NPS Provides Inspiration for Bike Parking–and Biking!

The cool bicycle corrals at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey are inspirational.  Imagine such corrals all over Monterey County–including at elementary and high schools, at transit plazas, and elsewhere.

Maybe you will do some grant research and writing, or even just initiate conversations with municipal leaders, cycling organizations, and civic groups about how to get more terrific bike parking in the county.  Who knows where such conversations  could lead….

Bicycling ambassadors for Monterey County

There’s something even better than the bike corrals going on at NPS:  the actions of the NPS Cycling Club members, which ripple throughout Monterey County.

This is not only visible in the friendly men and women out biking in their NPS jerseys, it is also demonstrated through their commitment to bike advocacy.

Whether serving informally as ambassadors for cycling through their safe, predictable riding, or doing formal bike advocacy at events and elsewhere, the NPS Cycling Club is out there regularly, actively involved in Monterey County’s bicycling community.

Read below to learn more!

Thank you to Joe Strunk for providing these photographs of some  NPS bike corrals.

NPS Cycling Club in action

Active in both road and mountain biking, the NPS Cycling Club includes approximately 100 active and over 300 legacy members.  Members are military officers attending NPS or the Defense Language Institute, and all over the world, as well as instructors, support personnel, and spouses.

See their calendar of regularly scheduled activities on the NPS Cycling Club webpage.  Here are just a few examples of  their local bike leadership.  NPS members:

• Provide information and support at public events, such as the Seaside Police Activities League’s PAL Bike Fair.
• Attend city planning meetings, where they speak up on behalf of everyone who wants to bike within the city.
• Host cycling events benefiting local charities, such as the holiday Twilight Ride benefiting the Pacific Grove Kiwanis Santa Project.
• Share countywide cycling resources at campus functions, such as the annual Earth Day celebrations.
• Back the HER Helmet Thursdays project–at their Twilight Rides,  on their webpage, and through patronizing the businesses and organizations.
• Support Bike Week events, such as the Dress-Up Challenge, through active participation.
• Serve as another good information resource for serious cyclists in Monterey County.

Say hi on the bikeways

When you see NPS jerseys out in the community, please give these cyclists a smile or wave.  Let them know how much their contributions are appreciated in Monterey County!

Photos below were taken at the NPS Cycling Club-hosted May 18, 2011 Twilight Ride at Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca

Above:  Devin, Tyler, and Dena Donnell

Above:  Hosts NPS Cycling Club welcomes Salinas High Cowboy Racing team members to the 5/18/11 Twilight Ride.

Photo below, taken at the Naval Postgraduate School in 2010, provided courtesy of Javier Chagoya.

Starting school in Monterey County? 

See “Back to the books–and bikes.”