Zapped

Season Ending?

When I left the house this morning it was 28 degrees, and that really zaps you on the bike. All around are warning signs that the bike commute “season” is coming to a close. People are tweeting their totals for the year in miles biked, gas saved, and carbon footprint reduced. Bike share stations will disappear from Minneapolis and St. Paul as Nice Ride corrals its fluorescent yellow-green bikes for the winter, starting this weekend. I am not ready to post my “final” totals yet, though. Especially because I need to burn off the small package of iced oatmeal cookies I just pounded without really thinking about it.  It was only 10 small cookies, but that habit will be dangerous for my waistline when the metabolism slows with snow on the ground and holiday parties to attend. 

 

Despite the weather, I felt pretty solid about my October commute totals. In fact, I received a notice from St. Paul Smart Trips saying I was one of the top 20 “ZAPPERs” in St. Paul through the first two months of the program. And as a reward, I received two free tickets to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Pacers next week. When I stopped into Smart Trips office, I realized that I also hadn't picked up the free bike light that I had earned for logging my first 10 trips on the program. 

So it felt pretty good to grab some schwag and chat-it-up with some passionate green commuters. They indicated the possibility of establishing a rewards program for referring friends to the program. Imagine the bike-light earning potential!