Grease In The East

If you live in New York City or the outlying areas then you’re probably familiar with the bus tour groups they have that take skiers and snowboarders from the city to either Vermont or Hunter mountain. For some this is the only option to get out of the city and ride without shelling out the big bucks and flying westward or commuting up into New England. Two lifelong snowboarders who currently reside in the city have come up with an idea that would bring both environmentally friendly options and a new bus tour system to the Big Apple. But there’s one hitch these two need your help to get there.

If you’ve ventured out into the Pacific North West then you have by chance heard of the Grease Bus. A bio-fueled transport vehicle that takes you from the cities of Portland and Seattle to resorts like Mount Hood Meadows, Stevens Pass, and Summit at Snoqualmie. With cheap rates and being environmentally friendly this provides a daily opportunity  for vehicularly challenged riders to get up to the mountain and go snow sliding.

As of yesterday a proposal was accepted by the Pepsi Refresh Project for what they’re calling Grease Bus NYC. The proposal states that if Pepsi were to donate 50,000 dollars to them they would be able to buy three buses, convert them to bio-diesel, and cover start up insurance costs. Now here’s where you would come in, the way for them to get this donation is by having people vote on their cause on their Pepsi Refresh Project Page. The competition is running from the first of June till the end and everyone can vote once day, with two options on how you vote you can register on the page or install the facebook app. and do it through your facebook log in.

One thing to note is that Grease Bus NYC is in no way, shape, or form affiliated with the Grease Bus in the PNW. At the time Michael Callaghan was creating their page he needed a tentative name to call the project. This name will be changed if they’re able to attain this grant. But his has already drawn some attention from some pseudo-haters. While Michael openly admits he stole the idea from the original Grease Bus he did not intend to steal their name. So while originality can be put into question people should cut him a break as he’s trying to do something good for NYC and their snowboarding scene and they aren’t out to step on anyone’s toes.

So who are Michael Callaghan and Dan Broadwell the entrepreneurs of this idea and what will they be offering? Michael is the man behind Upstate Clothing and Dan Broadwell is the man behind Flour City Distribution a rep company encompassing Capita, Coal, Union, Ashbury, and 32. Both have roots in the snowboarding community and a passion to provide a better alternative to the non-green bus tours already available. With a price of 20 bucks round trip and the opportunity to go to other destinations besides Hunter which include Big Boulder, Mountain Creek, and Camelback. Thinking ahead these two snowboarders put their love of skateboarding and surfing into perspective and hope to offer year round service providing mini surf and skate safaris to beaches and skate parks up and down the coast. Dan was quoted saying, “At the end of the day, day trips out of NYC run people $40 and up, just looking to make it more obtainable and affordable for those who want to ride and looking for more options.”

So with 29 more days in this month why not take an extra 20 seconds of your day to vote for these guys? As of the writing of this these guys have gone from being ranked 184 down to 113 and are now back up at 129. They need to be in the top ten to possibly win this grant and ideally should get into the number one slot to bring their business opportunity to fruition. So after reading this I’d hope you’d click this link and vote for them.