STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Bike More, Drive Less.

That’s the challenge being issued to Hailey residents during the first week of October.

The City of Hailey, Climate Action Coalition and the ERC are asking adults and kids to incorporate biking, walking and bus riding into their get-around-town mode this fall. And they’re kickstarting it with the Bike More, Drive Less challenge between Oct. 1 and 7.

Just because summer’s over doesn’t mean you have to put your bike away, said Elizabeth Jeffrey, a co-founder of the Climate Action Coalition.

Biking should be easier and safer than ever, she said, thanks to the dedicated bike lanes the city has earmarked around town. And people can see the changing maple and aspen leaves better from the seat of their bike than from behind the wheel of a car.

Organizers hope to have 500 bicycle trips replace 500 car trips between Oct. 1 and 7.

“I guesstimate that, given an average of five miles to and from trip and our heavy use of trucks and SUVs in the valley, that we’ll save one ton of CO2 emissions,” said Jeffrey.

Volunteers will conduct random bike counts at coffee houses and schools and participants can scan the QR code to log their ride/walk/or bus ride at Bike More, Drive Less signs around town and at Hailey schools.

Not only does biking and walking improve your physical and mental health but it helps keep the mountain air fresh since fewer pollutants are being emitted from combustion engines, said Jeffrey. And there’s an additional incentive: Hailey Coffee Company, Black Owl and Java are offering 30 percent off  coffee orders to those who ride to the coffee house on bike and show their helmet at the cash register.-

“If you haven’t used your bike to get around town very much, you might be surprised to find that it’s easier to bike to your most common destinations than you think, as most Hailey businesses and schools are within a 20-minue bike ride from your door to theirs,” said Jeffrey.

 SHOW OFF YOUR BIKE KNOWLEDGE

Sawtooth Brewery in Hailey will host a bike-focused trivia contest from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4. The first 20 bicyclists who don’t have bike lights will get a free set just for playing, courtesy of the City of Hailey and Trailhead Bikes.