CoolMom Director Thinking Outside the Car
Travel along and experience the ins and outs of carbon-less miles as Director, Terri Glaberson walks, bikes and takes mass transit throughout the month of May. Help her raise over $2,000 by pledging your support.
biking for CoolMom
I am taking on this years carbon-less travel pledge drive with renewed energy and tips. I learned some valuable lessons last year. Always travel with a spare tube, rain gear is my friend, and it pays to practice changing a flat tire. I plan to put these into practice this month and mother nature is obliging with some May showers.
This year my goal is to travel 70 miles and double my pledges earned from last year. I hope to raise over $2,000 for my efforts by traveling by my own two feet, my trusty bike and/or taking the bus or the water taxi.
To support my efforts, donate on our site or send a check to CoolMom, PO Box 46228, Seattle, WA 98146 to put towards the $2,000 goal. I will document my travels by these carbon-less means here. Please share your stories and comments as I travel along.
Inspired? Then put on those carbon-less shoes. Details to gather your own pledges can be found here. Thank you and safe travels!
Think Outside the Car Travel Blog
My total miles for the month of May was 75.63 miles. I reached my goal of 70 miles plus added a few more for good measure. Thank you to all who made pledges towards my carbon-less travel efforts. I didn't quite meet my monetary goal due to tougher economic times, but am pleased to have reduced my carbon emissions by approximately 3500 lbs.
Fourth Week Total: 17.92 miles
May 24
15.24 miles. Mission accomplished. I biked the last twelve and some miles to complete my goal of 70 miles for the pledge drive today. The water taxi and my bike were my modes of transportation to get to two downtown meetings. I discovered that along Elliot Ave. West you take your life in your hands if you attempt to travel by bike. The Elliot Ave. cross over and the Elliot Bay Trail is great for getting from the Olympic Sculpture Park to Magnolia or in my case, getting to Interbay WholeFoods, for my morning meeting. The route home I traveled along Alaska Way where I could see all the happenings around the Alaska Way viaduct.
May 22
2.68 miles. A family bike ride to lunch, then on to the Lincoln park for some play time in the park.
Third Week Total: 8.02 miles
May 18
4.32 miles. Took in that sun today atop my bike. What a great day for getting some Vitamin D and some fresh air!
May 16
3.7 miles. Took the Water Taxi to Coffee Works for a downtown meeting. Almost missed the Water Taxi heading into town, but got on just in time. The return trip was an interesting one. Sixty-six kids and some chaperones joined me on the way back to West Seattle, so much for my quiet reflective trip back to Alki. The plus side, some great seal lions basking in the semi-sun atop a buoy were a delight to watch. I couldn't have experienced that if I traveled in my car!
Second Week Total: 30.96 miles
May 14
.8 miles. Family walk to Endloyn Joe's for dinner. We hitched a ride back from our friends, heading in the same direction, due to down pour. Gotta love that 5 minute weather change in Seattle!
May 13
1.3 miles. Nice walk home from Locol, a great wine and bar hang out in West Seattle. Great night for hoofing it.
May 12
12.68 miles. Traveled by bike for a meeting in the West Seattle Junction. Met Sara Wysocki from Seattle's Office of Sustainability and Environment to give her an update on our No-Idle Campaign. Greenwood Elementary began data collection in April and are winding up their car idling data collection next week. They will be having a Science Fair on May 26th and will be showing their findings for the No-Idle project at their school. Pretty exciting stuff! After my meeting with Sara, I delivered some Chinook Books in Alki for prizes and thank yous towards the Greenwood Elementary No-Idle project. It was great not riding in the rain.
May 10
16.18 miles. What do seals, Bill Gates and a Walking-School-Bus vest have in common? All three were seen, enjoyed, and picked up via low-carbon means. I attended the Climate Solutions Breakfast on Tuesday, but not before a misty bike ride to the West Seattle Water Taxi where I climbed aboard and enjoyed a 10 minute ride to Pier 50 and was entertained by some playful seals along the way. After arriving by two wheels at the Westin and a quick change of clothing, I enjoyed some great company [about 1200 or so in attendance at the Climate Solutions breakfast]. I dream of that for CoolMom one day.... I enjoyed as always, KC Golden's call to action and inspirational message of hope and McKinstry CEO, Dean Allen, as he shared vision and possibilities for energy efficiency. Bill Gates shared a formula CO2= P (people) x S (services) x E (efficiency for each of these services) x C (Carbon output for each) and explained if one of them is Zero we then solve the problem of Climate Change. Although I believe in math and science and studied both in college, I question a couple of things, but most notable I didn't hear anything in this formula that addressed the idea of conservation, looking at what we want vs what we actually need. The notion that there is going to be a new technology that solves this issue also brings me pause. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to hear that Bill Gates has climbed a board the believer train and that he has spent the last two years getting educated and advocating for federal funding towards climate change research and development. However, I am a bit disheartened about his current stance on nuclear given the recent Japanese catastrophe that is still affecting lives in Japan and will affect others beyond their borders. Let's just include in the conversation the topic of conservation and wise use of our resources, driving less, consuming less, and conserving our resources.
First Week Total: 18.73 miles
May 7
4.2 miles. Picked up CoolMom mail at Post Office by bike. Then stopped by Starbucks for some Almonds, a needed boost after tacking on this errand to a training ride.
May 6
4.13 miles. The triple header. Errand check. Exercise check. Ran the dog check. Feels so good to be efficient and get all three things accomplished at the same time. The hills of West Seattle really got my heart pumping today.
May 5
6.20 miles. Felt pure happiness on my bike tonight. Biked to a meeting in the Junction. It took me only 15 minutes from home. Really not to much longer than by car and 0 fuel miles.
May 3
4.2 miles today. I feel those 7 months of not biking... wow has it really been that long! Note to self, don't wait that long in between rides. My legs felt like I had to get the rustiness out of them, a bit heavy from the lack of turning those cranks. Oh, but what a wonderful day to ride. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it wasn't sub 50 degrees! Now if those darn potholes on Beach Drive could only be fixed, my ride would have been golden. For any of you cyclist riding along that route, you know what I am talking about. Happy riding!
