Frequently Asked Questions

Most trips are less than two miles. But motor vehicles are least efficient and most polluting during the first few miles of a trip. Two miles is an easy distance to bike and a reasonable distance to walk. Using active transportation for short trips is an efficient way to develop a more active lifestyle, reducing your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.

We’re offering Traffic Skills 101 on Sunday, Sept 25, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm. Traffic Skills 101 will give you the confidence to bike safely on any road.

The League of American Bicyclists developed Traffic Skills 101. Two league certified instructors, Alex Tetlak and Rachel Ruhlen, teach best cycling practices through classroom, parking lot drills, and on street practice. The fee for this course is typically $80, and we are offering it for only $20 to cover the cost of materials. Call Rachel at (573) 268-8770 for more information, or sign up for the course when you register for the Two Mile Challenge.

Solution 1: Drive, park your car at a church or business (with permission), and walk the last mile, or bike the last 5 miles. Or carpool one way with a friend who has a bike rack on her car.

Solution 2: Put your bike on the car and drive in. Bike home. Bike in the next day. Drive home.

Wear a t-shirt to travel. Bring a nice shirt and a towel. When you get to work, WAIT ten minutes! Then towel off and change into your nice shirt.

Solution 1: Parents who bicycle are the most hard-core of all of us! Little kids can go in a trailer. A little bit bigger kids can go on an xtracycle, a trail-a-bike, an X2cycle rack that joins 2 bikes, or a tandem bike. Kids who are big enough to keep up on their may not be old enough to bike on all the busier streets. Or they may not want to bike. Finally, there just may not be enough time to get the kid where she needs to go without using a car. We’ll do our best to help you find the feasible challenge that works for you this month!

Solution 2: Trade pick up and drop off days with another parent. You can bike on the days you aren’t scheduled to pick up kids.

Solution 3: Park near the daycare (with permission) and bike or walk from there.

Solution 1: A rack is essential to anyone who wants to bike for transportation. A backpack only gets you so far. When you have a rack, you can use panniers, a rack trunk, or a basket. Or you can put a basket on the handlebar. A front rack with panniers gives you some additional capacity. An xtracycle or trailer really expands your cargo space.

Solution 2: Plan to drive one or two days a week and bring everything you’ll need for the whole week.

Incorporate active transportation into your work day. Walk instead of drive to lunch or errands throughout the day. Instead of grabbing a candy bar or coffee when you start feeling tired, try a 5 minute walk to perk up. Participate in some social or recreational rides or walks.

Yes. Transportation means moving yourself around, and active transportation means you are doing it under your own power. Passive Transportation is driving a car, riding a bus, etc. Bicycling and walking for normal everyday transportation is an efficient way to get exercise into your daily life without having to think much about it.

However, if using a bicycle or car for normal everyday transportation just isn’t for you, or it’s something you do and you want to do a little more, using active transportation for exercise or recreation is definitely allowed as part of your challenge.

Treadmills, stationary bike, playing basketball, going to the gym— That's great that you are getting some exercise, but these don’t really count as active transportation. Walk or bike to the gym!

Solution 1: Walk or bike no matter the weather.

Solution 2: Walk or bike exclusively, no matter the distance.

Solution 3: Add in a few recreational or social rides or walks. We’ll be hosting a few of these throughout October!

Everyone who completes the Two Mile Challenge receives a participant packet with coupons and freebies. But what does it mean to "complete" the Challenge? We learn as much or more from our failures as we do from our successes. That's why one of the rules is that you write about your experiences on the forum, so that we can all learn from your failures. If your challenge is too challenging, revise it to be more feasible. The only way you can really fail is if you don't write about your experiences once a week. And, if you have trouble getting your writing done one week, please let us know as soon as possible.