April 22, 2005 – At a ceremony in Medford on April 16th, fifteen Rogue Valley residents took possession of brand new vehicles that will carry them to work, carry their shopping, help them connect with their neighborhoods on a personal level, reduce pollution, reduce traffic congestion and help them stay fit in the process. Sound like an unusual vehicle? Not if that vehicle is a bicycle.

The event was part of the annual fundraiser for the Bear Creek Greenway Foundation, a group dedicated to healthful mobility in the Rogue Valley region. The fifteen “Bike First” winners picked up Breezer Villager bicycles equipped with everything they’ll need to get healthy while getting where they need to go.
Bike First, a program to encourage healthful transportation choices, was announced in January and received over 40 applications from Rogue Valley residents who pledged to choose a bicycle as their first choice for local trips.

“I was impressed with the wide demographics of the applicants,” said Chris Haynes, owner of Sims Cycle of Medford, Oregon. “We had students, professionals, married couples, parents with small children, even grandparents.”

Each Bike First winner contributed $150 to the program and was issued a stock Breezer Villager with easy shifting, low-maintenance internal gearing, rear cargo carrier, fenders, generator lights, lock, and bell. Also included were a helmet, grocery-bag pannier, and cycle computer. The total package including bicycle education and maintenance was worth over $1,000.

The program’s primary funding came from a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Grant received by the Transportation Options Department of Rogue Valley Transportation District. It was planned by RVTD and Sims Cycle and co-sponsored by Breezer Bicycles, Specialized, Siskiyou Velo, and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.
At the Bear Creek Greenway Foundation’s formal presentation at Red Lion Inn, the ceremony began with short speeches by project sponsors, including the designer of the bikes, Joe Breeze of Breezer Bicycles of Sausalito, California. Medford City Council-person Claudette Moore spoke glowingly of the program’s benefits to the community.

At Sims Cycle earlier on Saturday, Bike First participants attended a two-hour bicycle education class facilitated by Robert Ping of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Oregon’s statewide bicycle advocacy organization. The class focused on safe, legal riding practices in traffic and how to be courteous, comfortable and confident while riding.

Statistics show that 40% of all car trips are 2 miles in length or less. The aim of Bike First is to offer a healthful choice to replace many shorter trips with bike trips. Bike First participants will be surveyed periodically to gauge the effectiveness of the program.

“One of the goals of the Bike First Rogue Valley program is to compare the “˜rideability’ of each community through the winners’ eyes,” said Paige West of RVTD’s Transportation Options Program. “Each city has areas conducive to bicycling, and other spots that are not. Pathway and roadway conditions, auto speed, traffic, and how they are treated by other road users are rideablity factors. My hope is that the program will make all road users more respectful of each other to increase safety and improve conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists so that others can choose to bike first.” Happy Earth Day!

Further contact information:
John Doidge at Breezer Bicycles (415) 339-8917 or Joe Breeze at joe@breezerbikes.com. See Breezers at www.breezerbikes.com