“You’re a Big Girl Now” – Hey, HER Helmet Thursdays Is for Boys, Too!

[12/21 update: the National Steinbeck Center brought the list up to 41 participants today, nearly doubled in the five days since this post was written on 12/16.]

HER Helmet Thursdays turned 21

Just like children, who grow up fast, this project launched Thanksgiving week has already reached 21.  And Ingrid Michaelson might sing in celebration, “You’re a big girl now, see your big girl helmet!”—Oh, that was “shoes”?  Sorry, Ingrid.

No, although the project is getting big, those lyrics wouldn’t be quite right.  And the “HER” in HER Helmet Thursdays doesn’t have anything to do with girls, or women, anyway!

This project isn’t just for female cyclists, it is for male cyclists too.

So if HER doesn’t mean it’s for girls and women, what does HER mean?  H-E-R stands for Hotels, Educational Attractions and Entertainment Venues, and Restaurants, and related businesses and organizations. You’ll find details in the Intro and Part II, or just call me.

1. Introducing HER Helmet Thursdays:  An Ecology-Economy Partnership (11/24)
2. HER Helmet Thursdays, Part II – Frequently asked questions (12/5)

It’s that new, and it’s grown that fast?

Yes.  The Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa put HER Helmet Thursdays in the grown-up category on Dec 15, raising the number to 21 charter participants.  They did this by committing their Duck Club Grill, Schooners Bistro on the Bay, Cafe La Strada, and even Vista Blue Spa. All four of these bay-side beauties will be enticing more cyclists in and to Monterey County.

Really? Vista Blue Spa? How does that fit into the HER equation?  Read the “Entertainment venues/Educational attractions” section in HER Helmet Thursdays:  Ecology-Economy Leaders for the answer.

A few hours after this “turned 21” post was written, it happily became dated by Hola-by-the-Sea in Carmel’s Barnyard, #22. Hola was host to the fun-loving (see their Critical Christmas ride)  Velo Club Monterey for their Christmas party on Dec 12.

After Hola’s, along came Carmel Belle, who’d been tempting me with Tweets about warm soups and organic grains; La Belle became #23!

Next it was Elli’s Great American Restaurant (first participant in Salinas), with their delicious and diverse menu.  Immediately following suit were LALLA Lounge, LALLAgrill, LALLApalooza—where Executive Chef Luis Osorio prepares the most delicious roasted beet salad I’ve had since Scala’s Bistro in San Francisco’s Union Square.  No need to bicycle all the way to San Francisco for amazing roasted beets; the creation by Luis Osorio was even better!

Well, ooh-la-la! As those fabulous LA-LA-LA participants demonstrate, there is a wave of support building for more bicycling in Monterey County!

Watch HER grow

Soon other people will be inviting their favorite HER businesses and organizations to participate.  Based on one individual so quickly finding 21+ enthusiastic participants, and there being 408,238 other people living in the county….  Well, when even a tiny portion of those start inviting their favorites to participate, you can see there will be a long list of reasons to get bicycling on Thursdays around here.  And when people who haven’t cycled much for a while realize how much they enjoy it on Thursdays, they’ll soon be doing it on other days too.

Can you see how these charter participants, and those who follow, can have such a positive impact in Monterey County?

Give some love to charter participants!

I am especially grateful to the very first of the HER Helmet Thursdays charter participants, whose names and links you’ll find in HER Helmet Thursdays:  Ecology-Economy Leaders.

Their leadership is a deeply meaningful action, for so many reasons.  You can read about those reasons in Part II and in the Intro post.

Get ready, Monterey County

Chances are you’re gonna wanna do more cycling in 2010, especially on Thursdays, starting now.  Maybe you’ll want to get your loved ones new bikes for Christmas, or hustle those bikes down to a Monterey County bike shop for a tuneup.

For shops in Monterey County that can service your bikes, see list of “Bicycle Shops and Services in Monterey County.”

Will this really be one of the most bicycling friendly places in the nation? Yes, Virginia, it looks like MoCo is heading in that direction!

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