Commuter Stories

Jackie McClure

For years, caregiving responsibilities made bringing a car to campus a near-necessity for Fairhaven Advising Coordinator Jackie McClure. But when a colleague invited her to join an EverybodyBIKE team in May 2008, her life situation had changed enough to enable her to start using alternatives to driving alone. She's been walking and biking to work regularly ever since.

Jackie likes the quiet time she gets on her walk to work, and finds that walking home gives her time to transition mentally from work to home. An admitted fair weather cyclist, one challenge was developing the strength to make it over the hill to Fairhaven College.

McClure’s advice for new biking or walking commuters is to routinize biking and walking to work several days a week. If your trip to work will take a little longer, try to adjust your morning routine so you are able to leave a few minutes earlier.

Jackie and her husband try to minimize their drive alone car trips, and log their bike, walk, bus and rideshare trips online at www.whatcomsmartrips.org. By logging her walking and biking trips to work, McClure is eligible for discounts, cash prizes and other rewards. She won the $25 Munch Money prize in June's Sustainable Transportation smart commuter drawing.