Letter: Tahoe Bike Challenge a growing success

To the community,

With your support, we have just completed the 8th annual Tahoe Bike Challenge and made significant changes to the campaign that produced measurable results.

I have prepared a thorough event summary for your review. I realize this time of year is busy for your professional and personal life, so I greatly appreciate your time in glancing at the attached document. Should you have any questions, suggestions and/or offers, please feel welcome in contacting me and I will be delighted to be of service.

In reviewing the results, I see great opportunity to increase participation in 2014 and I’m hopeful you will join us to help make that a new reality. One of the key growth opportunities is to engage agencies, organizations and businesses to get more involved internally with their staff/employees, and externally by being more strategic by cross-promoting the campaign — leveraging everyone’s combined resources (email lists, websites, newsletters, etc.).

The Tahoe Bike Challenge is the only basinwide bicycle promotional campaign that is working to transform behavior, reduce dependence on the automobile, improve public and environmental health, stimulate the economy, and demonstrate the need for a basinwide bikeway system connecting our communities. By getting all of us working together, using the Challenge’s momentum, infrastructure, and good will, we can create a “tipping point” for community transformation and show the funding sources our commitment and need for more facilities.

Another new and exciting to the campaign is to extend the Tahoe Bike Challenge until Sept. 30, 2013, and thereby making all the tools available for our visitors. Imagine a family coming to Tahoe and signing up for the Challenge where they can log their miles, upload their photos, and share their Tahoe bike holiday stories about the amount of CO2 they didn’t emit into the atmosphere, the calories they burned, and the gasoline dollars saved – complete with photos and videos.

On behalf of the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, I want to personally thank you for helping us make the 2013 Tahoe Bike Challenge a success. We look forward to our continued success, growth and collaboration with you.

Kind regards,

Ty Polastri, Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition