Bicycle Paper.com :: Articles :: Bike Benefits

Bike Benefits - It Pays to be a Cyclist!

By Jana Moseley and BP Staff

If you ride your bike around town, you may want to stop by a local Bicycle Benefits business to receive discounts on goods and services. Never heard of it? According to their website, “Bicycle Benefits is a progressive bicycling program designed to reward individuals and businesses for their commitment to cleaner air, personal health, and the use of pedaling energy in order to create a more sustainable community.”

The concept is straightforward — businesses reward people who arrive by bike. Enrolling in the program is easy, business owners simply have to register on Bicycle Benefits’ website and establish the discount they will provide to cyclists. They receive a decal to place on their storefront window as well as display materials explaining the details. As a cyclist you can join by purchasing a helmet sticker from any of the participating stores. Without further ado, you get to reap the rewards each time you purchase from an affiliated company, just by showing your sticker. It’s a win-win for everyone involved; bicyclists receive discounts on just about anything, or a freebie, while the businesses are promoted on Bicycle Benefits’ website. Also, the decal helps them attract additional cyclists/customers. With any luck, it gets more people out of their cars and onto bikes.

Started in 2007 in Saratoga Springs, New York, Bicycle Benefits (BB) has expanded its reach to fourteen states and into Canada. In Washington, 64 businesses in Seattle (53) and Spokane (11) participate in the movement, while in Oregon and British Columbia, the program is still in its infancy with 2 and 11 businesses, respectively, registered so far.

Ian Klepetar, 31, the founder of the program, speaks candidly about Bicycle Benefits’ mission: “I witnessed a cyclist get hit by a car ... and ultimately that person lost his life due to that accident. I didn’t know anything about bicycle transportation but I started an organization that tried to make my city [Saratoga Springs] more bicycle and pedestrian safe.”

Modeled after Salt Lake City Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (MBAC) program Pedal Pass, where cyclists can present a card to certain retailers and receive a discount, Bicycle Benefits transformed the idea into something that promotes helmet use (by using a helmet sticker in lieu of a card) as well as creating a national business network to support the initiative. No matter what city riders are from, they can take advantage of the discount program at any business they may find themselves.

While the program is still in its early stages — initially Klepetar, along with family and friends, went business to business to gain local support — retailers and cyclists alike are now jumping on board and are excited about its potential.

“I’m trying to make the program more beneficial to local organizations that want to see it happen in their hometown,” Klepetar says, and he goes on to explain that the success of Bicycle Benefits will depend heavily on local businesses and cyclists being proactive in getting new members involved.

“It’s mainly been a huge success. I get emails from cyclists saying they’re saving a ton of money, and they only shop at BB locations now ... I guess the hardest thing is to keep employees informed of the program and to get business owners to be proactive, to keep literature out there and basically get the information out to cyclists, business owners and customers,” he comments.

As Bicycle Benefits continues to grow, Klepetar talks about his vision for its future, saying, “I’d like to see it as a way of unifying the bicycle movement on a national level. I find that Bicycle Benefits is often times the first step that one might take into bike advocacy, purchasing a sticker and using it at different businesses.

Klepetar’s vision is requiring some sort of a paradigm shift for some, as for many people, their perception of riding a bicycle means that you either can’t get a driver’s license or you don’t have any money to buy a car. It needs to be switched around according to him, “to view bicycles as a mode of transportation that ultimately benefits everyone.”

Klepetar wants to make a difference. After graduating from Montana State University and dabbling in various activities like teaching English in Argentina, being a competitive skier, teaching at a preschool ... even a little male dancing, explaining, “I’ve done a little bit of everything, but I got to a point where I felt that changing how we move ourselves is an important issue and the bicycle is a great tool as far as solving a lot of our current problems.”

Whether you are in it for the discount, to promote helmet use, or to support cycling as a means of transportation, the program is beneficial to businesses and cyclists alike. To learn how to get others involved, visit

www.bicyclebenefits.org.

List of Participating Businesses:

Seattle, WA

Anita’s Crêpes, Babeland, BalMar, Bhima’s on Broadway, Bike So Good, Bootyland Sustainable Urban Fashion, Bulldog News, Cafe Pettirosso, Caffé Vita (4 locations), Canal Street Coffee, Center Peace Program, Central Cinema, Chiropractic Wellness Center, Chris Flanagan, L.Ac., Qi Plumber, Communichi Community Acupuncture, Danaca Design, Epilogue Books, Evo, Flowers on 15th, Fremont Abbey Arts Center, Healeo, Izilla Toys, Jive Time Records, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Katy’s Corner Café, Liberty, Medini’s Ravioli Station, Monster Art and Clothing, Oddfellows Café, Pacific Supply Co., Petapoluza, Seattle Running Company, Short Stop Coffee, Skin Deep Dance Studio, Snoose Junction Pizzeria, Swanson Shoe Repair, The Copper Vine, The Feedbag Pet Provisions, The Flower Lady, The Massage Sanctuary, Tidbit Bistro, Trade Route Brewing Co., Treehouse Bar and Grill, U-Frame-It, Utrecht Art Supply, Vermillion Art Bar, Zaw Pizza (3 locations), Zayda Buddy’s Pizza

Spokane, WA

Coffee Social, David’s Pizza, Ferrante’s, Lantern Tavern, Pedals 2 People, Perry St. Café, Pizza Rita (3 locations), Sante Restaurant & Charcuterie, The Scoop

Oregon

Frans Pauwels Memorial Community Bike Center (Aloha), Garnish Apparel (Portland)

British Columbia

Ave Maria Gifts & Health Foods, Cycle Logic, Evergreen Pharmacy, Northern Cycle & Sport, Pizzarico’s, Prince George Public Library (Bob Harkin’s Branch), Sassafras Savories, Stride and Glide Sports, The Chinese Store, The Waddling Duck, Wasabi Sushi & Wonton House