alternATIVe

Taking bike commuting to the next level: We are now offering Arkel's Sakaroo large and small panniers. They are made from 100% recycled polyester yarn for truly environmentally friendly bike bags. The 600 denier polyester fabric is made with 40% post consumer and 60% post-industrial recycled plastics.

The price for these high quality bags is surprisingly low at $80 (small) - $115 (large) for the pair. Shipping takes about 2-3 weeks.

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bike, bicycle, pannier, recycled, 100% recycled, green pannier, environmentally friendly, bike bag

SANDAG is developing a regional bicycle plan and is currently in phase 1 of the planning process. They are actively trying to get data. The workshops they offered were announced on their website and we heard about them via the SDCBC.

People who currently don't ride because of the perceived danger of riding and the lacking bike facilities in our city would never know about this great opportunity to share their concerns. Unfortunately, I have not seen any awareness campaigns around this to get more people and especially non-riders involved.

Please help spread the word.

On www.sandag.org/bicycleplan, you can do the following:

• complete a survey and let SANDAG know what's missing or where it's dangerous for you (deadline is August 31st) - this is your chance to get your voice heard!


• download bicycle maps to see the existing and proposed bicycle facilities


• easily map your own commute and let SANDAG know what you have to deal with every day and which roads are the most important to you - simply include the term SANDAG in the title when you save each route


• spread the word - email the links to anyone you know and especially those, who are scared to ride because the city has not provided the necessary bike facilities that make everyone feel safe to ride!

FYI: The bike route tool is Bikely.com and it's extremely easy to use. Don't forget to add SANDAG in the title.

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bicycle plan, sandag, san diego, bike facility, bike lane, bike path, transportation plan

For each reusable bag you use, another 400 plastic bags will be kept from being used. Every reusable water bottle will keep another 167 plastic bottles from entering the environment.
You can pledge to Rise Above Plastics

Update on our own No Plastic Challenge
Last month has definitely been a challenge. We learned a lot and made mistakes but we changed our behaviors and also influenced others around us which raised awareness about this problem. Some of the things where we couldn't get rid of
plastic:

• Toiletpaper is wrapped in plastic and Toothpaste comes in plastic tubes


• We were fooled several times by packaging that is paper on the outside but has a plastic lining or another plastic bag inside


• Fruit and vegetables, including organic, usually have plastic stickers


• Many magazines or some mailers are wrapped in plastic bags


• Many products unnecessarily have a plastic window in their packaging


• Jars often have a plastic strip for safety - why don't they use paper like many other products?

Here are some tips if you are taking it on:

• We have better success avoiding plastic if we explain what we are doing and why - most times, the person behind the counter is not annoyed but becomes interested and uses paper instead of plastic.
• Always mention the challenge before you order anything in restaurants - drinks usually come with straws or stirrers, sometimes salad dressing on the side is in a small plastic container, etc.

I am learning more and more about the plastic problem and I can't see myself buying plastic again even when this month is over. Check out this video and you might join us in our challenge:

Our No-Plastic Challenge is moving along (I unfortunately had a small plastic wrapper on my yogurt jar lid) and some of our friends are inspired as well to reduce their plastic bag consumption. This is awesome!

I also learned about a site called carbonrally.com - it lists many different simple challenges that reduce CO2 output. For example, pledge to reduce your shower time by 2min for one month and you'll reduce your emissions by over 15lbs. You can accept a pledge on your own or as a team and track how much CO2 you are saving. It's a worldwide competition that even shows an impact map.

Try it now and take on one challenge

Shopping yesterday started as a disaster - Trying to simply buy some slices of cheese at the supermarket deli counter without plastic was impossible, even though I begged several times NO PLASTIC PLEASE. It's incredible how ingrained the use of plastic is: fresh pair of plastic gloves, one piece of plastic foil between each slice, one to show you the slice thickness, one to wrap the slices, and one to wrap up the cheese in the counter again.

Whole Foods is the only store in the area, where I can now go shopping and even there I ended up with one thin piece of plastic.

I just received a presentation that shows the dangers of plastic bags and learned about this link Feds want to survey, possibly clean up vast garbage pit in Pacific.

On a positive note - our simple choice of avoiding plastic helps support organic growers, plastic free waste, and - we are eating healthier.

Take a look at this timely video

Explaining food vs. nutrition: Michael Pollan talks at Google

For a comfortable and safe commute, we recommend:

• Use a Bike Map and find a good route - you can receive a free San Diego Bike Map with all bike paths, lanes, and routes from ridelink.org.
• Tune up your bike and test ride your route the weekend before Bike to Work day, so there are no surprises.
• Review commuter tips and rules of the road. The League of American Bicyclists offers many resources and is a great organization to support/join.
• For Cargo and Packing, we offer high quality rear racks and the superb Arkel commuter bags.
• Encourage your organization to support bike to work day - you will find many resources at www.bicycle2work.net including printable posters, online banners for your intranet, and gift ideas for bike commuters.
• Contact the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition to present the How to Guide - Bike to work at your organization - it's free.