Biking to Work: Making the Bike Gang Cool Again

M!"#$% &'( b#"( %!$% )**+ !%!#$.slow your roll

remember when biking everywhere was the shit?

what happened to this?

what happened to u.s.?

wouldn’t it be awesome if the case for biking to work were as simple as a play for one’s health and financial savings?

wouldn’t it be awesome if the case for biking to work were as simple as a play for one’s health and financial savings?

Biking to work leads to weight loss

Bikers lose up to 30lbs. in the first year alone

Biking to work leads to weight loss

Bikers lose up to 30lbs. in the first year alone

3 hours of biking per week reduces cancer risk

Chances of heart disease and stroke drop by 50%

Biking to work leads to weight loss

Bikers lose up to 30lbs. in the first year alone

3 hours of biking per week reduces cancer risk

Chances of heart disease and stroke drop by 50%

Biking improves stamina and focus

Energy increases 20% and fatigue decreases 65%

not working

wouldn’t it be awesome if the case for biking to work were as simple as a play for one’s health and financial savings?

Car ownership in 2012 rose to $8,946

The cost of owning a bike each year is $308

Stand-still traffic costs drivers $700/yr. in wasted fuel

Bikers can earn $20/mo. in tax-free reimbursements

Car ownership in 2012 rose to $8,946

The cost of owning a bike each year is $308

Drivers spend $20B/yr. on parking and meters

The average cost of a bike lock on Amazon is $30

Stand-still traffic costs drivers $700/yr. in wasted fuel

Bikers can earn $20/mo. in tax-free reimbursements

Car ownership in 2012 rose to $8,946

The cost of owning a bike each year is $308

still not working

this leads me to believe it’s a cultural issue

so let’s look at our problem to solve in the form of a model

CHANGING BEHAVIORS

BRAND VISION

Desired Behavior

Current Behavior barrier

#1barrier

#2

Ov!r"r#$%&' I(!"

BRAND VISION

Ov!r"r#$%&' I(!"

Very few bike commuters

Bike commuting as

culturally accepted

CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR

barrier#1

barrier#2

BRAND VISION

Ov!r"r#$%&' I(!"

Very few bike commuters

Bike commuting as

culturally accepted

CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR

barrier#1

barrier#2

PRETENTIOUSNESS

A model rocking a $3,000 Italian suit, sporting a throwback one-speeder, and kitschy overnight tote is about as close as we’ll get to a high-powered exec

biking to work. American society dictates a hierarchy of spending proportionate to the amount of money

we pull down each year. Powerful men are expected to push powerful whips. It’s an outward expression of

success. It’s an identity. And it’s the identity that corporate climbers and bottom-feeding minions alike exhaust themselves to replicate. A trend of c-suitors pedaling to work while identity-less Beamers sit in

cookie-cutter suburban driveways is idealistic at best.

PRETENTIOUSNESS

BRAND VISION

Ov!r"r#$%&' I(!"

Very few bike commuters

Bike commuting as

culturally accepted

COUNTER-INTUITION

CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR

barrierpretentiousness

barrier#2

It’s assumed that because a bicycle requires manual labor and can only propel any individual at mediocre

speeds, it will take longer and be inconvenient to navigate a commute on a bike. But this flies in the

face of data showing that half of the working population in the U.S. commutes five miles or less to work, which on a bike would take less time or, in rare instances, the same amount of time as commuting by car. Couple this with ill-conceived notions that finding

a place to safely lock one’s bike for the day, and it’s no wonder that few people brave the concrete

concourse on two wheels.

COUNTER-INTUITION

the idea

CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR

Very few bike commuters

Bike commuting as

culturally accepted

Tr#)"+(-D*w$ C,)+($*-#).

barriercounter-intuition

barrierpretentiousness

While this is a play on words from Reagan’s economic policy, it’s an idea that stems

more from Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy

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CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR

Tr#)"+(-D*w$ C,)+($*-#).

Very few bike commuters

Bike commuting as

culturally accepted

barriercounter-intuition

barrierpretentiousness

Create a coalition of the most powerful and successful men in a city to overcome barriers and drive influence through bike gangs.

not only will a bike gang of a community’s most powerful men and women influence the

behavior of the people they employ, it will change the perception of biking to work and

influence policy-makers to take action

two ideal outcomes

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES

Employers, politicians, and influencers setting an example for a community, and thereby becoming a

catalyst for change. Bike Friendly America provides a toolkit of projects, policies, programs, and plans

designed to make biking better. Witnessing firsthand the benefits and joy of biking to work, our gangs are

the decision makers to make such communities a reality. In Portland, OR, the implementation of a BFC

increased biking to work by 74%.

France has started a six-month experiment with paying people to cycle to work, joining other

European governments in trying to boost bicycle use. In France, some 20 companies and institutions

employing a total of 10,000 people have signed up to pay their staff 25 euro cents (34 U.S. cents) per

kilometer to bike to work. In Belgium, about 8% of all commutes are on bicycles. In the Netherlands, it is

about 25%. Such policies need sign-off from individuals at the top of the ladder. And while tax breaks have proven ineffective in the U.S., maybe monthly deposits will take hold. TDB is the fastest way to expose the decision-makers to this idea.

A LESSON FROM OVERSEAS

a shift in behavior will require the buy-in of a community. But i believe it should begin at

the top and filter to the bottom. if as a people we emulate the behaviors of those we

wish to become, it’s those individuals who can and should drive change

thanks for riding along.C'r#. B!rb((, S($#*r Br!$0 P+!$$(r

)'r#..b!rb((@-(.)*-