On Thursday, Oct. 11, I Love A Clean San Diego’s supporters, community members, and local leaders gathered at the beautiful Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa for ILACSD’s annual Fall Social, the Catamaran Wine Mixer, an evening celebrating environmental action in our community.
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This year’s event, which took place as the sun set behind Mission Bay, included delicious food provided by the Catamaran and beer and wine provided by beverage sponsors Baja Brewing Company, Karl Strauss Brewing Company, and Summer Haines; an exciting auction and opportunity drawing; the chance to score premium vintages at the event’s wine pull; a wine tasting sampling a selection of fine wine; live music by Peter Hall; and more!
The festivities were also an opportunity to introduce I Love A Clean San Diego’s new Executive Director, Len Hering. Len began at ILACSD just last week, and we look forward to his leadership as we look toward ILACSD’s future.
The program culminated with an award ceremony recognizing local volunteers, businesses, and community leaders whose environmental commitment make ILACSD’s mission possible. We were pleased to present awards (made from recycled glass!) to this year’s honorees:
Proceeds from the Catamaran Wine Mixer will help I Love A Clean San Diego share more environmental educational resources, further build community volunteer opportunities, and offer even more zero waste resources benefitting all of San Diego County. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us at this year’s Fall Social for helping us to create a cleaner, healthier, more beautiful San Diego! Check out more photos from the Catamaran Wine Mixer!.
ILACSD would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of the Fall Social:
On Thursday, Oct. 11, I Love A Clean San Diego’s supporters, community members, and local leaders gathered at the beautiful Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa for ILACSD’s annual Fall Social, the Catamaran Wine Mixer, an evening celebrating environmental action in our community.
.
This year’s event, which took place as the sun set behind Mission Bay, included delicious food provided by the Catamaran and beer and wine provided by beverage sponsors Baja Brewing Company, Karl Strauss Brewing Company, and Summer Haines; an exciting auction and opportunity drawing; the chance to score premium vintages at the event’s wine pull; a wine tasting sampling a selection of fine wine; live music by Peter Hall; and more!
The festivities were also an opportunity to introduce I Love A Clean San Diego’s new Executive Director, Len Hering. Len began at ILACSD just last week, and we look forward to his leadership as we look toward ILACSD’s future.
The program culminated with an award ceremony recognizing local volunteers, businesses, and community leaders whose environmental commitment make ILACSD’s mission possible. We were pleased to present awards (made from recycled glass!) to this year’s honorees:
Proceeds from the Catamaran Wine Mixer will help I Love A Clean San Diego share more environmental educational resources, further build community volunteer opportunities, and offer even more zero waste resources benefitting all of San Diego County. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us at this year’s Fall Social for helping us to create a cleaner, healthier, more beautiful San Diego! Check out more photos from the Catamaran Wine Mixer!.
ILACSD would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of the Fall Social:
San Diego Gas & Electric has been delivering San Diegans their power for almost 150 years. On top of their work providing around 45% clean energy to homes and businesses in this region – compared to an average of 8% nationwide – SDG&E supports many local nonprofits organizations that are working to improve the environment. This year, SDG&E and the San Diego Padres are Going to Bat for San Diego, and teaming up to support I Love A Clean San Diego and celebrate Coastal Cleanup Day.
ILACSD is proud to be part of the 2018 Going to Bat for San Diego Starting Lineup!
As a special thank you to volunteers that Go to Bat for San Diego, SDG&E and the Padres are recognizing Coastal Cleanup Day participants with a Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Padres game on Monday, September 17. Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers receive a promo code to purchase discounted tickets and be recognized for their accomplishments in keeping San Diego clean.
The 34th annual Coastal Cleanup Day will bring thousands of volunteers together on September 15th to beautify more than 100 beaches, parks, and other outdoor spaces throughout the region. Over the past 17 years, SDG&E has helped support I Love A Clean San Diego’s Coastal Cleanup Day efforts with the participation of thousands of employee volunteers! We are pleased to highlight two SDG&E heavy hitters who have stepped up to the plate to serve as site captains for Coastal Cleanup Day throughout the years.
Crystal Yousef
Crystal and her sidekick, Tipsie, at Coastal Cleanup Day 2013.
Crystal has been an SDG&E employee for 15 years and a Coastal Cleanup Day site captain for close to 10 years. She can always be counted on to go wherever there is a need, and Coastal Cleanup Day has led her on expeditions to Encanto, Poway, Golden Hill, and Rancho Bernardo, among other places.
In her day job, Crystal works at SDG&E’s Environmental Lab, which does environmental sampling and test analyses. The Lab is certified to test for more than 500 chemical compounds, ensuring that SDG&E facilities are operating safely.
In Crystal’s decade of service at Coastal Cleanup Day, she says her favorite part of the annual volunteer event is seeing kids’ enthusiasm when they find a strange piece of trash. Whether it’s a shoe, a stuffed animal, or even a bathroom scale, kids often burst with excitement recounting where and how they found it, and in some instances, even make up stories for what they think the item is. It’s like trash show-and-tell.
Crystal also notes that she feels a sense of pride each year when she arrives at Coastal Cleanup Day to a sea of Team SDG&E volunteers outfitted in team t-shirts, which for many years were the two-toned tie-dye in the photo to the left. SDG&E and I Love A Clean San Diego are lucky to have folks like Crystal committed to ensuring a safe and successful cleanup for volunteers of all ages! This year, you can find Crystal helping out at the South Shores cleanup site in Mission Bay with Team SDG&E.
Hilary Haskell
Hilary participating in the 2016 City Heights Facelift with Team SDG&E.
Hilary has been an environmental enthusiast from a young age. In fact, in high school she conducted regular beach cleanups, and in college she interned with another environmental nonprofit, Orange County Coastkeeper. Fun fact: during Hilary’s internship, she helped to plan Kids’ Ocean Day in Orange County, aerial art and all! That’s the sister event to ILACSD’s San Diego Kids’ Ocean Day that occurs every spring.
Hilary joined SDG&E a little over two years ago and jumped right in with Coastal Cleanup Day. Last year, she led the San Dieguito Lagoon site for SDG&E, and this year you’ll find her at the Paradise Creek site in National City. Aside from having a good attitude and strong leadership qualities, Hilary brings another attribute to her role as site captain…she knows a lot about the environment! At SDG&E, she makes sure projects like the placing of a new power pole, or even the removal of one, don’t result in a detrimental environmental impact. She’s also one of the company’s leading sustainability advisors, helping to track SDG&E’s environmental performance in key areas.
While Hilary hasn’t been a part of Team SDG&E for very long, we anticipate that her involvement in Coastal Cleanup Day will continue for many years to come!
ILACSD is grateful for SDG&E’s longtime partnership and the hands-on role team members take on to make sure we knock Coastal Cleanup Day out of the park!
San Diego Gas & Electric has been delivering San Diegans their power for almost 150 years. On top of their work providing around 45% clean energy to homes and businesses in this region – compared to an average of 8% nationwide – SDG&E supports many local nonprofits organizations that are working to improve the environment. This year, SDG&E and the San Diego Padres are Going to Bat for San Diego, and teaming up to support I Love A Clean San Diego and celebrate Coastal Cleanup Day.
ILACSD is proud to be part of the 2018 Going to Bat for San Diego Starting Lineup!
As a special thank you to volunteers that Go to Bat for San Diego, SDG&E and the Padres are recognizing Coastal Cleanup Day participants with a Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Padres game on Monday, September 17. Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers receive a promo code to purchase discounted tickets and be recognized for their accomplishments in keeping San Diego clean.
The 34th annual Coastal Cleanup Day will bring thousands of volunteers together on September 15th to beautify more than 100 beaches, parks, and other outdoor spaces throughout the region. Over the past 17 years, SDG&E has helped support I Love A Clean San Diego’s Coastal Cleanup Day efforts with the participation of thousands of employee volunteers! We are pleased to highlight two SDG&E heavy hitters who have stepped up to the plate to serve as site captains for Coastal Cleanup Day throughout the years.
Crystal Yousef
Crystal and her sidekick, Tipsie, at Coastal Cleanup Day 2013.
Crystal has been an SDG&E employee for 15 years and a Coastal Cleanup Day site captain for close to 10 years. She can always be counted on to go wherever there is a need, and Coastal Cleanup Day has led her on expeditions to Encanto, Poway, Golden Hill, and Rancho Bernardo, among other places.
In her day job, Crystal works at SDG&E’s Environmental Lab, which does environmental sampling and test analyses. The Lab is certified to test for more than 500 chemical compounds, ensuring that SDG&E facilities are operating safely.
In Crystal’s decade of service at Coastal Cleanup Day, she says her favorite part of the annual volunteer event is seeing kids’ enthusiasm when they find a strange piece of trash. Whether it’s a shoe, a stuffed animal, or even a bathroom scale, kids often burst with excitement recounting where and how they found it, and in some instances, even make up stories for what they think the item is. It’s like trash show-and-tell.
Crystal also notes that she feels a sense of pride each year when she arrives at Coastal Cleanup Day to a sea of Team SDG&E volunteers outfitted in team t-shirts, which for many years were the two-toned tie-dye in the photo to the left. SDG&E and I Love A Clean San Diego are lucky to have folks like Crystal committed to ensuring a safe and successful cleanup for volunteers of all ages! This year, you can find Crystal helping out at the South Shores cleanup site in Mission Bay with Team SDG&E.
Hilary Haskell
Hilary participating in the 2016 City Heights Facelift with Team SDG&E.
Hilary has been an environmental enthusiast from a young age. In fact, in high school she conducted regular beach cleanups, and in college she interned with another environmental nonprofit, Orange County Coastkeeper. Fun fact: during Hilary’s internship, she helped to plan Kids’ Ocean Day in Orange County, aerial art and all! That’s the sister event to ILACSD’s San Diego Kids’ Ocean Day that occurs every spring.
Hilary joined SDG&E a little over two years ago and jumped right in with Coastal Cleanup Day. Last year, she led the San Dieguito Lagoon site for SDG&E, and this year you’ll find her at the Paradise Creek site in National City. Aside from having a good attitude and strong leadership qualities, Hilary brings another attribute to her role as site captain…she knows a lot about the environment! At SDG&E, she makes sure projects like the placing of a new power pole, or even the removal of one, don’t result in a detrimental environmental impact. She’s also one of the company’s leading sustainability advisors, helping to track SDG&E’s environmental performance in key areas.
While Hilary hasn’t been a part of Team SDG&E for very long, we anticipate that her involvement in Coastal Cleanup Day will continue for many years to come!
ILACSD is grateful for SDG&E’s longtime partnership and the hands-on role team members take on to make sure we knock Coastal Cleanup Day out of the park!
Preliminary analysis or your work on the Relationship Extraction task
We have been working on a preliminary analysis of the relationship extraction data generated by our fantastic Mark2Curators. This analysis is in the process of being written up into an academic paper and if your data was used for this paper, you will be given option of being credited on a page on our site dedicated to the contributors for this paper. We expect to have an email notifying contributors to the data set out by early next week, so keep an eye out for it.
San Diego Hackathon / Curation Jamboree
If you are in San Diego the week of October 14th, and have a background in software development, engineering, computational biology, bioinformatics, pathology, oncology, genomics, or biocuration--there is a hackathon/curation jamboree happening on October 15th-October 16th. The event is a joint event between the Griffith Labs, Su and Wu Labs and will cost $25 to register. Mark2Cure is a project of the Su Lab focusing on biomedical literature curation; while, the hackathon is focused on the CIViC resource from the Griffith labs. CIViC is an open access, open source, community-driven web resource for Clinical Interpretation of Variants in Cancer which aims to enable precision medicine by providing an educational forum for dissemination of knowledge and active discussion of the clinical significance of cancer genome alterations. You can learn more about this event at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cancer-variant-interpretation-hackathon-and-curation-jamboree-tickets-48287431006?aff=General
World Alzheimer Day
In case you missed it, September 21st is World Alzheimer’s day, and our friends at EyesOnAlz will be holding a world-wide Catchathon. Our very own TAdams organized a local team to participate in a previous Catchathon. If members of the Mark2Cure community are interested in teaming up and contributing with other Mark2Curators for this Catchathon, we would be happy to organize a Mark2Cure team for the event. Otherwise, if you are interested in contributing to Alzheimer’s research from the comfort of your own computer on an individual basis, we 100% encourage you to do so!
Science by the people and for the people—introducing a new Citizen Science project from the Knight Lab at UCSD
If you’ve ever wished that there was a citizen science project for answering questions about how nutrition and other habits affect health and other outcomes—there’s now a new platform to address your questions. This platform, Galileo, comes from the Knight Lab at the University of California, San Diego—the same lab that is responsible for the American Gut project!
Here’s how it works:
Learn more at gutinstinct.ucsd.edu/info
On Sunday, June 10, I Love A Clean San Diego celebrated our annual Summer Social, Toast the Coast! More than 125 friends and environmental advocates joined us at Karl Strauss Tasting Room and Beer Garden for a fun, family-friendly afternoon featuring craft beer from Karl Strauss, delicious tacos from Rubio’s Coastal Grill, live music from Shannon Patiño, and an exciting raffle that included a stay at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, Lauryn Hill concert tickets, and much more.
Musician, Shannon Patiño, rocked at Toast the Coast!
Enjoying Karl Strauss beers
Our guests couldn’t stop smiling after winning a raffle prize!
The event culminated in a celebration of Pauline Martinson, who stepped down after 12 years as I Love A Clean San Diego’s Executive Director, and the extraordinary growth ILACSD has experienced under her leadership. Pauline also announced that Natalie Roberts DeCarli, ILACSD’s longtime Senior Director of Operations, will serve as Interim Executive Director during the transition.
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We will miss you, Pauline!
Proceeds from Toast the Coast support ILACSD’s efforts to beautify and preserve San Diego County’s beaches, parks, and canyons; environmental education programs for youth and adults, and recycling and zero waste resources.
Buying raffle tickets!
Checking out our cool prizes!
Thank you to everyone who attended or contributed to Toast the Coast! Check out photos from the event on our Facebook page.
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Who doesn’t love puppies and pints?!
Smiling for a clean San Diego!
We hope you will join us for our next fundraising event, ILACSD’s annual Fall Social, which celebrates environmental action in our community! This year’s event, the Catamaran Wine Mixer, will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 11, at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa as the sun sets over Mission Bay. Sponsorships are available by contacting Natalie Roberts DeCarli, Interim Executive Director, at nroberts@cleansd.org. Tickets will go on sale August 1. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you so much to our Toast the Coast Sponsors
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Special thanks to Michelle Clifford Freeman for creating the beautiful signs featured at Toast the Coast!
On Sunday, June 10, I Love A Clean San Diego celebrated our annual Summer Social, Toast the Coast! More than 125 friends and environmental advocates joined us at Karl Strauss Tasting Room and Beer Garden for a fun, family-friendly afternoon featuring craft beer from Karl Strauss, delicious tacos from Rubio’s Coastal Grill, live music from Shannon Patiño, and an exciting raffle that included a stay at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, Lauryn Hill concert tickets, and much more.
Musician, Shannon Patiño, rocked at Toast the Coast!
Enjoying Karl Strauss beers
Our guests couldn’t stop smiling after winning a raffle prize!
The event culminated in a celebration of Pauline Martinson, who stepped down after 12 years as I Love A Clean San Diego’s Executive Director, and the extraordinary growth ILACSD has experienced under her leadership. Pauline also announced that Natalie Roberts DeCarli, ILACSD’s longtime Senior Director of Operations, will serve as Interim Executive Director during the transition.
.
We will miss you, Pauline!
Proceeds from Toast the Coast support ILACSD’s efforts to beautify and preserve San Diego County’s beaches, parks, and canyons; environmental education programs for youth and adults, and recycling and zero waste resources.
Buying raffle tickets!
Checking out our cool prizes!
Thank you to everyone who attended or contributed to Toast the Coast! Check out photos from the event on our Facebook page.
.
Who doesn’t love puppies and pints?!
Smiling for a clean San Diego!
We hope you will join us for our next fundraising event, ILACSD’s annual Fall Social, which celebrates environmental action in our community! This year’s event, the Catamaran Wine Mixer, will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 11, at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa as the sun sets over Mission Bay. Sponsorships are available by contacting Natalie Roberts DeCarli, Interim Executive Director, at nroberts@cleansd.org. Tickets will go on sale August 1. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you so much to our Toast the Coast Sponsors
.
.
Special thanks to Michelle Clifford Freeman for creating the beautiful signs featured at Toast the Coast!
On Sunday, June 10, I Love A Clean San Diego celebrated our annual Summer Social, Toast the Coast! More than 125 friends and environmental advocates joined us at Karl Strauss Tasting Room and Beer Garden for a fun, family-friendly afternoon featuring craft beer from Karl Strauss, delicious tacos from Rubio’s Coastal Grill, live music from Shannon Patiño, and an exciting raffle that included a stay at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, Lauryn Hill concert tickets, and much more.
Musician, Shannon Patiño, rocked at Toast the Coast!
Enjoying Karl Strauss beers
Our guests couldn’t stop smiling after winning a raffle prize!
The event culminated in a celebration of Pauline Martinson, who stepped down after 12 years as I Love A Clean San Diego’s Executive Director, and the extraordinary growth ILACSD has experienced under her leadership. Pauline also announced that Natalie Roberts DeCarli, ILACSD’s longtime Senior Director of Operations, will serve as Interim Executive Director during the transition.
.
We will miss you, Pauline!
Proceeds from Toast the Coast support ILACSD’s efforts to beautify and preserve San Diego County’s beaches, parks, and canyons; environmental education programs for youth and adults, and recycling and zero waste resources.
Buying raffle tickets!
Checking out our cool prizes!
Thank you to everyone who attended or contributed to Toast the Coast! Check out photos from the event on our Facebook page.
.
Who doesn’t love puppies and pints?!
Smiling for a clean San Diego!
We hope you will join us for our next fundraising event, ILACSD’s annual Fall Social, which celebrates environmental action in our community! This year’s event, the Catamaran Wine Mixer, will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 11, at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa as the sun sets over Mission Bay. Sponsorships are available by contacting Natalie Roberts DeCarli, Interim Executive Director, at nroberts@cleansd.org. Tickets will go on sale August 1. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you so much to our Toast the Coast Sponsors
.
.
Special thanks to Michelle Clifford Freeman for creating the beautiful signs featured at Toast the Coast!
Bike to Work Day is less than a week away! Are you ready to ride? Celebrated regionally in San Diego this year on Thursday, May 17, 2018, Bike to Work Day is a nationally recognized event that encourages everyone to GO by BIKE and supports biking as an everyday, environmentally friendly commute choice. However, if you’re not a regular rider, it’s important to think about a few things before you jump on two wheels. Here are a few things to review and prep to have a successful Bike to Work Day!
Before the Big Day
What You Need:
Well, first and foremost, you need a bike. According to iCommuteSD, “Participating in Bike to Work Day means using pedal power. Beach cruisers, mountain bikes, road bikes, elliptical bikes, electric bikes, and bikeshare bikes are all great ways to GO by BIKE.” You’ll want to make sure the type of bike you have is suitable for your ride (maybe avoid a beach cruiser if you’ll hit a lot of hills on your route). You’ll want to make sure your bike is in good condition before you go. Check the brakes, tires, and chain to make sure they are properly maintained. Make sure your bike fits you comfortably. Check your seat height and handlebars.
If it’s been a little while since you’ve been on your bike, chances are it needs a little maintenance.
If you don’t have a bike of your own, you might want to make sure you have a plan for utilizing a bikeshare bike on a day they will likely be very busy! Luckily, a few bikeshare programs will be running a Bike to Work Day special! Discover Bike, LimeBike, Mobike, and Ofo will all offer free bike rides for up to one hour on Thursday, May 17 to the first 100 people from 6 – 9 AM. Just use the following promo codes: Discover Bike (33844), LimeBike (LIME2WORK), Mobike (sandiegobtw), or Ofo (SDBTWD2018).
Break out your bike lock and helmet!
Outside of a bike, you’ll want to make sure you have a helmet! Safety is key on a bike.If you take a spill, you’ll want to make sure you have a helmet on and any other protective gear you prefer. California law requires everyone younger than 18 to wear a helmet. On top of a helmet, you’ll want to make sure you have a way to lock your bike up (unless you use a bikeshare bike). You can protect your bike with a lock (make sure you lock up your bike properly if you have any quick release tires) or utilize one of many bike parking or bike locker options.
Does your bike have a basket or spot to store a few things? If not, make sure you have a backpack or something to carry any items you might need to take to and from the office. If you have a long ride ahead of you, consider leaving a change of clothes and shoes in your office a day before. Make it easier on yourself and carry less by having anything you need to freshen up after your ride already at the office.
Depending on when you ride, you might need to consider lights for your bike as well. Being seen is vitally important! If the sun will be down for any portion of your ride, come prepared with lights. For longer trips, you might consider a patch kit and tire pump, but luckily, there will be plenty of pit stops on Bike to Work Day. Don’t forget your manners! Know all the hand signals for riding and always keep bike etiquette in mind!
Read up on the rules of the road before you bike if you are unfamiliar!
Plan Your Route:
Know where you want to go! It’s important to be safe when you share the road with motorists. Be prepared by knowing the best route to your office for when on two wheels! The best route to work in your car may not work so well on your bike. Use the iCommuteSD interactive Bike Map to help figure out the best way to GO by BIKE.
Get Registered:
Register for Bike to Work Day to get all of the information on pit stop locations and be a part of the thousands of commuters throughout the San Diego region participating in Bike to Work Day on Thursday, May 17. When you register for Bike to Work Day, you can pick up a free t-shirt at one of 100 pit stops throughout San Diego County from 6 to 9 AM (participants must show proof of registration to claim their free t-shirt).
While You Ride
People riding bikes have the same rights and responsibilities as people driving cars. You can use a rack or backpack to keep your hands free. Hand signals should always be used to indicate your turns. Avoid using headphones or a cell phone. Be aware of traffic laws just like you would in a car! Use bike lanes when available, but know your rights on the road when sharing with other vehicles!
Stay safe and feel free to take a break while you ride!
Need a Break? Hit a Pit Stop
A total of 100 Bike to Work Day pit stops are planned across San Diego County, which will be open from 6 to 9 AM on Thursday, May 17 for anyone who registers.Pit stops offer fun breaks for bike riders to rest and pick up a free t-shirt, snacks, and encouragement. Some stops may even be able to assist with minor maintenance if you run into an issue. For a list of the Bike to Work 2018 pit stop locations and to see what is offered at pit stops along your route, check out the pit stop map.
Go Beyond Bike to Work Day
GO by BIKE All Year Long
The fun doesn’t stop after Bike to Work Day! San Diego has over 1,570 miles of bikeways in the San Diego region, you can get almost anywhere by riding a bike. You can participate in the City of San Diego’s Transit Tuesdays every week on your bike. iCommute is always a helpful resource to get started with riding tips, information about taking your bike on transit, bike safety tips, and more.
We’re excited about your biking adventure and would love to see how it goes! Share your Bike to Work Day story with us by tagging I Love A Clean San Diego in your Bike to Work Day photos on social! PEDAL ON!
Bike to Work Day is less than a week away! Are you ready to ride? Celebrated regionally in San Diego this year on Thursday, May 17, 2018, Bike to Work Day is a nationally recognized event that encourages everyone to GO by BIKE and supports biking as an everyday, environmentally friendly commute choice. However, if you’re not a regular rider, it’s important to think about a few things before you jump on two wheels. Here are a few things to review and prep to have a successful Bike to Work Day!
Before the Big Day
What You Need:
Well, first and foremost, you need a bike. According to iCommuteSD, “Participating in Bike to Work Day means using pedal power. Beach cruisers, mountain bikes, road bikes, elliptical bikes, electric bikes, and bikeshare bikes are all great ways to GO by BIKE.” You’ll want to make sure the type of bike you have is suitable for your ride (maybe avoid a beach cruiser if you’ll hit a lot of hills on your route). You’ll want to make sure your bike is in good condition before you go. Check the brakes, tires, and chain to make sure they are properly maintained. Make sure your bike fits you comfortably. Check your seat height and handlebars.
If it’s been a little while since you’ve been on your bike, chances are it needs a little maintenance.
If you don’t have a bike of your own, you might want to make sure you have a plan for utilizing a bikeshare bike on a day they will likely be very busy! Luckily, a few bikeshare programs will be running a Bike to Work Day special! Discover Bike, LimeBike, Mobike, and Ofo will all offer free bike rides for up to one hour on Thursday, May 17 to the first 100 people from 6 – 9 AM. Just use the following promo codes: Discover Bike (33844), LimeBike (LIME2WORK), Mobike (sandiegobtw), or Ofo (SDBTWD2018).
Break out your bike lock and helmet!
Outside of a bike, you’ll want to make sure you have a helmet! Safety is key on a bike.If you take a spill, you’ll want to make sure you have a helmet on and any other protective gear you prefer. California law requires everyone younger than 18 to wear a helmet. On top of a helmet, you’ll want to make sure you have a way to lock your bike up (unless you use a bikeshare bike). You can protect your bike with a lock (make sure you lock up your bike properly if you have any quick release tires) or utilize one of many bike parking or bike locker options.
Does your bike have a basket or spot to store a few things? If not, make sure you have a backpack or something to carry any items you might need to take to and from the office. If you have a long ride ahead of you, consider leaving a change of clothes and shoes in your office a day before. Make it easier on yourself and carry less by having anything you need to freshen up after your ride already at the office.
Depending on when you ride, you might need to consider lights for your bike as well. Being seen is vitally important! If the sun will be down for any portion of your ride, come prepared with lights. For longer trips, you might consider a patch kit and tire pump, but luckily, there will be plenty of pit stops on Bike to Work Day. Don’t forget your manners! Know all the hand signals for riding and always keep bike etiquette in mind!
Read up on the rules of the road before you bike if you are unfamiliar!
Plan Your Route:
Know where you want to go! It’s important to be safe when you share the road with motorists. Be prepared by knowing the best route to your office for when on two wheels! The best route to work in your car may not work so well on your bike. Use the iCommuteSD interactive Bike Map to help figure out the best way to GO by BIKE.
Get Registered:
Register for Bike to Work Day to get all of the information on pit stop locations and be a part of the thousands of commuters throughout the San Diego region participating in Bike to Work Day on Thursday, May 17. When you register for Bike to Work Day, you can pick up a free t-shirt at one of 100 pit stops throughout San Diego County from 6 to 9 AM (participants must show proof of registration to claim their free t-shirt).
While You Ride
People riding bikes have the same rights and responsibilities as people driving cars. You can use a rack or backpack to keep your hands free. Hand signals should always be used to indicate your turns. Avoid using headphones or a cell phone. Be aware of traffic laws just like you would in a car! Use bike lanes when available, but know your rights on the road when sharing with other vehicles!
Stay safe and feel free to take a break while you ride!
Need a Break? Hit a Pit Stop
A total of 100 Bike to Work Day pit stops are planned across San Diego County, which will be open from 6 to 9 AM on Thursday, May 17 for anyone who registers.Pit stops offer fun breaks for bike riders to rest and pick up a free t-shirt, snacks, and encouragement. Some stops may even be able to assist with minor maintenance if you run into an issue. For a list of the Bike to Work 2018 pit stop locations and to see what is offered at pit stops along your route, check out the pit stop map.
Go Beyond Bike to Work Day
GO by BIKE All Year Long
The fun doesn’t stop after Bike to Work Day! San Diego has over 1,570 miles of bikeways in the San Diego region, you can get almost anywhere by riding a bike. You can participate in the City of San Diego’s Transit Tuesdays every week on your bike. iCommute is always a helpful resource to get started with riding tips, information about taking your bike on transit, bike safety tips, and more.
We’re excited about your biking adventure and would love to see how it goes! Share your Bike to Work Day story with us by tagging I Love A Clean San Diego in your Bike to Work Day photos on social! PEDAL ON!
Learn more at gutinstinct.ucsd.edu/info
