring stories to choose from and thus, the decision was a difficult one. We hope you will celebrate this person and the freedom to choose cycling as means of transportation by hopping on your bicycle on Bike to Work Day, Thursday, May 18!

The Bike Commuter of the Year for Sonoma County is Andy Bunnell of Graton. Andy works as a licensed social worker at Greenacre Homes a residential facility for at-risk young men. Andy shares his love of cycling with these young men by encouraging them to work as mechanics at the bike shop adjacent to Greenacres. He has led them on bike trips from Sebastopol to San Francisco, and has inspired them to begin using bicycles as a means of transportation by bringing in donated bikes. During the week of April 24-30, Andy is taking part in Go Greenbelt! a week-long fundraiser bicycle ride benefiting the Greenbelt Alliance, an organization that works to protect open space and promote livable communities in the Bay Area. This is just another example of how Andy contributes to his community through bicycling!