Sunday, October 9, 2011

Pedal4Prizes update

Many of Gunn's freshmen bikers were pleasantly surprised to receive Rice
Krispy Treats on Friday morning (Oct 7) at our first monthly Pedal4Prizes
event of the school year. For those uninitiated, Pedal4Prizes, sponsored by
the PTSA, rewards all students who elect to bike to school that day. Of
course, the real rewards for choosing a biking commute are the positive
physical and mental effects from the exercise, and the reduction of car
exhaust in our environment. Our volunteers, Jeff Dean, Ruth Harris,
Christine Fawcett, Penny Ellson, Kathryn Latour, and Steve Hubbell counted
595 bikes, which means that even with the rain this week, around 1/3 of the
studentbody biked!

Speaking of bikes, we noticed that a shocking number of bikes were left
unlocked. Bikes can - and do - get stolen even at Gunn. Most bike thefts are
opportunistic, meaning that if a bike is unlocked, someone who hadn't
intended on stealing a bike will spontaneously decide to take it for a joy
ride then dump it somewhere. With the new bike racks, it is easier to use a
U-lock to secure the bike's frame to the rack, which is the safest way to
lock a bike. But, even a simple lock will deter most bike thefts. One of our
new P4P mottos is: "Your Bike: If you like it, lock it."

Plan on biking during the week of homecoming (Oct 24-28). We will be
raffling off homecoming game tickets at our next P4P event!

The P4P Team
Kathryn Latour & Steve Hubbell

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