Team Captain Toolkit

Are you a team captain this year? To help you put together a winning strategy for the 2016 Bike Everywhere Challenge, we’ve assembled a simple toolkit including a sample timeline and inspirational ideas.

Suggested to-do list:

All team captains are eligible for a T-shirt for themselves and our friends at Cascade Bicycle Club are providing Bike Everywhere Month literature for all riders (while supplies last). Captains are not required to pick up a “packet” for themselves and their teammates, but if you’d like some cool stuff, there are several pick-up options:

Sample timeline

This sample timeline will help you organize and inspire your team. You can find Cascade Bicycle Club’s full schedule of Bike Month events here.

Before May
May
June

Inspiration ideas

There are innumerable ways that you can build momentum for biking to work, among your team, your workplace and your community. Below are our favorite suggestions gleaned from outstanding team captains of yore:

Inspire your team
Inspire others

Recruit new captains and encourage business support

Feel free to use the following templates to promote the Bike Month Challenge via email, online or newsletters.

Dear ________,

Bike Month is coming up and I am captaining a team for the Washington Bikes Bike Everywhere Challenge. The theme this year is “Bike Everywhere,” and I’d like to encourage you to join the all-star cast of team captains.

As a team captain, you can significantly increase bicycle commuting at _________ (their worksite). Captains recruited over 2,400 brand new bike commuters last year. Think about how valuable bicycling is to you, and multiply that by 2,400…that’s a lot of positive return for a modest investment of time on your behalf!

To start a team, you simply sign up online, recruit three to nine more coworkers to join you and encourage everyone to ride as much as possible throughout May. In fact, the hardest part may be coming up with a team name. (My team is ________________________.)

Washington Bikes offers great support for captains, including a starter packet for your team, the legendary Captains Bash, and prizes just for captains, including honors for Rookie Captain of the Year.

The challenge starts Sunday, May 1 – start your team today!

Captain ________(your name)

________(team name)

________(business name)

 

 

Dear __________ (title)

I would like to encourage ___________________(business) to participate in the Washington Bikes Bike Everywhere Challenge. Bicycle commuting makes great business sense. Bike commuters are healthier and more productive employees. Bicycle parking is a fraction of the cost and space of car parking. Bike commuting is especially valuable to me as an employee because _____________________.

The Washington Bikes Bike Everywhere Challenge is a simple turn-key program that has significantly increased bicycle commuting among both new and experienced riders. Last year, 22 percent of participants were brand new commuters. That’s an impressive result.

What’s more, it’s very simple for businesses to participate. Team captains like me recruit and encourage riders. The riders track their own trips online. Washington Bikes provides a comprehensive business toolkit with email templates, newsletter blurbs, graphics and inspiration.

At the very least, I’d like to ask you to promote the Washington Bikes Bike Everywhere Challenge to all staff. Please check out the Bike Month website for information and resources.

Captain ________(your name)

________(team name)

________(business name)

________ Department