Every Day is Bike-to-Work Day
Softstar founder Tim Oliver and his trusty bicycle. He rides it to work most days.
Tim's bright yellow bike frame sports a red leather bike seat cover that he crafted years ago in the workshop. The red leather seat features a large inlaid white leather star–just like the star inlays on our moccasins and reminiscent of Tim's Texan roots. In a small city with a strong biking culture, his bike is his "calling card" and is easily recognizable when parked downtown.
Tim's custom handmade bike seat.
Tim isn't the only Softstar bike commuter. Almost half of our team cycles to work throughout the year, and a die-hard core of elves bike rain or shine every single day. Of course, not having to contend with sleet or snow in our corner of the world helps. Softstar also encourages biking to work by offering an alternative transportation benefit.
We are fortunate that Corvallis is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the nation. In fact, the 2011 American Community Survey (an arm of the US Census) rated Corvallis as having the highest percentage of bicycle commuters and second highest percentage of pedestrian commuters of any city over 50,000 population in the United States. The miles of bike trails, relatively flat terrain and facilities such as cycling lanes and plentiful parking racks means our Elves can pedal almost any trip across town in less than 15 minutes. Our local public transportation system even equips all of their buses with bike racks!.
One day, we aspire to get a company "bike" like this cool ELF bike by Organic Transport. It would be a super cool employee vehicle for company errands and already has the perfect name for us!
With Earth Day fast approaching, we hope more people will take time to consider alternative forms of transportation, whether they be by bike, carpool, public transportation or hover shoes (heh heh). If you have any great stories about green commuting and your workplace then we'd love to hear them!
"Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race."
~ H.G. Wells
Related Posts:
- Biking with Coffee
- Softstar talks Sustainability
- Elves Getting Dirty! Softstar Volunteers at SAGE Community Gardens
Trish has been an entrepreneur, marketer and maker ever since she crushed her first lemonade stand at age five. Growing up in rural Wisconsin, she spent many summers running barefoot with her sisters. These early memories later inspired her to build a brand which embraced the joy and freedom of childhood with the health and science of minimal footwear.
Trish relishes evolving the company to grow stronger and more competitive with each passing year. She is a frequent expert panelist for both e-commerce and entrepreneurship conferences. Trish enjoys spending time with her family, dogs and ducks on their property in Oregon and loves the proximity to both surf and snow. She has a background in Engineering Physics and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
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