Celebrate Commute Solutions month, win fabulous prizes!

Many of y'all might not know it (hell, I didn't know it), but September is "Commute Solutions Month", and CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) is trying to take advantage of the fact to push cycling and public transportation as alternatives to driving a car any and everywhere.

The first thing they're doing is a Commuter Challenge to see who can rack up the most miles of alternative transportation during their daily commute. The event officially started Monday September 7th, and runs until the 19th, but anyone can still sign up at http://www.rcride.com to log the miles from their cleaner commute. Why the hell would you want to do this? Signing up and logging your miles makes you eligible to win some decent sounding prizes like iPods, solar panel backpacks, mini-laptops, and who knows what else. Seriously, this is sponsored by some real big folks, so the prize support is out of this world. It also hasn't been pushed very much, so the field of challengers is still rather slim.

Their second event looks MUCH more interesting, at least from my viewpoint:

Build a Commute Machine That Makes a Difference in a Different Way.

In celebration of Commute Solutions Month, http://www.austingreenart.org">Austin Green Art brings you the Weirdest Commute Contest - a fun take on the
important idea of alternative commuting.

You're invited to share your weirdness and ingenuity for a chance to win sweet prizes like, a pair of 3-Day ACL passes, an electric scooter and a PlayStation 3.

Here's how it works:

* Build a moving vehicle that could transport you to work; the weirder the better
* Bring it to the Idea City parking lot at W. 6th and Wood St. on 9/18
* Sign up between 10 and 10:30am, event goes from 11:00-1:00
* Complete one lap around the parking lot to be eligible to win
* Display your invention as Austin VIPs select the weirdest

Contact Randy@austingreenart.org for more information.

NICE! Of course this occurs on a Friday during the day so many of us actually doing a weird commute will probably be at work while this is going on, but for all you downtown commuters with free time during the day on a Friday, this sounds like a great opportunity to show off your ride and win some badass sounding prizes. Wonder who the "Austin VIPs" are going to be?

Finally, they wrap up the month with a party, once again smack dab in the middle of a standard workday:

Celebration Ceremony

Thursday, September 24 at City Hall Plaza, 301 W. 2nd Street, Austin, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Come celebrate the end of Commute Solutions Month, listen to music, eat, get in on raffles, and have fun.

I guess this is the "Downtown Commute Solutions Month" or something. Sorry commuters to the outskirts, maybe next time.

There you have it, bikers. If anyone asks you what you did for Commute Solutions Month (seriously though, where did they announce this?!?), now you know what to tell them.