Apply To Become A Bike Friendly Business

From the City

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Become an Official Boston
Bike Friendly Business/Organization

Applications available now at

www.cityofboston.gov/bikes/bikebusiness.asp

Applications due Friday, March 16th

Our Bike Friendly Business awards recognize companies and organizations that take steps to be more bike friendly. By adopting a few basic, inexpensive practices, companies will significantly improve the climate for cycling in Boston.

The application includes a checklist of simple practices that will make it easy for businesses and organizations to encourage cycling. Items on the list include: outdoor bike racks, employee bike training sessions, promotion of cycling activities, shower facilities, company owned bikes, bike commuter incentives, guaranteed ride home, participation in Hub On Wheels and much more.

Businesses and organizations that check items for a minimum of ten points will be honored by Mayor Menino as a Bronze Bike Friendly Business at a ceremony in April. Businesses and organizations with sixteen points qualify as a Silver Bike Friendly Business. With twenty-two or more points businesses and organizations will earn a prestigious Gold Bike Friendly Business award. Honorees will receive a “Mayor Menino Bike Friendly Business” window sticker and be included in our press releases and on our website.

We also have a special award for “Most Bike Friendly Business”- the organization that demonstrates the most bike friendly practices or the most improvement over previous applications. These special awards are open to all non-bike industry applicants.

For more information contact: [email protected]

Nicole Freedman

Director of Bicycle Programs

One City Hall Square, Suite 932

Boston, MA 02201

617.918.4456

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Da Mayor At Geekhouse!

Got this from Marty over at Geekhouse Bikes.

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So this is kind of crazy, but Mayor Menino is coming to the Geekhouse shop this Thursday 3/19 at 11am for a ribbon cutting ceremony. Basically I got a loan from the city of Boston a while back and this is the part where they hand me one of those big fake check things. I feel a little weird about the whole thing, but it’s pretty awesome that the city is supporting local business and especially bike related ones. Anyway, I guess they want a lot of people to show up and show support from the local bike community, so I’ll have some free coffee and donuts before the event! So everyone come on over to 15 West Sorrento St, in Allston, see you Thursday! Thanks guys!

-Marty

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Geekhouse Hitting The Big Time!

Marty over at Geekhouse Bikes has been doing some AMAZING stuff lately (here and here). I am not just talking about his amazing bike, seems he is getting his business side of things moving as well.

From the geekhouse website. (I know this is mad late in posting this, but I thought it was such a cool development that I couldn’t let it pass)

So I got an email on Sunday night saying that Mayor Menino was going to mention Geekhouse in his annual State of the City address which took place last night (I’m at the 8:27 section). At first I didn’t really know much about it. But then Monday I found out that the whole event would be broadcast live on Chanel 5 Boston, and that I had a reserved seat in one of the front rows at the event, which would be held in prestigious Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston.

If I haven’t mentioned this before in December I got a loan from the City of Boston to help purchase some necessary manufacturing equipment, and also provide the ability to hire 1-2 employees to help out with fabrication. This whole process involved a lot of time and effort. I sought out help from Score a division of the Boston SBA in reviewing a detailed business plan I wrote myself. And of course I had a lot of support from my amazing lawyer Joel Kinney of Goldstein and Herndon in Chestnut Hill. So after about 6 months of planning and effort I was finally approved for the loan. Also, a big thanks to Bill Nickerson and everyone from the BLDC for all their help with getting that done!

So back to the event last night. I ended up bringing my girlfriend Andrea, my Mom and two sisters Corie and Katty, and also Josh from Open Bicycle. I was told we had reserved seating, but when we walked in there were two levels, and upper and lower. The security guard blocked us when I tried to walk into the lower section, and I told him the I was Marty Walsh and we had reserved seating. His response was, “Oh yes Mr. Walsh, someone will show you to your seats.” Now, there’s also a state rep named Marty Walsh, so my response to him was “No, I’m the other Marty Walsh, not the State Rep Marty Walsh.” And he then said. “Oh no, we know who your are, I’ll have someone show you to your seats.”

The whole thing was pretty surreal. We had 4 seats which all had Marty Walsh written of them in the front row of the right side of the room. Then there were two seats for me and Andrea only a few rows back from the front row, which included Gov Deval Patrick, and the Mayor’s wife. My thoughts through the whole thing were; holy crap why the hell am I here with all these important people? Sitting right next to me was a guy who was first on the scene to the firefighter accident last week, I believe he actually saved one of the firefighters lives. And on the other side was a guy giving away like a million dollars to the Boston public schools. So out of all the people in the city who did amazing things this past year, we were the three that the Mayor mentioned. I still feel that I don’t deserve that kind of attention, and this isn’t something that I sought out. But hey I’ll take the free press, haha!

After the event my sister Corie made me go get a picture with the Mayor, and I told him thank you. I then met the Allston Rep, who went and introduced me to the State Rep Marty Walsh. I also shook hands with Secretary Galvin and a few other respectable Bostonians. The whole thing was really pretty amazing but also a little ridiculous. A few Boston firefighters shook my hand and said nice job and thank you. My response no them was “No, thank you guys, your awesome!” haha, like I said the whole thing was just pretty surreal.

Anyway, after all that I couldn’t sleep last night and I got in the shop a little after 7am this morning and I’m anxious to just get back to business as usual. Now I just have to see if my fat head still fits in my welding helmet. Anyway, thanks for listening!

-Marty Walsh (not the State Rep)

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