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What are some good fundraising ideas for winter?

I need ideas for promoting winter bicycling!

  • Give me your great ideas for promoting winter cycling in frigid Wisconsin! Tomorrow night, my local http://www.bikewinter.org chapter has our first meeting. This will be our second year promoting winter cycling in Madison. Last year, we had a winter cycling fashion show (with reverse stripteases!) and some urban group rides with various themes and not-themes. I'd like to bring some awesome ideas to the table for this year, but I'm not a terribly creative person. Give me some awesome ideas for this year! We're looking for anything that increases positive feeling toward winter bicycling, particularly showing folks how safe, comfortable, easy, and rewarding it can be to ride bikes in the colder months.

  • Answer:

    I'm sure you've looked at http://bikewinter.org/ for basic ideas... and I think that's Mefi's own Juliet Banana on the front page, or some sort of clone. An idea, however, would be to have a "fender bender", some time in late October/early November. Start at a amenable bike shop, where people can get fenders, and other inclement cycling gear, if they don't already have them, and then proceed to bike together to two or three attractive pubs or locations for food and drink to reward your cyclists. Winter cycling is a combination of hardy temperament and having the proper gear. The key would be to line up the bike shop carefully and then hey! it's fun party on wheels that you could do every month or so.

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I live in Madison and commute by bike from March through November. If you want me to stay on my bike the other four months, you need to tell me the city has a plan for keeping ice off the bike paths, or teach me a technique for not slipping on it, because that is scary. I don't mind the cold at all (I chose to live here, didn't I?) but I don't want to feel at risk of falling. Feel free to MeMail if you want to have a more in-depth conversation with a representative eight-month Madison cyclist.

escabeche

If you want me to stay on my bike the other four months, you need to tell me the city has a plan for keeping ice off the bike paths, or teach me a technique for not slipping on it, because that is scary. Well, to paraphrase a Swedish saying "there is no bad weather, only inappropriate equipment." I ride year-round in Stockholm. http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp are what you need. Buy the Nokian if you can. They use ceramic studs and don't wear out as quickly in an urban environment.

three blind mice

Juliet Banana is severely underdressed. I bike year round in Chicago and I used to do it in Madison. I'm aware of Bike Winter Chicago mostly because of their sticker campaign, but also because of their fun rides that are either put on by them or are taken under their wing--namely the http://www.thechainlink.org/events/event/show?id=2211490%3AEvent%3A266238&xg_source=activity&page=1#comments, a 60 round trip to a brewpub in Indiana, and the http://www.google.com/search?q=chicago+santa+rampage&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=eGP&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1740&bih=912&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&ei=XUlwTpPMA8Kitge_v6n7CQ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CCYQ_AUoAQ. If I were in Madison and someone planned a January ride to New Glarus I'd be all over it (although I know New Glarus isn't a brewpub.) Having figured out the gear I need the hard way in Wisconsin (ask me about my ride during finals week when we had -60 wind chill), I haven't really needed Bike Winter's tips and tricks, but I've been impressed that they've had http://bikewinter.org/fleece nights and other how-to events. When I was a student I had very little money for gear, so any tips on how to stay warm on the cheap would have been very welcome.

hydrophonic

Frigid Wisconsin???? I live north of 60 in the Yukon where serious winters exist - OK, actually, it may be a fact that you actually get way more snow, blowing snow, blizzards and cold weather than we do but it does sound impressive when you say you come from the Yukon doesn't it? I do a lot of walking myself but there is a very active cycling club up here that goes all year long. Check out their http://www.velonorth.ca/ which will give you some ideas as well as contact up here to help you out.

YukonQuirm

Here on Boulder they have a http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10334&Itemid=3390 with prizes and free food and other neat stuff.

Confess, Fletch

Visit the bike shops around town and find the one that (1) has the best selection of snow tires and studs, and (2) is most knowledgable and friendly. Then invite them to do a presentation at one of your club meetings (with a title like "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Bicycle Snow Tires"), including a drawing for a free pair of snow tires (which the shop donates). Your members will love it for the info and free tires, and the shop will love it because it advertises them and their tires. Win-win.

exphysicist345

Chuckles

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