That’s a Wrap on Week Without Driving!
What an eventful week! During the week of September 29th to October 5th, 2024 Bike Fed employees, national and local community partners, and state leaders signed the pledge and participated in a Week Without Driving. If you missed our newsletter articles leading up to Week Without Driving, the challenge led by our national partner America Walks, aimed to shed light on the daily struggles faced by the 31% of Wisconsinites that identify as “non-drivers” and to inspire changes in how we design our communities.
Participation in Week Without Driving was simple: try to go an entire week without driving yourself anywhere. If you couldn’t manage the whole week without driving, well then frankly, that is the point of the challenge! Not being able to get somewhere without the convenience of a personal motorized vehicle is a common theme – especially in rural America. Week Without Driving highlights this shortcoming, and encourages equitable change in community transportation, infrastructure, and safety.
One of the highlights from Week Without Driving was the experience of the Bike Fed’s own Assistant Director, Jake Newborn. Jake decided what better way to take advantage of a beautiful day during the challenge than to take his bike to a charity golf event. Yes, that’s right: Jake biked with his golf clubs! Even with the help of his cargo e-bike, Jake said that the wind made the 23-mile bike ride to the golf course challenging. Following his round, Jake biked the return 23 miles home at dusk via bike trail. He said that, “although a challenging experience, it was a great day to not be driving around in a car!”.
Other notable participants in Week Without Driving included other staff members of the Bike Fed, Sierra Club of Wisconsin, City of Madison staff, City of Madison Alders, and state legislators Senator Kelda Roys (Madison) and Representative Shelia Stubbs (Madison). We want to thank these organizations and community leaders for their partnership and for participating in this challenge with us, helping to raise awareness for non-drivers both in Wisconsin and around the country.
We are already looking forward to a bigger and better repeat of Week Without Driving next year, September 29-October 5, 2025!