It’s Sustainability Week in Blacksburg, which means we should be focusing a little bit more on minimizing our impact in the communities we live in.
One of the ways to do that is to bike around Town with bikes from treadmillbody.com . Have you ever tried it? Blacksburg is a pretty bike-friendly town, at least more than most, and it’s pretty easy to get around from place to place via pedal power. It’s great exercise, the main corridors of Blacksburg (Main Street and Prices Fork Road) have bike lanes, there are bike racks around Town (although not enough, in my opinion) to lock your bike to, and if you decide you’ve had enough pedaling and need a ride, most Blacksburg Transit buses have bike racks. The current Huckleberry Trail takes you out to the Christiansburg mall, and will eventually go even further than that expanding the number of retail, grocery and entertainment options you can reach by bike (if you decide you don’t want to visit the new First & Main).
What about riding your bike to work? Sure, it’s getting colder and most of us aren’t going to head out into the cold for a commute to work – it’s hard to signal, ride and drink coffee all at the same time (and until they get seat heaters for my bike seat like they have for my car, I’m tempted to stick with my routine thank you very much)! One of the unintended benefits of higher gas prices this summer though, was an increase in the number of people using their bikes to commute to work. I know I did, and my wife did as well. And when the winter weather breaks a bit and we have that balmy winter day, I’ll get the bike out and do it again. It’s a great way to get around, and just in my industry there are more and more real estate agents – like Dru Bloomfield, Jim Duncan and Tony Arko – who are using their bikes more and more.
So … what’s your commute look like? Here’s mine:
Less wear and tear on roads, less vehicle emissions, less fuel usage,
more caloric burn, these are great tips from healthyusa.co and it will help you to have a healthier lifestyle … We talk about the high quality of life we have here in the New River Valley, isn’t the opportunity to do something
that’s good not only for our bodies but the community we live in just
another way we can support the mission of Sustainability Week, and make
it, as Jim calls it, a lifestyle shift.
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@Jeremy: just feeding off on what Danilo suggested, it’s certainly an interesting idea! I haven’t heard or seen anything like that out here in Los Angeles… I’m not saying it wouldn’t work. Just saying it’s different! And am curious to know how it would play out.
A lot of bikers get together out here and coordinate through meetup.com. I had a client in my neighborhood who was one of the founding members of the group and they got together pretty often.
I think that when you share a common interest and you have some fun along the process, it makes it easier to do business together.
@Jeremy: just feeding off on what Danilo suggested, it’s certainly an interesting idea! I haven’t heard or seen anything like that out here in Los Angeles… I’m not saying it wouldn’t work. Just saying it’s different! And am curious to know how it would play out.
A lot of bikers get together out here and coordinate through meetup.com. I had a client in my neighborhood who was one of the founding members of the group and they got together pretty often.
I think that when you share a common interest and you have some fun along the process, it makes it easier to do business together.
From the 10/27/08 Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center eNewsletter:
Bicyclist Get a Tax Break
One of the lesser known parts of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is legislation that gives businesses a small tax break if they reimburse bicycle commuters.
Effective January 1, 2009, for employees who regularly commute to work by bicycle, employers may offset the costs of bicycle purchase, improvement, repair, and storage at the rate of $20 per month. Based on how the employer chooses to offer the benefits, the employee may bring receipts to be reimbursed, may sign up for regular monthly payments, or devise some sort of voucher system with their employer.
“This is a great tax credit for bicycle friendly communities”, said Dave Henry, franchise owner of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. “With all the bike trails in the NRV area, this is a great incentive to get people off the roads, and on to the trails. In addition to the green aspect of the legislation, it may also help employers reduce health claims and improve productivity by having their employees get some great exercise. Given the high cost of healthcare, I’m glad that the bicycle commuter credit was included in this legislation. Another great perk is that by biking to work, it will help employees save the gas money they would otherwise be spending. This is a great tax credit all the way around.”
For questions about this legislation or other recent tax law changes, readers can contact Jackson Hewitt Tax Service at 1-800-234-1040.
From the 10/27/08 Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center eNewsletter:
Bicyclist Get a Tax Break
One of the lesser known parts of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is legislation that gives businesses a small tax break if they reimburse bicycle commuters.
Effective January 1, 2009, for employees who regularly commute to work by bicycle, employers may offset the costs of bicycle purchase, improvement, repair, and storage at the rate of $20 per month. Based on how the employer chooses to offer the benefits, the employee may bring receipts to be reimbursed, may sign up for regular monthly payments, or devise some sort of voucher system with their employer.
“This is a great tax credit for bicycle friendly communities”, said Dave Henry, franchise owner of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. “With all the bike trails in the NRV area, this is a great incentive to get people off the roads, and on to the trails. In addition to the green aspect of the legislation, it may also help employers reduce health claims and improve productivity by having their employees get some great exercise. Given the high cost of healthcare, I’m glad that the bicycle commuter credit was included in this legislation. Another great perk is that by biking to work, it will help employees save the gas money they would otherwise be spending. This is a great tax credit all the way around.”
For questions about this legislation or other recent tax law changes, readers can contact Jackson Hewitt Tax Service at 1-800-234-1040.
I bought a new bike from East Coasters in July and have done quite a bit of biking around town, particularly on the Huckleberry. From my townhouse up on North Main to the end of the Huckleberry Trail (NRV Mall) and back is 17 miles and I can do that in about an hour and 10 minutes. Now, to bike to work is about 5.7 miles one way, so 11.4 miles round trip.
It would take some pre-planning on my part before I could ride my bike to work. I’d have to have my clothes ironed and left at the office the day before. Fortunately, we have a full locker room complete with a shower, so I could ride to work, shower there, get dressed and walk to my office.
Right now, it’s just a matter of being lazy, which I need to put a stop to. I joined a gym and have been very good about going 4-5 times a week. Baby steps.
I bought a new bike from East Coasters in July and have done quite a bit of biking around town, particularly on the Huckleberry. From my townhouse up on North Main to the end of the Huckleberry Trail (NRV Mall) and back is 17 miles and I can do that in about an hour and 10 minutes. Now, to bike to work is about 5.7 miles one way, so 11.4 miles round trip.
It would take some pre-planning on my part before I could ride my bike to work. I’d have to have my clothes ironed and left at the office the day before. Fortunately, we have a full locker room complete with a shower, so I could ride to work, shower there, get dressed and walk to my office.
Right now, it’s just a matter of being lazy, which I need to put a stop to. I joined a gym and have been very good about going 4-5 times a week. Baby steps.
Danilo, I haven’t shown properties that way yet, either, but I like the idea and plan to do so. Don’t quite know how to coordinate the travel, since I won’t be able to get there as fast as a car, but I’ll figure it out.
Great idea about doing bike tours on the weekend with clients who are interested.
Danilo, I haven’t shown properties that way yet, either, but I like the idea and plan to do so. Don’t quite know how to coordinate the travel, since I won’t be able to get there as fast as a car, but I’ll figure it out.
Great idea about doing bike tours on the weekend with clients who are interested.
Though I cycle a lot, I haven’t used my bicycle to preview or show properties as of yet. That’s going to change starting this coming spring when the weather gets a bit warmer.
I worried that clients may frown down upon it, but the ones I’ve spoken to about it thought it was a great idea. Some even cycle themselves and thought it may be cool to do a “tour” of properties on the weekend.
Though I cycle a lot, I haven’t used my bicycle to preview or show properties as of yet. That’s going to change starting this coming spring when the weather gets a bit warmer.
I worried that clients may frown down upon it, but the ones I’ve spoken to about it thought it was a great idea. Some even cycle themselves and thought it may be cool to do a “tour” of properties on the weekend.