Five Days for the Planet
Christa Koehler
by Christa Koehler
Community Program Manager, Clean Air-Cool Planet
Last September, I spent five beautiful autumn days on a meticulously-planned bicycle trip from New York City to Washington, DC. We pedaled through gorgeous, varied landscapes, from lively New York streets, to pastoral New Jersey farmland, to inviting Amish communities and, eventually, to the grandeur of our nation’s capital. Each night, we enjoyed delicious catered meals, enrichment activities like lectures and roundtables, and the company of our fellow cyclists before zipping into our sleeping bags.
The best part of this incredible adventure is that it took place in the capacity of my job as Community Program Manager at Clean Air-Cool Planet.
A bit of background – Clean Air-Cool Planet is a co-beneficiary of Brita Climate Ride, a five-day, 300-mile bike trip from New York to DC to raise money for and awareness of climate change. Brita Climate Ride is the brainchild of Geraldine Carter and Caeli Quinn, both of whom had spent years creating and leading bike tours before deciding to bring their talents to bear to address one of their passions – climate change. They devised the idea of Climate Ride, and selected Clean Air-Cool Planet and Focus the Nation as beneficiaries. Now as we prepare for year two, we’re both back as beneficiaries again, this time joined by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. I hope that, this year, a whole team of Clean Air-Cool Planet representatives, including staff, partners, donors and more, will ride along to spread the word about our organization and what Brita Climate Ride funding helps us to do.
Brita Climate Ride has a lot in common with Clean Air-Cool Planet – we both recognize that policy and practical solutions each have a place in solving the problem of climate change. Brita Climate Ride combines these two elements in a wonderfully simple and exciting way – participants demonstrate the viability of cycling as a form of transportation by making the long journey to our nation’s capitol, and once there, they bring their climate change messages, in person, directly to their elected officials.
And promoting cycling as a form of transportation, not just recreation, has the potential to be a great way to keep single occupancy vehicles off of the roads – and greenhouse gases out of our atmosphere. Problem is, in most communities, the infrastructure isn’t there yet. When I took part in Brita Climate Ride last year, I blogged on www.climateride.org about the trials and tribulations of simply getting me and my bike from southern New Hampshire to the point of departure in New York City. Amtrak was only an option if I was willing to disassemble and box my bike, with no bubble wrap or other protective materials allowed (for security reasons). So, I carpooled with a friend down to New Haven, Connecticut – hours away – to catch a Metro North train, where we still had to buy a bike permit and make sure we were on a train that arrived at Grand Central before 4 p.m. Seems like you’re out of luck if you want to use your bike for an actual useful purpose, like commuting to work via multi-modal public transportation. I also blogged every night after each day of riding to share my experiences (good and bad) with people who could not participate. (You can view those daily summaries here.)
My experience showcased the significant obstacles we will have to overcome to solve this problem – but perhaps the biggest is changing people’s perceptions of cycling. Sure it’s fun and healthful, but it’s also a legitimate and efficient way to get from point A to point B. And with some of the accessories on the market – child seats, cargo trailers and more – your bike can probably handle more than you give it credit for. The problem is getting the larger infrastructure in place – for example, well-marked, safe bicycle lanes, and easy and convenient ways to bring your bike onto public transportation. Events like Brita Climate Ride advocate for improved cycling infrastructure by demonstrating that your bike will get you where you need to go – even if that is right to your elected official’s doorstep.
So if after reading my past blog from last years ride to DC has you interested in getting involved this year in some capacity, feel free to contact me and together, all riders and supporters, we can make a difference.
Tags: bicycle, bike ride, Brita Climate Ride, climate change, Climate Ride, Fundraising
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