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June 23, 2009

Boulder Celebrity Commuter Contest. Car (share) vs. Bicycle vs. Bus vs. Segway vs. Walking.

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Bike vs. Segway vs. Carshare vs. Bus…it’s the Boulder “Celebrity” Commuter Challenge!

Update! Turns out Waylon may not’ve won Boulder Commuter Contest after all! elephantjournal.com exclusive:

Yo Way,

I think we’re gonna have to have a showdown at the OK Corral, cuz here’s why I shoulda won da race…

I hit my first destination (Boulder Dushambe Tea House) where the appointed employee was waiting outside to initial the Bingo card. So far, so good! Then, immediately headed across town toward checkpoint #2 (Ellie’s Eco Home Store), but arrived there only to find Ellie’s still closed (sign on the door says: “Open at 9am”). What to do? From my accurate PDA phone history (asbelow): at 8:46am I called my wife. Darn, no answer. Finally heard back from Diana at 8:52am; she apologized for not answering the first time (’twas on the potty). No problem. Explained the situation, had her race up to my office to find Andrea Robbin’s phone number on my desk and call for instructions. Unilaterally decided not to wait around any longer and sped to my third destination (Sunflower Farmers Market grocery). Glided up to the shortest check-out lane and after the cashier bagged up Breakfast Tacos for the person in line before me, she had to call the Manager (who was somewhere in the back?) to bring their store’s sticker to the lane. Diana called back at 8:56am and told me, “Robin said it’s okay, just go on to the next place.” (Ha!) Sunflower’s Manager finally arrived, but she had to walk go get the right sticker (ugh!)… and then I’m out-the-door headed back to the starting gate.
 
MY FINAL SEGWAY TIME: 21 minutes, 30 seconds
WASTED TIME WAITING FOR INSTRUCTIONS & SUNFLOWER MANAGER: minus 6 minutes minimum
SEGWAY ADJUSTED TIME: ≤15 minutes, 30 seconds
versus:
WAYLON LEWIS’ FINAL BIKE TIME: 16 minutes, 30 seconds

 

 MORAL: Hanging chads hath no boundaries

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Original Article:

Take all the modes of public transport, including car, segway (!), bicycle, bus and walking…which is most practical? That’s what the Boulder Celebrity Challenge, in a fun way, sought to address and highlight.

I was honored to take part—and to come in first place, on my bike, beating the times of even the cars in going to three spots around the City and returning to home base…but the day wasn’t about winning, it was about celebrating a City designed for people, not cars (and for those who do need a car for errands and cold winter mornings, you can join the carshare!).

Here’s the Daily Camera article. Excerpt:

BOULDER, Colo. — Waylon Lewis, clad in a business suit and helmet, pedaled along Boulder bike paths and roads, stopped at three checkpoints around town and arrived at the Municipal Building as the fastest cyclist to participate in the city’s “Celebrity Commuter Challenge” on Monday.

Lewis, editor-in-chief of elephantjournal.com, was one of 27 participants in the annual challenge that incorporates local “celebrities” — such as Boulder Mayor Matt Appelbaum...read the rest, go to the Camera article!

Simply click the large photo below to toggle through the slideshow:

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