Cyclists Race JetBlue Flight Today

Ok, so Wichita Falls isn't as bicycle-friendly as alot of other cities but we're trying. You'd think since we hosted the biggest one-day bicycle ride in the world, we'd have something to support the local cycling community (I'll always hold out hope for a bike lane down Southwest Pkwy and Kemp!).  I recently took a quickie vaca out to California, not too far away from where this fun little bicycle vs Airbus race is going to happen.  Not only did they have a bike lane on every street but *gasp* people were actually using it!!  But it was ONLY 100 degrees in the hottest party of the day, so I get why bike lanes may not work 365 days for us. Hey, I don't want to deal with this heat anymore than you do.

LA and NYC have been the two major entertainment capitals of the world and I've always heard how different they are when it comes to commuting & getting around--LA: everyone drives; NYC: people walk...ALOT. So when LA's major highway, the 405, shut down for two days and JetBlue was offering $4.00 flights to take commuters 30 miles (a 20 min flight) to get from one end of the city to the other, I was pretty floored.

Apparently alot of people were too when they sat down & factored in the time it'd take you to get to the airport, arrive in accordance with security recommendations, taxi out, flight time, etc.  Not to mention the insane idea that there were more (environmentally & healthy beneficial) ways to get from point A to point B.

So a race between the two modes of transportation was quickly put into motion (thanks Twitter!) and at 2:20pm CST, it's on, baby!  Check out the rules below!

Ride rules and details (Subject to change, more details as they become available)

Cyclists will depart from a residence near the intersection of Cahuenga and Chandler Blvd. in North Hollywood at 10:55 AM PT (Saturday, July 16) Flight Departs 12:20pm and we're basing the cyclists' departure time on the airline's recommended passenger arrival time of 1.50 hours before departure. (we're doing a little less to be fair)Cyclists will be required to follow all traffic laws.The finish line is the light house at the Shoreline Aquatic Park in Long Beach (adjacent to Acquarium of the Pacific)Ezra and I will take a cab from LGB to the finish line courtesy of GaryRidesBikes FIRST TO ARRIVE AT THE LIGHT HOUSE WINS!

I love it!!  Who will get there first?  It's like an awesome, amp-ed up version of The Amazing Race! More on how this all happened & to catch live updates, check out Bike Commute News.  #FlightvsBike