Last week we wrapped up another fantastic month of riding our bikes every single day as part of the #30daysofbiking event.  This is the third year that we’ve kicked things up a bit over here at Loving the Bike, and added an extra dimension with our points system.

There was a lot of great riding that took place and I loved seeing all the pictures posted on our Facebook Page.  Now it’s time to award some prizes and thank our great sponsors.

Not everyone on Team #LovingtheBike submitted their point totals to us, so we’ve based things on those who gave them to us.  Congratulations to all of you who took part in #30daysofbiking.

Top Point Getter – Julie Starling

Julie receives a fantastic prize pack from Clif Bar, as well as one of The Sufferfest training videos.

Runner Up Point Getter – Mark Beaconsfield

Mark receives a video from The Sufferfest.

Most Points by Team #LovingtheBike rookie – Ryan Werenka

Ryan receives a training video from The Sufferfest.

A huge thank you goes out to Clif Bar and The Sufferfest for their support and for providing the great prizes.

We’ll be back to do this again next April.

We’re only a few days from the end of another exciting #30daysofbiking, and Team #LovingtheBike has been representing and posting some amazing pictures on our facebook page.

If you haven’t already heard of the extra kick we give the #3odaysofbiking challenge, you can read about how Team #LovingtheBike spends the month of April, in this post.

There’s a point given for posting a photo to our page, and some of the pictures have been over the top.  Two of our teammates have even taken on a riding mascot and include them in their photos.  Have a look at just a few of the submitted pictures, and head over to our facebook page to see the rest.

Riaan and his signature photo graphics:

Laura and her teammate Snoopy:

Jim rides in honor of the Boston tragedy:

Some great scenery from one of Dave’s rides:

Mark and his mascot teammate, the monkey:

Julie stops at one super cool bike stand:

Marty and Thor get ready for her first triathlon:

]]> http://lovingthebike.com/uncategorized/team-lovingthebike-photos-from-30daysofbiking/feed 1 http://lovingthebike.com/uncategorized/30daysofbiking-and-30daysofgoodness-has-begun http://lovingthebike.com/uncategorized/30daysofbiking-and-30daysofgoodness-has-begun#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:10:59 +0000 Darryl http://lovingthebike.com/?p=12994 Share/Bookmark

Today is the official start of #30daysofbiking 2013….and for many it will be the beginning of a love for cycling.

Not often does something come along for the sole purpose of creating goodness.  When @patiomensch and @zachamon, launched things on April 1, 2010 I knew right away that this was going to be something good.

I felt that way because these guys were creating something to encourage more people to get on bikes, and there was absolutely no commercialism or money making scheme behind it.  These guys are bike nuts like me, and they simply wanted to create goodness through a hashtag on Twitter.

Well, it’s three years later and #30daysofbiking has become bigger than any of us could have imagined.  I’ve been personally a part of this since it first began, and for the past two years we’ve taken part as a group with Team #LovingtheBike for a little added fun.

Be sure to follow our progress this month as we set out to ride our bikes every single day.  Visit our Loving the Bike facebook page to see all the great pictures of our teammates that will be posted each day.

Okay Team #LovingtheBike….let’s Make it Happen.

#30daysofbiking Flashback

Following the very first #30daysofbiking, I held an interview with @patiomensch.  I dug it up and have posted highlights from it again for you all to find out more about how this awesome event got started:

Loving The Bike: How did the hashtag, #30daysofbiking, first come about? Where were you, who were you with, and how did the idea pop up?

@patiomensch: It began with a 10-person-strong group ride on the eve of my 27th birthday, a ride shyly led by me and Zachariah Schaap, a.k.a, @zachamon, my truest, bestest friend.

Through Twitter and Facebook, we assembled cyclists on March 16, 2010, bicycling en masse from deep uptown Minneapolis to a bike shop called Angry Catfish in south Minneapolis.  As we rolled up to ACF, store owner Joshua Klauck met us with a plate of green St. Patrick’s cookies.  Then, we all drank beers and ate burgers at the amazing burger joint next door and biked to Dinkytown’s Kitty Cat Klub, for more drinks, in the dark.  I didn’t ride home till past 1 a.m.: the night ended with local veggie messenger Randall Dietel’s bike pumping electronic music as, all together, we rode past East Bank university buildings toward home.

That was the originating ride, the ride that got our little group together.  A week or so later, @lizbastian, on Twitter, got something called #30daysofyoga started.  I wasn’t into yoga—I’ve tried to get into it, since, and it worked for a few days!—so I proposed #30daysofbiking.

LTB: Who all was involved with getting the word out and making it happen?

@patiomensch: Zach and I were the primaries, but the crowd I mentioned above tweeted and blogged non-stop for the cause.  Nicole Weiler, known in Twitter land as @nicycle, was especially essential to our early efforts.  She and associate Paul Wichser created one of Round 1′s signature group rides, the Short Shorts Ride to ARTCRANK, for which I wore pink lycra short shorts of which all photographic evidence should be destroyed.  The bits were visible—it was cold and smooshed out!

Also notable was Raccoon Rally, an alleycat perpetrated by Greg from Urban Bean Coffee and @darcialexis, whom we’ve lost to New York City. Gratifyingly, that got Minneapolis’ bike messenger community involved in our event.

LTB: What is the coolest or most interesting thing that has happened as a result of #30daysofbiking?

@patiomensch: I met my girlfriend for one, with whom I now live.

I’m most impressed by Matthew Jensen, who makes rare appearances on Twitter as @omgmrj.  He didn’t miss a day of bicycling for over a year after taking part in our first event.  He’s one of many who now do #365daysofbiking.  I co-created this thing and even I haven’t managed that.  Daym, dude.

It’s time once again for #30daysofbiking, and 30 days of good times on your bike.  About the only thing better than spending April riding your bike all 30 days, is being a part of Team #LovingtheBike and all the goodness that comes along with it.

For the past two years we’ve taken part in this challenge as a team by creating our own points system and prizes that are separate from the basic #30daysofbiking experience.

If you were part of Team #LovingtheBike two years ago, you’ll remember how we were crowned #30daysofbiking champions by the guys at Bicycle Radio.  Last year’s Team #LovingtheBike competed within our own participants, and it was Julie Starling who came out on top.

Never heard of #30daysofbiking?  Well, my buddies Patrick Stephenson and Zachariah Schaap created something so incredible when they kicked off #3odays in 2010 and I’ve been a part of it since the whole thing began.  It really has grown in to something incredible and taking part in some friendly competition with Team #LovingtheBike has made it even better.  This year I’ve been asked by the #30daysofbiking guys to be one of their PR dudes and am proud to spread the word and get people involved.  Find out more about the challenge at www.30daysofbiking.com.

It’s not necessary to be a part of a team for #30daysofbiking, and the whole purpose of this event is to get people on their bikes and promote cycling….but if you want to add another dimension, we’d love to have you take part in this with Team #LovingtheBike.  The “extra dimension” is that we’ve added our own little point system which adds to the fact you’ll be riding your bike for 30 days in a row….and it allows us to determine who obtains the most points and wins prizes.  More details below.

Registration for #30daysofbiking just opened today, so it’s time to sign up.

Join the Team:

Co-captains for this year’s Team #LovingtheBike are myself, @PedalmanTO, and @steviedexter…and we’d love to have you as a part of the fun.

Here’s what you need to do in order to get yourself onto Team #LovingtheBike for #30daysofbiking:

1. Register for #30daysofbiking by going to www.30daysofbiking.com.
2. In the “REASON(S) FOR PARTICIPATING” or “WHY I RIDE” section of the sign up form, put down that you’re riding for Team #LovingtheBike.
3. E-mail darryl@lovingthebike.com to let us know you’ve joined the team and include your name, e-mail, and twitter handle.
4. Tell your friends to join our team….tweet it out and spread the word.  ”I’m on Team #LovingtheBike for #30daysofbiking: http://wp.me/p1oH5M-27i”.
5. You’ll need to register and e-mail us about it by March 28th to officially be part of Team #LovingtheBike and get in on the winning.

Prizes:

Last year we gave out a nice prize pack to the team member who racked up the most points and we’re doing the same thing this year.  We’ll have some prizes for the runner’s up as well.  The prizes are great, but from the responses of last year’s teammates the most rewarding part of all this was the fun and good times we all had together during the event.  Thanks to Clif Bar and The Sufferfest for supporting our team with prizes again this year.

Point System:

Each of the 30 days you’ll have the opportunity to gain a maximum of 5 points.

Final Word:

It’s very important to make sure throughout the month that the “30 days of biking” message is the main focus.  Loving the Bike has chosen to implement the “30-days of biking” challenge to motivate, excite, and challenge its readers.  We encourage other groups, org’s, clubs, shops, manufactures to take the challenge themselves and see how they do.  The ONLY winners here are those who accept the #30daysofbiking challenge and give it their best.  Fun between groups is welcomed and even encouraged.  Our scoring system can be used by other “teams” as a standard to compare results.  All that matters is having fun, challenging yourself….and riding your bikes.

Let’s do this, Team #LovingtheBike.

Here is part 2 of Aaron Madrid’s ‘Century’ series. You can check out the first installment here and keep your eyes peeled for further editions.  Today @AaronMadrid talks about training and preparation for your event, both physical and mental and how #30daysofbiking helped motivate him so much!

Joining the Century Club – Part 2

So you have an event picked out, now it’s time to start thinking about training.  I know not everyone is like me, but like I mentioned previously, a support group can really be a valuable asset.  My support group came from four locations.  I discovered this very website where you are reading this article now at the beginning of my cycling journey.  I subscribed to the RSS feed and continue to read every article posted each morning as it drops into my email box.

As you surely know already, the information on this website is both educational and often inspirational.  I am proud to be a part of such a passionate, knowledgeable team and to be able to now contribute my own voice to theirs.

Through Lovingthebike.com I discovered #Bikeschool.  As an active twitter user for quite some time, I originally scoffed at the idea of a tweet-chat.  However, I showed up to my first #Bikeschool early in 2011 and now I attend as often as possible.  Many of the people involved in those Thursday night conversations I speak to on a daily basis.  I have even managed to make quite a few very good friends because of it. The discussions are always fun, informative, and engaging, three things I find very valuable, especially when it comes to motivation.

Through both of these groups I learned about #30daysofbiking. The group that created this social cycling movement is equally as fun and they organize an amazing global event.  The idea is simple, ride your bike every day for 30 days.

I further learned about Team Lovingthebike which was being put together for #30DaysofBiking, so I joined up.  It wasn’t anything major, just an opportunity to socialize your rides with other friends and reach for a specific goal. You can search around this site and Google for lots of information and posts from both this year and last year’s events.  Lastly was the encouragement from my family.

Being a new father, I needed to only look at my daughters face to find the heart to go out and push myself to become better.  Lastly my wife was very supportive and allowed me to ride my bike every day.

Let the Century Training Begin

Now we need to start training.  This is actually pretty easy… just ride your bike.  Every day you possibly can make it happen, get out and ride your bike.  I’m competitive by default, so 30 Days of Biking was perfect motivation for me to get out and ride.  Each night after work I would take 30 minutes to an hour and go ride.  Sometimes it was just up to the store down the street to pick something up, but as long as I was riding I was ok.

If you are just starting to ride don’t worry about anything besides getting on that saddle and going.  The more you ride, the faster and farther you will go.  I remember thinking that 10 miles was incredible, and for a 320 pound nerd who spent most of his life on a couch in front of a television… it was.  Eventually you reach a point where you just feel comfortable on your bike.

It get’s easier and easier, and that is when it’s time to start Googling some of the serious stuff.  Once I felt really good on my bike I decided it was time to take it up a notch.  I started asking more questions in #Bikeschool about technique and form.  I watched videos on YouTube about proper pedaling, and breathing and I got even faster and stronger.  I subscribed to Bicycling magazine, which, while informative, has really just caused me to have bike envy for every bike I see. Don’t get me wrong, I love my bike, but the rides in that magazine are frequently way out of my price range…and beautiful.  At this point I still didn’t have anyone really to ride with and I was too afraid to join our local club for fear of looking like a newbie (sorry, that’s a geek term for someone who is often inexperienced to the point of being laughable).

You have an event chosen, you have a great support group to ask questions and learn from, and you are riding your bike every day.  What else can you do to prepare?  Truthfully… not a lot.  Of course, there are specific things you can do on your rides, like interval training and hill repeats (climbing a steep hill over and over again) but the most important thing for incredibly busy people like us, is to just ride.  A couple of rules of thumb, if you can go out and ride ¾ of the distance you are aiming for, you can do it all.  That extra quarter will come easy from the endorphins and adrenaline on the day of the event.  Another rule of thumb is, make sure you are at least riding your goal distance over the course of the week.  Meaning, if you want to ride a century, make sure you are at least riding 100 miles in a week.  Right now because of my commute to and from work, I ride about 150- 200 miles a week, depending on my weekend ride.  I usually rest on Sunday (it’s important to take a break from hard riding if you can).

Thanks to Aaron for a great 2nd edition,

Stevie

Another #30daysofbiking has just wrapped up and it’s totally safe to say that this has been the best one yet.  I’d like to congratulate everyone who took part in this event and committed to riding bikes every single day in April.  I heard a whole bunch of great stories and experienced once again how much magic can be created just by having people ride their bicycles.

Thanks to everyone who took part in #30daysofbiking by being a part of Team #LovingtheBike.  It really has been great seeing all the pictures posted to Facebook, the tweets with the #LovingtheBike hashtag, and all the support offered between team members.  Feel free to keep this up and continue to share your great rides and adventures through these same channels all year-long.

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes

Thank you to Clif Bar, The Sufferfest, and Far End Gear for providing out team with some great prizes.  We appreciate your support on this event and look forward to our continued partnership over here at Loving the Bike.

Official First Place Finisher:

It was a close battle, but the teammate who came out on top with the most points was Julie Starling.  Julie not only took part in #30daysofbiking….she’s on track for #365daysofbiking.  Way to go, Julie….below is your pile of winnings:

• One of anything that Far End Gear has to offer: www.farendgear.com
• Clif T-Shirt
• Clif Beanie
• Clif Kleen Kanteen
• Clif Silver Eco Lunch box
• Clif nylon Stuff Sack
• Sufferfest Video: Hell Hath No Fury
• And…6 Boxes of Clif Product

Runner Up:

Our Team Loving the Bike runner-up is Bob Avery.  Bob is another cycling commuter….and I’m beginning to think that these commuters have the upper hand in our #30daysofbiking challenge.  Nicely done, Bob and congratulations on your performance.  Here’s what you win:

• Clif T-Shirt
• Clif nylon Stuff Sack
• Sufferfest Video: Hell Hath No Fury
• And…4 Boxes of Clif Product

Special Recognition:

Honorable mention goes out to Riaan Coatzee over in South Africa.  He did amazing and I love the way he branded all of the photos he put up on our Facebook page.  It’s been great having you on the team, Riaan.  Riaan, we’re sending you a copy of the Hell Hath No Fury DVD from The Sufferfest.

As the youngest member of Team Loving the Bike, I wanted to give an honorable mention to Kayla Beaconsfield from Australia.  She had an incredible month of riding with her Dad, Mark….and I want to thank her for being a part of our time and sending us that cute little video she put up on Facebook.  I’m not sure what it is yet, but we’re definitely going to send something out to you soon.  For now, get your Dad to give you a huge hug from the team.

Bonus Prize: I mentioned part way through the 30 days that we’d also give out a prize pack to someone who did something that really stood out.  At the time, I wasn’t sure what that was going to be but now I know.  The bonus prize goes out to Laura Faulkner and her Grandson, Sean.  Laura had the goal of beating her 601 miles that she put on last year and with one day to go she was 65 short.  Below is her story of how the final day unfolded and how she battled through:

“After morning thunderstorms rolled through the skies cleared and I was off. At the 45 mile mark I met up with my husband and those ominous clouds were gathering again. We did the next 5 miles in a full sprint but to no avail. The last 2 miles was a downpour. We ate at a deli while trying to dry out. I climbed back on my bike and started cranking towards home and of course all hell broke loose. With torrents of rain falling and lightning flashing, I rode with my husband following in the Jeep with the flashers on. Drivers that passed joyfully beeped their horns and called out cheers of encouragement like I was someone training for the olympics.

The storm started to get much worse and I really wanted to keep going but it was getting downright dangerous and I had to stop just short of my goal. Today’s remaining hours look like more of the same.  If the clouds part again before midnight I will try to reach my goal.  But if they don’t, I am just as happy because I know I could.”

Sean was an un-official member of Team Loving the Bike and joined Laura Faulkner on several of her rides in Florida.  It was great having him as a part of all the fun and we’re awarding him with a Clif Beanie and Clif Silver Eco Lunch Box.  3 boxes of Clif Product will be sent out to Laura…..she could probably use it after all the calories she burnt up on that final day epic ride.

Okay, Team Loving the Bike…..once again, you’ve made me so proud.  On behalf of my team co-captains, Ian and Stevie, we’d like to thank you for sharing in one fantastic month with us.

We are already a third of the way through #30daysofbiking and Team #LovingTheBike is ‘performing’ really well. As one of the team Road Captains I thought it would only be proper and correct to sing your praises and try to raise the morale even higher with a run down of some of the last week’s worth of photo’s and comments. (Sorry in advance for the formatting… WordPress!)

Krissy showing everyone you can still participate without even going outside!

Craig Stauffer got arty with the camera... or did he get the settings wrong? The bike is the main thing though

I have to admit that this smiling oaf is my brother, Andy Wynn... 30daying it in the rain

Kayla Beaconsfield, one of the youngest members of Team #LovingTheBike takes a well earned nap

Krissy Nelson started the event off as she meant to go on with a little 17 mile ride before dinner! Good work Krissy

Aaron Madrid chillaxin by the river

Landscapes... always a great Reason2Ride

As someone who also commutes after midnight, I appreciate the night time sights as much as Mark

It's amazing what you can find when out on the bike. Myrna Gatheridge Mibus found... this

Riaan Coetzee found a beauty of a single track that'll make commuting to work much more enjoyable

There has been a 'Treasure Island' feel to many of Laura Losey Faulkner's photo's

Glenn Crosse Sr... I salute you! A fine moustache! Chapeau!

You shouldn't need inspiration during #30daysofbiking but I took a quick peak in 'the bike room' to get the mind in gear

Marty Boyd reconnected with the El Paso Bicycle Club chaingang

What is it about facial hair that makes a man look... erm... Chapeau sir!

Tulips... the national flower of Julie Starling's bike nation

Glenn on the Tour de Cure

When riding your bike becomes too easy... try dragging a huge cannon as well like Riaan

To all of Team #LovingTheBike… keep up the great work. Let’s clock up as many rides as possible and shout about it from the rooftops!

Stevie

I still look back on the month of April 2011 with freaky fond memories.  It was a such a great month of teamwork, fun times, and bikey goodness.  Being involved in the #30daysofbiking challenge is enough of a good thing in and of itself, but banding together with Team #LovingtheBike and doing this thing together was even better.  It was also a lot of fun doing the Team challenge and battling it out with Bicycle Radio….even sweeter to come out on top.

My friend and teammate, Myrna, has put together a slideshow with all the “winning” photos from each day of the 30 day challenge.  You can find all the photos that were posted by our team during the #30daysofbiking over at the Loving the Bike Facebook Fanpage….but please join me in viewing this awesome slideshow to help us all reminisce on one incredible month.

If the whole #30daysofbiking thing wasn’t exciting and challenging enough, we’ve now got Team #LovingtheBike created to make it even more fantastic. That dude, Sean Mellor from Bicycle Radio just had to stir things and come up with the idea of “Teams” for this years challenge staring on April 1.

We’ve had a bunch of people join our team, but I don’t think anyone other than Sean and I know exactly what we’re all in for…..so I’m here to lay out the “30 Day Rulz and Regs” for you.  There are basically three competitions in one:

1. Biking for 30 days straight is one awesome challenge
2. The #LovingtheBike team member who gets the most points will win a prize pack consisting of a Loving the Bike T-shirt, Ryder sunglasses, GU Gel, and some other cool stuff
3. I don’t know what’s on the line yet, but there’s going to be a gentleman’s bet between us and Team Bicycle Radio so Team #LovingtheBike is going to have to represent.

The Rules:

I’d have to say that the very first cycling hashtag to ever catch my attention was #30daysofbiking. It was a genius idea by @patiomensch and @zachamon, and officially launched on April 1, 2010 (and I’m still kicking myself for not thinking of something like this myself).

On April 1 they’ll kick off round three of #30daysofbiking….are you committing to riding your bike every single day in April?  Never heard of #30daysofbiking?  Well, simply put:  It is the commitment to Bike somewhere every day in April, then tweet your adventures using #30daysofbiking.

Most of you have likely seen countless posts, tweets, and advertising for this April’s #30daysofbiking, but we’re here to bring you the background and beginnings of this fantastic creation……Here it is.

#30daysofbiking

LTB: How did the hashtag, #30daysofbiking, first come about? Where were you, who were you with, and how did the idea pop up?

@patiomensch: It began with a 10-person-strong group ride on the eve of my 27th birthday, a ride shyly led by me and Zachariah Schaap, a.k.a, @zachamon, my truest, bestest friend.

Through Twitter and Facebook, we assembled cyclists on March 16, 2010, bicycling en masse from deep uptown Minneapolis to a bike shop called Angry Catfish in south Minneapolis. As we rolled up to ACF, store owner Joshua Klauck met us with a plate of green St. Patrick’s cookies. Then, we all drank beers and ate burgers at the amazing burger joint next door and biked to Dinkytown’s Kitty Cat Klub, for more drinks, in the dark. I didn’t ride home till past 1 a.m.: the night ended with local veggie messenger Randall Dietel’s bike pumping electronic music as, all together, we rode past East Bank university buildings toward home.

That was the originating ride, the ride that got our little group together. A week or so later, @lizbastian, on Twitter, got something called #30daysofyoga started. I wasn’t into yoga—I’ve tried to get into it, since, and it worked for a few days!—so I proposed #30daysofbiking. @zachamon and I began to promote it hardcore, while everyone from my pre-birthday ride, including @nicycle, @sloped, @marcoscopic, @jessinader and @darcialexis,  jumped on this new hashtag. Everyone they knew followed suit. I created a list of those who’d pledged to ride. The list grew long and longer. Then suddenly, thanks to the intervention of @rycera, we had a domain name in 30daysofbiking.com, and #30daysofbiking turned into a rocket: It took off.

“We ride our bikes every. friggin’. day.”

Hundreds of registrants later, Zach and I were interviewed for the Star Tribune, for Minnesota Public Radio on “All Things Considered,” and most exhilaratingly, on live television by KARE 11. Our KARE 11 interview took place in the studio’s “backyard” lot, where—with his sweaty bike clothes on—Zach complained he stunk. In response, KARE’s legendary meteorologist Sven Sundgaard stepped from the shadows and said, “Don’t worry, they can’t smell you on television.” Not being smellable is sometimes important to dudes who bike all the time.

After these promotional efforts, our first group ride for #30daysofbiking, on April 1, 2010, was a monster. At least 40 people showed up, and it was a little overwhelming. We had no idea how to lead a ride that large, but somehow, we corralled everyone around a few lakes in Minneapolis and ended up at dinner at Chatterbox Pub in South. That’s how it began.

LTB: Who all was involved with getting the word out and making it happen?

@patiomensch: Zach and I were the primaries, but the crowd I mentioned above tweeted and blogged non-stop for the cause. Nicole Weiler, known in Twitter land as @nicycle, was especially essential to our early efforts. She and associate Paul Wichser created one of Round 1′s signature group rides, the Short Shorts Ride to ARTCRANK, for which I wore pink lycra short shorts of which all photographic evidence should be destroyed. The bits were visible—it was cold and smooshed out!

Also notable was Raccoon Rally, an alleycat perpetrated by Greg from Urban Bean Coffee and @darcialexis, whom we’ve lost to New York City. Gratifyingly, that got Minneapolis’ bike messenger community involved in our event.

LTB: How do you feel about the success of the first two #30daysofbiking events?

@patiomensch: The success has been staggering, overwhelming, life-changing, exciting, endlessly impressive. All of this started with a few tweets. Round 1 was big, but Round 2 (September 2010) had almost 1,000 participants from all around the world; I don’t know anyone from Costa Rica or Malaysia, but residents of those countries have participated in something I created. People we’ve only met through tweets tell us #30daysofbiking has changed their lives profoundly. How do you respond to statements like that, or incorporate them into your sense of your life and what you feel you’ve accomplished? It’s amazing!

Each registrant makes of #30daysofbiking what they want. We can only post a few tweets, but it’s you—the rider—who defines how #30daysofbiking will go for you. Where you’ll ride, how far. It’s a moldable thing.

LTB: What will be different for round 3 starting on April 1, 2011?  What are you doing to make it bigger and better?

@patiomensch: The key is that we’re getting more and more exposure than ever, which means more and more people will sign up. We’re professionalizing our advertising, with help from dudes like @loganogden, @scoharris and @pfutz. We can tweet like magicians, now, and everyone who participated with us in the last two rounds seems more interested than ever in getting their friends and cities signed up, too.

More people equals more success. We as cyclists know that when more of us are on the road, we are more safe—we became a fixture, not an invasion. #30daysofbiking is about increasing exposure to cyclists and, ultimately, about changing the public image of a cyclist—from a sub-cultural law defiler to a regular guy or gal on their way to work, but on a bike rather than inside a car.

We have even more spectacular group rides planned for this year. A fashion-centric ride, another short shorts ride, a denim ride. Another 50-mile Grand Rounds ride. I’m planning a month-long geocache alleycat that will take cyclists all around Minneapolis and St. Paul. It’s going to be a great adventure, with another party and another alleycat race at the end.

LTB: What is the coolest or most interesting thing that has happened as a result of #30daysofbiking?

@patiomensch: I met my girlfriend for one, with whom I now live.

I’m most impressed by Matthew Jensen, who makes rare appearances on Twitter as @omgmrj. He hasn’t missed a day of bicycling since we started the event, on April 1, 2010, and because we’re closing in on our first anniversary, that means he’s nearing the famed next level of #30daysofbiking: #365daysofbiking. I co-created this thing and even I haven’t managed that. Daym, dude.

Do it.  Commit to 30 days of biking and show off your passion for the bike.  Oh, and follow the #30daysofbiking hashtag during April…..It’s going to be one very busy tag.

Register here for #30daysofbiking which kicks off April 1.