If only your commute could be this fun!

Look at that merry band of Valley Water employees dressed in day glo, bike helmets, sunglasses and gloves! Yes, that was the last Valley Water bikepool, a semi-regular group of folks who meet for coffee and then pedal to work, joyfully feeling the wind in their hair, chatting with comrades, getting a little exercise, beating back climate change, and overall, having a good time commuting to work.

How can we convince more Valley Water employees to swap their commute mode from car to bike? What’s holding you back? Here’s what folks on the last ride had to say.

 Lisa Bankosh, Watershed Stewardship and Planning

“It was a great ride – there.  I loved the quiet streets, the cool breeze, the camaraderie, and feeling like I was in pretty good shape! The ride back, I must say, was not great.  I was alone and in a rush…and took the route that Google recommended, which was extremely traffic-y although there was a bike lane for most of the way (my big issue is the noise and the exhaust smell, not so much safety).  Solution: It’s really the route that matters I think, and not for the safety as much as the overall experience.  Also, I won’t try to squeeze it in again, I would wait till I had an open schedule before and after work.  Schedule has been the main roadblock for me, that plus not knowing a “pretty” route.”

Sarah Berning, Capital Improvement

“Getting some exercise in the morning while riding to work, and particularly not having to deal with the stress of driving was a great way to start the day. And riding with people who are experienced cycling in this area is a good idea for getting tips on which streets to avoid.”

Stephanie Simunic, Board Clerk’s Office

“I was surprised at how many less cars there were generally in the morning…it did get busy at certain intersections but that was okay as we had a group. It gave me confidence.”

As the former Executive Director of Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, I’ve spent a good chunk of my career trying to entice people to throw a leg over a bike. When asked, people say (and you don't have to take my word for it as there's public opinion data to back it up here) the most common barriers include safety, route choice, time, (shout out to you parents trying to figure out how to drop the kids off and pedal to work!) and the one that breaks my heart, “I don’t have a bike.”  

On route choice, it is, indeed, key. Speeding cars, exhaust, noise, hills…all these things degrade the bike-joy factor. And so it is important to invest the time to find good routes.

In this case, I scouted several different roads before settling on the best route. It was out-of-the-way but in exchange, we cruised safe, car-light streets so that we could chat and avoid the unpleasantries of an auto-oriented society. The route meandered the Los Gatos Creek Trail, traversed two pedestrian overcrossings to avoid scary freeway intersections, and ended at Spectra coffee where we all enjoyed a cup of jo while catching up. (The route is linked here if you’re interested.)

Would you like to bikepool with a VW crew? What’s holding you back and how can we help break through that barrier? Fill out the short survey here so that we can figure out who else lives in your area and then organize a meetup that is convenient to a critical mass of water wheelers