During the summer of 2014, PN2K partnered with MIT Graduate Student Council Sustainability subcommittee to organize MIT Bike Fest 2014. For the first time in MIT history, we had a bike treasure hunt (guided bike tour targeting cyclists who are first-time riders in Boston). The bike event consisted of free bike repairs/tune-ups (courtesy of Bike Boom), bike safety info, music/food, and learn to change a flat tire repair station.
It was the first time we ordered helmets and dispersed them widely to the MIT community (and at Cambridge/Boston at large) for a subsidized $5 price (priority for those on our bike ride as helmets were mandatory). It was the first time we designed our own neon-green bike t-shirts, worn proudly by our three-member organizing team (GSC Sustainability co-presidents Becky and Cherry, plus myself), ~29-30+ volunteers, and ~40 bike riders. It was the first time PN2K co-hosted a large-scale event at MIT and managed so many logistics and people all at once -- all to great fanfare on Sep 7, 2014.
The City of Cambridge even brought out parade floats to celebrate bike safety and become beautiful backdrops for our cyclists taking group photos of themselves during our "Bike Treasure Hunt" guided bike tour! 🙂 (see photo below)
Ok, we're just kidding, although a parade celebrating bike safety wouldn't be a bad idea. Our event actually coincided with the 22nd Cambridge Annual Festival, which boasted huge 18-wheelers coming down Main and Vassar Street (part of where our bike tour ran). To this end, we want to thank the Cambridge Police Department and the transportation and event planning departments of Cambridge City Council for working with us to support and approve our bike route tour and ensure its safety for cyclists participating in our guided bike tour. Thanks also to the MIT Student Activities Office and MIT Police Department for your time in meeting with us!
Anyway, we had our firsts, and it was a blast.
Please join us again next year for MIT Bike Fest 2015! Till then, stay tuned and stay in touch with PN2K.
A huge thank you to our amazing community partners in 2014 for helping us to make this possible!!
Full albums can be found here:
MIT Bike Treasure Hunt photo album
MIT Bike Fest 2014 in the news: http://thetech.com/news/89556/graphics-bikefest-v134-n36
Congratulations to all our MIT Bike Fest raffle prize winners!!
WINNER OF BIKE FEST TREASURE HUNT TOUR RAFFLE
$100 Zipcar Gift Certificate: Halide Bey
WINNERS OF BIKE FEST GENERAL RAFFLE
$25 gift certificate to Landry’s Bicycles: Wesley Cox
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Erica Santana
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Jennifer Apell
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Jun Yong Khoo
$25 gift certificates to Broadway Bicycle School: Harun Sugito
Bike lock from Bike Boom ($42 value): German Parada
Starbucks gift basket ($45 value): Nevin Daniel
Hubway Annual Membership ($85 value): Nadia Elkordy
Urban Adventours gift certificate (valued up to $100): Jennie Zheng
$100 Zipcar Gift Certificate: Victoria Dean
Please check your email for details on raffle prize pick-up. Thanks to all who participated in the raffle - we're thrilled everyone had a great time at #MITBikeFest. And of course, thank you donors for making these prizes possible: Zipcar, Landry's Bicycles, Broadway Bicycle School, Bike Boom, Starbucks, Hubway, Urban Adventours
Photos of our prize winners here.