Commuters! Long time no see!

Itching to find out today’s Leader Board Standings? Well you’re in luck–we looked at some different measures today, and of course, came up with some new winners! Here’s the scoop:

Most commutes logged and MOST miles commuted: Irene Clarke from WCC! She has logged 14 commutes totaling 189 miles!

Most commutes logged and LEAST miles commuted: Viktoria Salzmann from the UM Life Sciences Institute! She has also logged 14 commutes–for a whopping total of 14 miles! Now that’s my kind of commute!

Most unique types of commutes logged: Leah Peters from the UM Health System! Leah has pretty much tried it all during the Commuter Challenge: Run, Bus, Vanpool/Carpool, Moped/Motorcycle, and Train!

Way to go, leaders! You’ll soon be receiving emails announcing and celebrating your accomplishments, along with some awesome prizes donated from local downtown businesses!

The 2012 Commuter Challenge is off to a great start, with almost 300 organizations signed up to participate! Here are the leading organizations in each challenge category:

• 1 Person Organization: Self-Employed
• 2-10 Person Organization: Dascola Barbers
• 11-25 Person Organization: Clean Energy Coalition
• 26-50 Person Organization: MyBuys
• 51-100 Person Organization: Washtenaw Friend of the Court
• 101-500 Person Organization: Infor Global Solutions
• 500+ Person Organization: UM School of Public Health

Check out where your organization stands and keep logging those sustainable commutes to bring your workplace to the top of the list!

If saving money isn’t your thing, what about burning calories?

Sign up for the Commuter Challenge and make an effort to bike or walk to work and I guarantee you will be in better shape.

Why?  Because on average, a Commuter Challenge participant burns about 1,500 calories during the month of May.  Better yet, if you bike or walk to work, you may even be able to skip the gym.

And here’s another thought: are you training for a 5K or 10K?  Why not take the bus to work and then run home as part of your routine?  What a way to multitask!

So if you are looking to get in shape for swimsuit season or just want  to cram some exercise into your busy life, sign up for the 2012 Commuter Challenge today!  Click here to register.

According to parenting.com, “It takes most babies about 1,000 hours of practice from the time they pull themselves upright to the time they can walk alone.” Granted, a baby’s walking development differs in important ways from that of, say, an adult commuter; nonetheless, commonalities remain: Walking can be hard. And it takes practice, support, and positive reinforcement.

I confess that I frequently drove the 4 blocks to my high school, not to mention the 6 blocks to my community YMCA gym (no, the irony was not lost on me). Who could pass up those additional 5 minutes of sleep? Or, I’m on a schedule—I don’t have time to walk to the gym, work out, and walk back!

Perhaps it’s raining. Or you cherish those few minutes of seclusion in a moving car, blasting the radio, screaming at the top of your lungs. I’m right there with you.

So let’s begin by cutting ourselves a little slack—we work hard, all day long. We have myriad responsibilities and demands. While we may believe in the ideal of green commuting, walking for exercise, saving gas money, it undeniably requires an additional input of time and energy, at least in the beginning. So forgive yourself for not having started.

AND—not but, AND—we here at getDowntown have put in many of those 1,000 hours in the hopes of providing copious resources, support, and the positive reinforcement you need to start those legs a-toddling.

Luckily, the conditions are amenable, particularly this time of year. Did you know that in 2011, Ann Arbor was declared a Gold Level Walking Friendly Community? Did you know that the getDowntown blog has an entire Guide to Walking to Work in Ann Arbor, filled with links to useful tools, maps, and walking groups? Did you know that the Commuter Challenge this May features an entire Walk-to-Work Week (May 20-26), during which time we’ll be handing out 100 free drink cards to anyone who stops by one of our stations (Sweetwater’s on Washington, Biggby on Liberty) on May 24^th between 7-9am?

Yes, there will be some unsettling tumbles right back onto your backside en route to walking mastery: the unplanned route, the infuriating blister, the forgotten deodorant. But don’t let these setbacks deter you from draping your chubby little fingers around the nearest chair, lifting your diapered behind, grinning, and getting back on your feet. The ultimate payoff will be well worth it.

*Some great tips for the new walk-to-work(er)

*Some inspiring payoffs to look forward to

The 2012 Commuter Challenge is a fun, free commuting competition that happens in May.  Sign up is open now and we’ve already got a number of organizations who have taken the lead and signed up to compete.

Here’s a list of who’s participating in the Commuter Challenge as of April 10, 2012:

UM CoE AOSS
Wellness and Prevention, Inc (formally HealthMedia)
SRT Solutions
Pure Visibility
Mathematica Policy Research
UM School of Public Health
Ann Arbor District Library
City of Ann Arbor
Washtenaw County Finance Department
Nutshell
Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
AATA
The Whole Brain Group
Ingenex Digital Marketing
Mobiata
Quinn Evans Architects
Center for Automotive Research
UMHS – Milestones
EPA NVFEL Ann Arbor
Toyota Technical Center
Above the Treeline
University of Michigan Department of Women’s Studies
Hatcher Graduate Library

and many more!

So join the crowd!  Sign up for the Commuter Challenge today at commuter.getdowntown.org.

Warmer weather + high gas prices = a great excuse to try an alternative commute!

At getDowntown, we want to make it as easy as possible to try walking, biking, busing, carpooling, or vanpooling to work.

That’s why we’ve created these handy online guides to walk you through everything you need to know.

We’ve got a guide for walking, biking, busing, and carpool/vanpooling. Check them out by clicking on the links, or just click on them on the left side of our blog.

Whether you live outside of Ann Arbor or live 2 feet from your job, these guides are a good way to start your alternative commute.

Want to make Ann Arbor a safer, more comfortable place to walk and bicycle?

Attend this meeting and contribute your part in the City’s 5-year update to its Non-Motorized Plan, which will set priorities for improved bike lanes, trails. crosswalks, and more over the next 5 years!

Two sessions are happening today, Wednesday, February 8, 3-4:30 pm and 6-7:30 pm.

Both are in Council Chambers, floor 2 of City Hall, 100 N. Fifth Avenue.

Here’s your chance to check out the top content on the getDowntown blog from 2011.

Most Read getDowntown Blog Posts of 2011

• getDowntown’s Guide to Bike Commuting in Downtown Ann Arbor
• Apparently lots of folks decided to take up bike commuting in 2011.  This post gives you the rundown of all you need to know to get your downtown bike commute on.
• The Creative Class Bikes to Work: The Economic Case for Bike Commuting
• What did Richard Florida find when he looked at the bike commuting rates and economic indicators such as educational attainment, fitness and more?  Check out this post to see.
• getDowntown’s Guide to Using Transit/Busing in Downtown Ann Arbor
• Want to get downtown on the bus?  This post shows you how.
• getDowntown’s Guide to Winter Bike Commuting
• You can Conquer the Cold and do bike commutes in the winter!
• Downtown Ann Arbor employee ROAMs through the country by Velomobile
• Cool guy doing a cool event.
• Making Riding the Bus Look Sexy
• Yes, it’s possible.  Check out the picture in this post to see how.
• Winter Clothing – Ignoring Fashion In Favor of Practicality
• Downtown employee tells us what you need to wear to walk to work in the winter
• Studded, Skinny or Fat? Winter Bike Commuting Tire Talk
• Apparently lots of people want to know what kind of bike tire to use in the winter
• getDowntown’s Guide to Walking to Work in Downtown Ann Arbor
• Info an resources to make your walk to work more pleasant.

Here’s the problem: you walk to work  in the winter and want to use your phone to tweet or text or even just play some music.  But the touchscreen won’t work if you keep your gloves on.  So you’re left with frozen fingers.

Here’s the solution: North Face has a glove that let’s you use your touchscreen phone in the cold.

Check out the info here as well as some other tips for using your phone in the cold.

[another blog post from winter commuter extraordinaire--Jane Allen.  You can Conquer the Cold!]

The plus side:

There is more you can do about cold than hot, so you can stay comfortable. In the summer, your options are limited and at some point, it’s just too hot and there is nothing you can do about it. You can always do something about the cold with another layer of clothing.

No matter how much snow there is, you can get to work. A few years ago during a big storm, I started walking to work when it became clear that the bus would not be arriving. On Summit Street, there are train tracks that cross the road and it is quite steep. A tow truck was spinning its tires and not able to move. Another tow truck with a car on the back attempted to pass the first truck, and also became stuck, and was slowly sliding sideways towards the first truck. Because of this, Summit was entirely blocked by tow trucks. Needless to say, I didn’t wait for the bus, nor could it possibly arrive via its normal route. When you are stuck in the tow truck, who do you call to save you?

It’s fun to walk in the snow, and this is when I see more neighbors than any other time, because they are all out shoveling snow.

The new snow is pretty.

The minus side:

No matter how much snow there is, you can get to work.

When you get home, after talking to your neighbors, you will have to shovel snow.

Only about 60% of residents clear their walks, so there will be ice on the sidewalk, sometimes for weeks, after each storm. This is when you need your Yaktrax.