Local scientists ride their hurricanes

UCAR has a fleet of community bikes -- named after storms

By Laura Snider
Monday, October 27, 2008

At the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, a world-renowned weather scientist could ride Hurricane Hugo to lunch. Or a student researcher could hop on Hurricane Rita for a quick trip across Foothills Parkway to commute from one campus to another.

These hurricanes, of course, aren't the fierce storms that feed on the warm Atlantic waters, occasionally slamming into the coast. These hurricanes are blue bicycles painted with bright yellow fenders and affectionately named after some of the tropical storms studied by local scientists.

UCAR -- which manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research -- has a fleet of about 30 bicycles that employees and visitors can ride. Many of them are checked out long-term by visiting scientists or local employees that want to cut back on their fossil fuel consumption. But a handful of the bikes are set aside for day use only, and they're used by employees who just want to zip out for lunch or commute from one of UCAR's three campuses to another.

"The blue bikes provide our staff with a means of getting around," said Kimberly Kosmenko, UCAR's sustainability coordinator. "A lot of our students and visitors take them. They don't usually have cars to get around."

But the bikes are meant as more than a convenience; they're also part of a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make UCAR a greener place.

To make the bike fleet a reality, UCAR contracted with Community Cycles, a Boulder nonprofit dedicated to energizing a sustainable cycling community. Community Cycles provides the bikes and the tune-ups. The bikes are popular -- in the summer, cyclists have to get there pretty early to find the bikes available on the racks.

"When you come on a weekday, the rack could be completely empty," said Rich Points, executive director of Community Cycles. "This winter, we're going to explore putting on studded snow tires."

Community Cycles has partnered with other local businesses, like McGraw Hill, to provide fleets -- sometimes teaching the employees to do their own maintenance -- but they're actively seeking more partners.

Set up your own bicycle fleet

Community Cycles works with local businesses and government agencies to provide and maintain bicycle fleets.

The fleets can be set up in a couple of ways, but the most popular method is to have about a dozen employees visit Community Cycles for a four-hour session when experienced mechanics can help employees learn about basic maintenance and tune-ups. After, the group can take three to five bikes back to their workplace for people to use to run errands, grab lunch or even commute.

Community Cycles can also paint the bikes in your company's colors. For more information, contact Community Cycles at 720-565-6019.

Rich Points, executive director of Community Cycles, services bikes at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder last week. The bikes are available for anyone to use and are often borrowed to ride between campuses, grab a bite to eat at lunch, or by students and visiting scientists with no other means of transportation.