The Great Race for Clean Air is a friendly competition between Bay Area employers to determine who will reign as the company with the best Bay Area Commuters!

Register your company online to get started. Your employees and co-workers can log their commutes online from September 1 to October 31. Winners will be selected for greatest CO2 savings and for greatest participation rate.

Winners will be recognized at a local Board of Supervisors meeting, and all participants will receive a certificate!

What did last year’s winners have to say about the Great Race for Clean Air?

“The Great Race organizers made it easy for the company to participate, and promoting it to employees was simple. We were delighted by the huge participation which led to Yahoo! receiving an award in 2010!”

“The Great Race for Clean Air was a great way to promote our commute programs and we were pleased to have such a high percentage of participants.”

“The Great Race for Clean Air was the perfect opportunity to help our employees become familiar with the transportation services available in a fun, competitive way. We are very proud to be one of the 2010 winners.”

The Great Race for Clean Air – it’s fun, and it helps Spare the Air! Register today!

This week, we’re asking our readers, followers, and fans to share their favorite random acts of kindness from their bike seats. Post yours in the comments section of this post, tweet at us (don’t forget to include @511CC), or post them on our wall.

I’ll get us started.

It was the first beautiful day last May. This was the kind of day that makes people move to the Bay Area. I hadn’t ridden a bike in a while and got lost on my way to work. I wasn’t “no one will notice I’m late” lost. I was “why is there water over there?!” LOST. I was off the cushy bike boulevard and in some industrial part of town with much more traffic than I expected. I approached a stop sign at a busy street.

There was no way across this street. I could see my office building in the distance, but there were too many cars. To make matters worse, a huge truck pulled up beside me, with his right turn signal blinking, ready to squash me like a bug. The only witness of my impending demise – the haggard looking woman on the sidewalk next to me. She shouted at me. I became nervous.

But wait, the driver was trying to get my attention, too. When I looked over, he eased straight out into the road. The cars coming from the left slowed, and I made a break for it! He made a wide turn, and waved back at me as he continued on his way. Success!

I was really excited about my random act of kindness until I read about Timbuk2′s seat cover ad campaign. Covering people’s seats on a rainy day is good enough, but doing it with a waterproof coupon for 20% off more waterproof gear is just clever.

Do you have a random act of kindness to share? What act of kindness would you appreciate the most? What would you be willing to do for someone else? How did you pay your act forward?

Let us know! We’ll post our favorites next Monday.

You can create customized bike routes with relative ease as 511 Contra Costa Bike Mapper finds the best routes for beginners and serious cyclists alike in a single search with a tri-color system.

Want to avoid the hills?  The 511 Contra Costa Bike Mapper allows for variable hill reluctance so each individual can choose their best possible route.  From “avoid at all costs” to “bring on the hills!” this function takes the guess-work out of finding the smoothest ride.

Want to know more?  We’ve got you covered with a FAQ.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

It’s that time of the year again for some baseball!  Leave the car at home (or at least a BART station) and take yourself to the ballgame on BART to root for your favorite team. Enjoy some peanuts and Cracker Jacks (but not on BART of course) cheering the Oakland Athletics or San Francisco Giants.  Watch your team play ball knowing you made a contribution to reducing your carbon footprint by taking public transit. Did we forget to mention the BART ride is on us?

Sign up for a free $10 BART ticket.  Limit to two (2) participants per household per calendar year.  This promotion is valid for home games only.

To be eligible for this promotion, applicants must:

• Travel through Contra Costa County
• Be over 18 years of age
• Own or have access to a vehicle (includes carsharing vehicles such as City Carshare and ZipCar)

Spring into spring with chapstick and suncreen?  Yep, we are celebrating the month of March by encouraging you get out of your vehicles and enjoy the great outdoors with a little “spring” in your steps by cycling or walking on the trails.  With daylight savings time moving forward another hour and the official start of spring, it’s time to get moving!  We also can provide bike and trail maps to help you get started!  Not a trail person?  No problem.  How about biking or walking to your local grocery store or nearby coffee shop?  Who knows, you might ”awaken” to a new “trail.”

Sign up below to receive a SPF 15  natural lip balm and a packet of sunscreen.  Limit to one per San Francisco Bay Area, CA household please.

7th: Super Bowl XLIV with the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints dueling it out for the championship.  Any Colts or Saints fans from Contra Costa traveling to Miami for the festivities?  What about attending a Super Bowl party?

12th: There’s an athletic event taking place in Vancouver this year called the Olympics.  Any Contra Costans attending the opening ceremony or scored tickets to a sporting event?

12th & 15th: This could mean a four-day weekend mid-month for some people as Lincoln’s Birthday and President’s Day is on a Friday and Monday.  Have any getaway plans?

14th: The NBA All-Star Game takes place in Dallas.  Alas, no Warriors made it to the All-Star game but, Stephen Curry will be playing in the Rookie Challenge on the 12th.  Here’s another chance to go to another party!  But, it’s also…

14th: Valentine’s Day.  Enough said.

Various days : Join the festivities and/or parade taking place for the Lunar New Year in Oakland and San Francisco!  (Coincidentally, the Year of the Tiger officially begins February 14th, the same day as Valentine’s Day this year.)

Whether you take BART to the airport or to go out, catch a ride with a friend, bus to get last-minute items for your party, or bike to your neighborhood restaurant, these actions help make the earth (and your community) breathe a little easier.  Make the pledge to travel green by registering below.  As with all rewards, rules and conditions do apply.

Didn’t we tell you this is February Madness?

The debut of our new website design is heading towards its first birthday, just in time for the holidays!  We thought it be interesting to see how much you know about us, our programs, and the services we offer.  So we came up with these short questions based upon our recent activities.  (If you don’t know the answers, they can be easily found or researched on this website.)  Answer all questions correctly and receive a prize!  What is the prize you might ask?  It’s a surprise, but you will be able to select your preferred prize offer.

Please carefully review your answers as you must answer all questions correctly in order to receive a prize.  Limit to one prize per household for up to 100 households.  Prize valid for individuals who live or work in Contra Costa County.  (Be sure to fill out the necessary information so that you qualify!)  You must be at least 18 years of age to receive a prize.  Please allow time for processing.

Make one commuter trip in May a zero carbon emission day. Pledge to bike and take transit to work or to a college campus and your transit trip is on us! Fill out the form below.

photo credit: Jonathan Taglione

May 14th is Bike to Work Day!

Nominate a Bicycle Commuter of the Year.  Do you know of a Contra Costa Bicycle Commuter who is worthy of this annual award? Deadline for nominations is Monday the 20th, 2009.

Want to know more?

• Full press release.
• Official bike to work website.

May 14th marks the Bay Area’s 15th annual Bike to Work Day when nearly 150,000 commuters are expected to pedal to work or school. At 511 Contra Costa, we’d like to encourage you to take part.
On May 14th, volunteers will staff hundreds of Energizer Stations along bike commute routes in all nine Bay Area counties. They’ll provide cyclists with complimentary treats, a reusable goodie bag, bicycle information, and good cheer!

The festivities will kick off with nominations for the Bike Commuter of the Year. Submit a story of a friend or coworker who goes above and beyond in their dedication to bicycle commuting and they will be put in the running to win one of many great bicycle-related prizes. Visit the official Bay Area bike to work website for more info.

Bike to Work Day 2009 is presented by 511.org and Kaiser Permanente. Contra Costa Energizer Stations made possible by volunteers from the following agencies and companies: the City of San Ramon, City of Walnut Creek, City of Antioch, City of Pittsburg, City of Richmond, City of El Cerrito, Town of Danville, Bishop Ranch Transportation Centre, Lafayette Bike/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Walnut Creek Bicycle Advisory Committee, Lafayette Chamber /Green Committee, Whole Foods Market, Fresenius Medical Care, Bank of America, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College, The Delta Pedalers, The County Connection, REI Concord and Brentwood, Parkmead School, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, Renaissance Club Sport, Kaiser Permanente Antioch, The Pedaler Bike Shop, CARS (Complete Auto Repair Service), and SunPower Corporation.

In Contra Costa, Bike to Work Day is organized by the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition and 511 Contra Costa with funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, County Congestion Management Agencies, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and corporate sponsors. In-kind support provided by local bike coalitions, cities, municipalities, companies and hundreds of local volunteers.