In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post is an excerpt from a feature I wrote for the March-April issue of Momentum magazine on the impact of bicycles on local business. This section is particularly fitting as League staff is in Memphis today attending the Tennessee Bike Summit!

Pat Brown was just hoping to hang on in a tough economy. When she relocated her art gallery in 2008, it was the rock-bottom rent that drew her to a still struggling strip of downtown Memphis, TN. “We were just trying to survive,” she said.

Brown (pictured right) was betting on a small core of community members determined to transform Broad Avenue from a fast-moving thoroughfare, where traffic whizzed past boarded-up storefronts at 50 mph (80 km/h), into a bustling arts district. Little did she know that they would hit the jackpot with bicycling.

Shortly after Brown opened T Clifton Gallery, Sarah Newstok walked in. The local nonprofit Newstok led, Livable Memphis, had a vision for Broad Avenue, too. They wanted to build a protected bike lane that would pass right by Brown’s door, creating a vital connection between a popular multi-use trail and the city’s largest park. “We’re a retail business, so any time there’s a concept to bring additional traffic directly by your storefront, it’s very easy to say ‘yes,’” Brown recalled with a laugh.

In 2010, after garnering support from city officials and surrounding businesses, Livable Memphis and the Broad Avenue Arts District rolled out the idea in a dramatic way. They painted temporary bike lanes and crosswalks and invited the community to “A New Face for an Old Broad,” a celebration, complete with live music, street vendors and a kids’ bike parade down the freshly striped cycle track (photo below).

“Until then, the area had been doing art walks once a year and, at best, those were bringing in 1,000 people,” Brown said. “Our goal for this day-and-a-half event, where the street itself would be a sort of theatrical performance, was maybe 5,000 people. We had 15,000 show up. The energy level was incredible. It was a huge tipping point for us – it changed the trajectory of the revitalization efforts.”

The energy didn’t wane once the event was over and bicyclists started taking advantage of the temporary lanes. Since then, the promise of permanent facilities has drawn more than $6 million in private investment. More than 15 new businesses have opened and nearly 30 properties have been renovated. Traffic has slowed, new customers are arriving on two wheels and, suddenly the rock-bottom neighborhood is one of the hottest spots in town.

Memphis isn’t the only city where bicycling is bringing business. Increasingly leaders in the public and private sector are realizing that being bike-friendly makes good business sense, boosting the bottom line and promoting community-wide economic development. Bicycling in the United States is a $6 billion national industry and one study estimates that the spillover effects of recreational bicycling alone could be as large as $133 billion. But that’s just the beginning, barely scratching the surface of the economic impact of transportation bicycling in communities across North America…

Read the full story here!

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

To seed and support this growing momentum to encourage women from all backgrounds to become engaged in bicycling and the bike movement, the League’s Women Bike program has awarded $7,500 in small grants to innovative, model campaigns in four cities.

We know new ideas and initiatives are breaking ground across the country — and we want to make sure the best efforts take root and serve as examples for the rest of the nation. These grants aim to provide best practices on women’s bicycling outreach and engagement, so, instead of reinventing the wheel, advocates are able to quickly and effectively accelerate the energy around women’s bicycling in their communities with proven strategies and key resources.

In this call for proposals, we received more than 60 applications for funding — and we were absolutely in awe of the amazing amount and diversity of work around women and bicycling. The decisions were tough but the recipient organizations and projects in this round of Women Bike mini-grants include:

WE Bike NYC
Engaging Latina Women Through Bilingual Outreach and Resources
$2,000
Breaking down barriers for women cyclists, WE Bike NYC realizes the importance of creating a space where new riders feel welcome and understood. “Engaging Latina women is done by creating accessible resources where these women can literally and figuratively see themselves — or people who look like them,” says Liz Jose, a bilingual organizer and founder of the group. “Our goal with this grant is to create outreach and educational materials in print and online that encourage Latina women to join the bicycle movement. By compiling existing Spanish language resources as well as creating new, downloadable documents, the work created under this grant will create a model for language inclusiveness for groups across the country, as well as materials such as a Spanish-language ‘Fix-A-Flat’ book featuring Latina women and a Spanish-language ‘Club Pack’ that can be used to begin work in local communities.” Learn more about WE Bike NYC.

Women Bike PHL (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia)
Girl Scouts on Wheels
$1,500
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s Women Bike PHL campaign is working to get more women and girls on bikes in Philadelphia. Their innovative “Girl Scouts on Wheels” project is developing and promoting a Biking Basics patch, as well as offering Bike Rodeos and Learn-to-Ride classes to Girl Scout troops. “I was a Girl Scout for 10 years, and know from experience what a positive impact that organization has on youth,” says Katie Monroe, Women Bike PHL coordinator. “If we’re serious about getting more women riding, we need to start young — and Girl Scouts seems like the perfect platform for educating and inspiring girls to get pedaling. It’s also a powerful national network, so ideally this partnership between bike advocates and Girl Scouts could be replicated around the country.” Learn more about Women Bike PHL.

We Are All Mechanics
Scholarship Program
$1,500
A women-owned and operated initiative since 2003, We are All Mechanics has been teaching bicycle maintenance courses to women in the Madison-area community for 10 years. The grant from the League will enable us to offer scholarships to women who would otherwise not be able to participate in our Basic Bicycle Maintenance Course,” says Ali Dwyer, a co-founder of WAAM. “Participants in our Basic Course report that they are excited to share what they know with others, and they report riding more often, for more reasons, and with more confidence after taking our course.Our successful program, and our original materials will serve as a model for other programs and bicycle educators.” Learn more about We Are All Mechanics.

Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Women on Wheels in Spanish
$2,500 (Special Smart Cycling grant)
Marin County Bicycle Coalition’s Women on Wheels was developed in 2011 to provide classes for women to ride together and provide other shared information. “The classes are designed to help women gain the confidence and skills they need to ride a bicycle for errands, to get their children to school or for recreation,” says MCBC’s Wendi Kallins. “With this grant, we’ll be able to offer these classes in the low income, predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of the Canal area of San Rafael – and make the curriculum for Spanish-speaking women available to other communities around the country.” Learn more about Women On Wheels.

Learn more about Women Bike at bikeleague.org/womenbike 

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

This afternoon, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will testify in front of the Senate Commerce Committee as part of his nomination process to become the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

The League issued a statement when he was nominated, and we look forward to hearing Mayor Foxx answer questions about his vision for transportation over the next four years. When it comes to surface transportation, we believe the Mayor has an important story to tell about how innovative transportation choices like light rail, street cars and bike share helped bring 13,000 new jobs to Charlotte, N.C.

The League was among the more than two dozen organizations that signed-on to a letter from the Transportation for America Equity Caucus to the Senate committee attesting: “We believe that Foxx’s background prepares him well to advance an agenda at the US Department of Transportation that affords all Americans the opportunity to participate and prosper.”

This hearing is also an opportunity to hear from the Senators — 13 Democrats and 11 Republicans, almost a quarter of the Senate, and five first time Senators — about what they believe are the most important transportation issues of the day.

It’s a fair bet that funding for transportation — including the Highway Trust Fund — will be a main focus of the discussion. In addition to that, I’ll be interested in hearing what Foxx, and the Senators, are thinking about in terms of our goals for the next transportation bill.

• How can we move towards zero deaths on our highways?
• If cities are the economic engines of the nation, what should the role of local decision making in transportation be? How can transportation policy address local economic development, health and quality of life issues?
• In his State of the Union Speech, President Obama announced a “fix it first” policy for transportation; what will that look like, and how will a complete streets approach be incorporated?

We’ll be watching the confirmation hearing, and listening for answers to these questions and others. Let us know what you’re listening for…

Caron Whitaker
Vice President of Government Relations

Prior to joining the League of American Bicyclists in 2012, Ms. Whitaker served as the Campaign Director for America Bikes where she coordinated and implemented America Bikes federal policy agenda. Before that, she worked for the National Wildlife Federation on smart growth, international policy, and community engagement. In addition, Caron served as a Community Land Use Planner for the State of North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, providing technical assistance to local governments and staffing a stakeholders’ council responsible for revising state planning regulations. She has a Masters in Environmental Management for Duke University, Nicolas School of the Environment and a Bachelors of Arts from Williams College.

With so much energy around biking in the Bike Apple — and the imminent and exciting launch of the NYC Bike Share system — Velojoy.com hosted a dynamic panel at the annual Bike Expo New York this month addressing ways to involve women.

Moderated by Susi Wunsch, the founder of Velojoy and member of the Women Bike Advisory Board, the session crystallized some of the key hurdles and opportunities to get more women riding.

“In New York City, trips by male bicycle commuters outnumber those by women by 3-1,” Wunsch said in her opening, “but there’s real change on the horizon.”

The discussion provided an engaging glimpse of that promising future, capturing diverse experiences and perspectives on how to get more women riding, including (in the recap video above):

• The story behind how and why Julie Hirschfeld opened Adeline Adeline, a women-friendly bike shop specifically oriented to commuter biking
• Insight from Caroline Samponaro, director of campaigns and organizing at Transportation Alternatives, on the four ways to get more people on bikes — and how she took action to identify where women ride in greater numbers in NYC
• Thoughts from Dani Simons, marketing director for the new Citi Bike, on what makes bike share systems particularly compelling to women

The panel also addressed head-on the most multi-faceted question of all: What are the best ways to attract more women to cycling (video above).

Share the videos above and subscribe to a wealth of great content around women and cycling at www.velojoy.com.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post is an excerpt from the May/June issue of American Bicyclist, featuring the innovative efforts of Team Better Block, which uses DIY tactics to empower and engage citizens to re-imagine their streets — in real time.

Jason Roberts fully expected to get arrested. “We decided we would break every law that we possibly could,” the Dallas resident recalls.

The day was September 11, 2010, the place was a nearly abandoned Tyler Street in the heart of the Oak Cliff neighborhood — and the 36-year-old IT consultant was the unlikely leader of a local revolution. Inspired by a trip to Europe, where pedestrian plazas and bike facilities created vibrant public spaces, Roberts had started to look around his own neighborhood and had a realization: Wow, we’re going about this all wrong.

(From left) Jason Roberts and Andrew Howard

In so many places, abandoned buildings disintegrated next to wide, lifeless streets, where absent sidewalks and cracked pavement made pedestrians and bicyclists unwelcome. Meanwhile, antiquated zoning laws hobbled entrepreneurship and street improvement were in the hands engineering experts huddling over maps making abstract calculations about traffic flow.

Roberts decided to challenge the status quo by showing folks the alternative — in real time.

Working with Andrew Howard, his partner in what would become known as Team Better Block, Roberts radically re-imagined Tyler street with the help of a small army of eager volunteers. They painted their own bike lanes and crosswalks. They turned an old car garage into a space for children’s art classes and created café seating outside previously abandoned buildings.

Cognizant of their rebellion, they printed out and posted in the windows every single law they broke in bringing Tyler Street back from the dead. But Team Better Block wasn’t led away in handcuffs. Quite the opposite: City officials started questioning the status quo, too. Clearly the Team has come up with a winning strategy.

Roberts’ innovative, do-it-yourself model proved effective in other areas of Dallas — and soon advocates and officials in other cities were calling, asking Roberts’ team to bring that energy and ingenuity to their own struggling streets. Just three years since that first event, Better Blocks has jumpstarted transformation in Memphis, Wichita, San Antonio and other major cities.

So what are the components of a Better Block and why have these strategies proven successful?

For Roberts, there are four critical attributes of a Better Block project. First, it has to be safe — while volunteers paint the bike lanes, there’s always an engineer in the background making sure the facilities are safe. It has to be inviting and engaging for people no matter their mode of travel and accessible for folks aged 8 to 80. And, perhaps most importantly, it has to have staying power. The beauty of a Better Block is that it’s a temporary installation, soothing concerns from policymakers or powerbrokers who may be wary of the transformation. But, at the same time, it has the potential to spur permanent changes to the street when it proves to be a success.

The key to that success? Changing the advocacy paradigm. “Get out of city hall and onto the street,” Roberts says. “Ninety-percent of the community wants action. They want to pick up a hammer, paintbrushes and brooms and start doing something.”

“It’s so much more powerful to allow people to experience an improved environment as opposed to just showing them pictures and renderings,” he adds. “By physically putting change on the ground, many people who were opposed or maybe didn’t understand the project, can become our advocates once they see that the changes are positive and don’t have a detrimental impact on traffic.”

Read the full story below…

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Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

Thousands of people across the country left their keys on the counter this morning, opting instead to grab their bicycle and ride to the office.

National Bike to Work Day is one of our favorite times of the year, and it proved its salt again this morning. The League staff was stationed at several pit stops in and around Washington, D.C., to say hello to bicyclists on their way to work. We passed out bike pins, urged visitors to become members and listened to local politicians as they extolled the benefits of bicycling.

Scroll through some of our photos from this morning in D.C., and be sure to send us yours via Facebook, Twitter or in the comments below!

Thank you to everyone who participated in Bike to Work Day 2013!

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Mari Ruddy, who has had type 1 diabetes for 32 years, is a two-time breast cancer survivor, founded the Red Rider Program of the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure, and is the Director of TeamWILD Athletics.

I remember the thrill I got the first time my dad let go of the bicycle seat — and I felt the Schwinn moving 100% under in my control. My 5-year-old self immediately recognized the power I possessed. Little did I know how the bike would give me many gifts throughout my life — the most important being refuge for my health challenges.

I found out when I was 16 (like my father found out when he was 26) that I had type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes requires diligent attention to balancing food, insulin, stress and exercise. It’s a balancing act that sometimes feels like I need a medical degree, an exercise physiology degree and a dietitian credential to manage.

When I was in my late 30s, after many years of poorly managed diabetes, I discovered that the key to it all was riding my bike — riding long slow distances to be precise.

I trained for and completed a 400-mile bike tour of Colorado and maintained the best blood sugar control of my life. All the while eating plenty of carbohydrates to fuel my effort climbing all those mountain passes. I finished the bike ride and, much to my chagrin, I couldn’t seem to recover. A few months later I found a lump in my right breast. I had Stage II breast cancer. I rode my bike on a trainer in my living room during chemo treatments and I rode my bike to and from the majority of my radiation sessions.

As the bike had given me hope with my diabetes management, the bike grounded me in who I was as I moved through breast cancer treatments. The week after finishing cancer treatments, I participated in my first triathlon and I loved the healing that came from being in the Survivor Wave. People celebrated and cheered for my survivorship, and that touched me.

I wanted to bring that same healing love to the world of diabetes.

I got involved with the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure and started the Red Rider Recognition Program. Red Riders are the more than 7,000 cyclists who ride in the Tour de Cure who have diabetes. Red Riders are the heroes of the ride, for we are not victims of our health struggles, but rather we courageously get on our bikes and take charge of our wellness.

During the Tour de Cure, cyclists call out “Go Red Rider!” to those of us with diabetes who wear the Red Rider jersey. “Go Red Rider!” offers encouragement and love for the challenge it is to live well with a difficult disease like diabetes. It touches my heart deeply to hear “Go Red Ride!” It makes all I’ve survived seem not so bad.

I found out in July of 2010 that I had a second primary occurrence of breast cancer. It was the Red Rider community who supported me through those treatments. And you better believe I rode my bike through it all! I’m again cancer-free, though I still have diabetes. So, I keep riding and I keep talking about the power of riding the bike for health.

See you out there!

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

This morning, thousands of Americans will pedal out of their driveways, taking part in National Bike to Work Day. Sponsored by the League, Bike to Work Day is being celebrated in hundreds of communities nationwide, highlighting the health, economic and community benefits of bicycling with local commuter convoys, energizer stations, breakfast rallies and more.

The past decade has seen dramatic growth in biking, with the total number of trips more than doubling from 1.7 billion in 2001 to 4 billion in 2009, according to the National Household Travel Survey.

But where has bike commuting grown the most? In Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) that have made smart, strategic investments to make biking better.

From 2000 to 2011, the bicycle commuting rate has risen 80% in the largest Bicycle Friendly Communities — far above the average growth of 47% nationwide and more than double the rate of 32% in the cities not designated as bicycle-friendly.

In some Bicycle Friendly Communities, bicycle commuting rates have skyrocketed by more than 400% since 1990, including cities as diverse as Portland, Ore., and Lexington, Ky. Meanwhile, cities like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Denver have more than doubled their bike commuter share since 2000.

Click here to download the infographic as a PDF.

Take it from League President, Andy Clarke: “I see the dramatic increase in ridership on my own daily bike commute, and it’s definitely more pronounced in those communities — like Arlington County and the District of Columbia — that are proactively improving conditions for bicycling and following the Bicycle Friendly Community blueprint.”

Looking for bike commute data for your area?

• Click here to download 2010 bicycle commuting data for all 375 cities included in the American Community Survey

• Click here to download bicycle commute data from 1990 to 2011 for the 70 largest U.S. cities, including percentage of bicycle commuters and percent change

• Click here for 2011 state commute rates, including bicycle commuting by gender

Learn more about Bike to Work Day, find events in your area and statistics about bicycle commuting at www.bikeleague.org/bikemonth. Is your community a BFC? Find out here — and get involved in the program to make biking better in your area!

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

The World Bank Group has an active crew of bike commuters, so when I was invited to join them on their convoy this morning, I jumped at the chance.

We were not only celebrating Bike to Work Day a day early, we were also celebrating their new Silver Bicycle Friendly Business award.

Neon yellow shirts were passed out as we convened at Thompson Boat House in Washington, D.C., to ride the last two miles together. It was an eclectic group of riders: high heels, ties, dress shoes, slacks — and some spandex. We snapped photos, gave high-fives, and talked about our routes into and around the city.

I presented the Silver BFB award to the World Bank Group this morning.

The day would be a celebratory and informative event of bicycling. Following our ride there was a Confident City Cycling class led by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association with a bike maintenance class soon after.

The World Bank Group has been part of the Bicycle Friendly Business program since 2009 when they received a Bronze designation. Now, with their recent bike facility improvements, promotion of D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare system through subsidized membership to employees, and increased education efforts, they moved up the BFB ranks last month.

Congratulations, World Bank Group, thanks for the ride!

Alison Dewey
League Program Manager, BFB & BFU

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Mark Smith, co-founder of Bikes for Goodness Sake.

Do you remember that feeling as a kid when you got your first bike?

A close second to that feeling is giving a good kid his first great bike.

On July 4, 2008, Bikes for Goodness Sake hosted its inaugural event, giving 50 bike shop quality bikes to children of deploying soldiers in Austin, Texas. The highlight for me: The expression on the children’s faces when they approached their bike. It was heartwarming.

At that event the commanding officer, Lt. Col. Michael Dietz, said these touching words to all present: “I can walk down the street and, by virtue of my uniform, I’m acknowledged for my sacrifice to this great country. However, our soldiers’ children go unrecognized and sacrifice in silence. It’s rare and indeed humbling when someone honors the sacrifice of your families. And for that I am grateful for Bikes for Goodness Sake.”

The tears of solace and gratitude began to flow from both the volunteers and the parents of the children.

Since that event Bikes for Goodness Sake has been asked by scores of companies to facilitate bike build events for charitable purposes. We use only bike-shop-quality bikes sourced through our special relationship with Raleigh Bicycles. At the event, we have bike mechanics from the local Raleigh dealer to ensure all is safe for the kiddos.

The events range from a basic bike builds to fun team building events. Recipient children are identified from local charitable organizations that the company has a heart for. Bike-build teams not only build the bikes, they also make poster-size personalized cards for the children receiving the bikes.

The most amazing and gratifying part of these events are during the picture taking ceremony at the end. We surprise the bike builders by having the children rush into the room looking for their card and bike. A personal connection is made — and again tears begin to flow.

It’s one thing to donate your time and treasure to a good cause, but it’s a whole other matter when you have the opportunity to make a real and personal connection. It is never forgotten. When you can share the freedom and the joy that only a bike can deliver with a child, then you have impacted the world for goodness sake.

Learn more about Bikes for Goodness Sake here.

For the past 13 of 14 years, nurses have been ranked as the #1 most trusted professional in the country; so it means a lot when the American Nurses Association and the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses trust the National Bike Challenge as a way to get more people out riding!

It seems a happy coincidence that National Nurses Week is in May — National Bike Month — and we’ve been hearing a lot of buzz from the nurses about the Challenge.

The ANA featured a Bike Challenge interview in The American Nurse — their official publication — with Hollie Shaner-McRae (pictured right), a nurse from Burlington, VT. The Challenge is  ”a great opportunity to expand your usual ‘nursing practice’ beyond your regular job, and be a model of wellness in your community, church, workplace or neighborhood,” Shaner-McRae says.

Those paying attention to the Challenge may remember that Vermont finished in 2012 as the number one state, and Burlington was top in the communities category; a feat that owed a lot to Shaner-McRae’s promotion of the Challenge to other nurses.

In addition to being trusted professionals and helping to bring Bike Challenge victory to their hometowns, the nurses of the ANA see the Challenge as a way to promote their Healthy Nurse program. The goal: Not only promoting healthy behaviors (eating well, exercising regularly, and getting immunizations) through their work, but also acting as role models in their communities.

Part of the Healthy Nurse program is Healthy Weight, a more holistic approach to weight with the outlook that “ultimately, it is a balance of energy in (nutrition) and energy out (fitness).” The National Bike Challenge is a great way to add an “energy output” to your day!

So what are you weighting for? While an apple a day might keep the doctor away, a bike ride a day keeps nurses (and you) happy and healthy.

Join the National Bike Challenge at www.nationalbikechallenge.org!

Katie Omberg
Events and Outreach Manager

Katie joined the League in April of 2010. For the two years prior, she worked at the Corcoran College of Art + Design as a programs coordinator. Katie has a BA in Religion from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. She enjoys biking to work.

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Tafarai Bayne, a board member of CicLAvia.

Waking up on April 21, reminded me of waking up on the morning of a big field trip in grade school — except today I was going right down the street from my house. Frankly, I couldn’t even sleep. This was the biggest CicLAvia ever and no one knew exactly what was going to happen.

After four events mostly centered around downtown with shifting spurs in all directions, the latest endeavor extended from the heart of the city 15 miles to Venice Beach. So many communities along the way to explore — so many Los Angelenos to meet.

It’s the unique mix of place activation and community engagement that makes this event so special and critical for the future of places like Los Angeles.

In a city that is such a victim of it’s own sprawl, events like CicLAvia can help fill in the gaps that separate communities socially, economically and geographically. And much like the previous additions, CicLAvia to the Sea proved to be another notch in the belt of our amazing cities evolving waistline.

From the moment I arrived on the route for my volunteer duty at the Koreatown Hub and heard one of the volunteers yelling at the top of her lungs, arms waving, ”Good Morning LA!!! Good Morning LA!!!” the magic started to take hold.

Evaporated like a spring shower on a warm day, gone were the differences that often prevent strangers from meeting eye-to-eye and exchanging words. They were replaced by lots (and lots) of sweaty people and pumping legs.

Gone were all the four-wheeled individual universes speeding through neighborhoods ignorant of the many nooks and crannies that represent the individual pages of the full LA story. They were replaced by curious eye’s and open hearts looking for the next corner to rest on… a new restaurant to grab a bite… some new neighborhood to explore and shops to make return visits to. In this way, the cultural salad that makes up our amazing city is put on display. Traffic jams waiting for lights become chatty speed-date sessions for new friends and riding companions.

The real treat tends to be watching Los Angeles play though.

Some people can forget just how diverse Los Angeles is when you spend your days floating between workplaces and home lives. Los Angelenos are as diverse as the bikes they ride. From Schwinns to fixies to beach cruisers to 14-foot tall bikes to high-end racing bikes, much like LA’s famous car culture, the kind of wheels say a lot about all the different types of riders that come out to play when the cars are put away.

LA’s cultural heritage is put on display and, what I really love is that, when the field is leveled everybody actually gets along really well.

As people made their way, at their own speed, through the communities of Downtown, Pico-Union, Koreatown, Mid-City, Culver City, Mar Vista, and Venice Beach another CicLAvia made it’s way into the history books. Soon, new communities will be introduced to what Open Streets can mean for them and the “new” Los Angeles we are getting more glimpses of will be that much closer.

Learn more about CicLAvia here.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Briana Orr, a participant in Bike & Build, which organizes cross-country bicycle trips to benefit affordable housing groups.

“Where are you headed?”

This was a daily question we received, from inside a car or from behind a counter. Being on a bike in the middle of North Dakota does wonders to spark conversation.

My response — “Vancouver, BC!” — always created looks of disbelief or confusion.

“Canada?!”

I learned two things about long-distance bike travel that summer:

1) Traveling by bike — especially in a large group in identical attire — is a conversation starter. As my friend and riding partner Stella Day said, “It’s novel – it takes passion and dedication to ride a bike all the way across the country – and people want to know why you are riding so far.”

2) Learning the “contours of the country” is best done by bike, as Ernest Hemingway famously proclaimed. I also learned that getting to know the people and communities of our country is also best done by bike.

Why were we pedaling across the country?

Stella and I were a part of the non-profit Bike & Build, joining 31 other young adults raising money and raising roofs for affordable housing. We collectively raised $166,000 for affordable housing organizations and volunteered 1,980 hours over the course of 10 weeks. Our group, the Northern U.S. route, was just one of 10 groups pedaling for affordable housing that summer.

Over the past 10 seasons Bike & Build has donated more than $4 million; built for more than 120,000 hours; pedaled more than 6 million miles; and engaged more than 1,750 young adults in spreading the word about the affordable housing crisis in America.

Flood damaged house in Minot, North Dakota

Opening the conversation on the subject of our cross-country ride allowed us to raise awareness of affordable housing issues along the way and talk about what we saw and experienced first-hand in other communities.

In the past, I’d always traveled to experience the outdoors, not necessarily to experience the people. I sought out country roads and trails in the Northwest. I’ll admit North Dakota was never on my “must-see list.” In fact, I was not enthusiastic about riding Highway 2 all the way across the state.

But we had to. It was sitting there in between Minnesota’s 10,000 Lakes and Montana’s Big Sky country. Plus, we were scheduled to volunteer in Minot, a town that had been severely hit by floods in June 2011. Newspaper articles called it the worst flood in decades, damaging more than 4,000 homes and businesses.

And as much as I longed for the river paths in Oregon while on Highway 2, in the end I’m glad we rode through North Dakota. One image in particular will be etched in my mind for a long time:

The house was nearly bare to the studs — no doors or windows. The roof was the only thing that had been newly repaired. Our task for this “build” day was to tear down the remaining walls, which were damaged by the floods.

After working for five hours, we paused to meet kids from an after-school church group. They had come in hand with cold water and popsicles for us as a thank-you. The kids were probably no more than 7 years old. While I was saddened by the devastation and the dismal state of neighborhood, the people we met were enlivened by our presence and were so incredibly grateful. The adults we met spoke highly of the progress their community was making to rebuild.

This is perhaps the most amazing potential of a bicycle – to break down walls between our reality and other’s realities.

It forces us to see one another and to remember places for how they actually are.

Want to learn more about Bike & Build or support the cause? Visit bikeandbuild.org

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development in our with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post features the radical revolution of the Ovarian Psycos, an all-womyn bike crew in Los Angeles.

“Ovarian Psycos is a bicycle brigade. Ovarian Psycos is a movement comprised of young women of color who refuse to accept the status quo. We’re trying to create change in our neighborhoods, so we are forging our own path with bicycles. This is our own way of protesting. We think our bicycles are a revolutionary concept.” – Ovarian Psycos documentary

In 2010, a small band of young womyn in East L.A. found solidarity in riding bikes together — and discovered the power of the bicycle as a vehicle for revolution.

Established in Boyle Heights on the East Side of Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos host monthly rides on the full moon, raising awareness about issues that directly impact women, like domestic abuse. They’ve shattered stereotypes about bicycling with their assertive presence and slogan: “Ovaries so big, we don’t need no balls.” Both playful and powerful, they’ve reclaimed the streets with “Clitoral Mass” and created a strong voice for womyn of color in the bicycle movement.

Focused on providing a safe space for womyn of color, the Ova also become a uniting presence in their community, organizing events like the Black & Brown Unity Ride, with other diverse groups like the Black Kids on Bikes.

When a trio of Ovarian Psycos took the podium at the National Women’s Bicycling Summit for the “Beyond Spandex, Toward Social Justice” panel, they ignited the crowd. Twitter blew up with folks sharing their vision and pride. They instantly became an inspiration to everyone in the room.

I dare you to try to watch the trailer for their new documentary just once.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

Kicking off National Bike to Work Week, the League has announced its latest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC), including a new Platinum-level community. Fort Collins, Colo., moved from Gold to Platinum this round, joining the ranks of Portland, Ore.;  Boulder, Colo.; and Davis, Calif., as the country’s very best for bicycling.

With this impressive round of 17 new BFCs, there are now 259 BFCs in 47 states. The BFC program is helping transform the way communities evaluate quality of life by assessing investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and municipal policies.

City of Fort Follins, CO

“We’re excited to see another ‘Platinum’ city in the west,” said League president, Andy Clarke. “And with new cities climbing the ranks in the East, it’s clear that civic leaders are investing in their communities by embracing the benefits of bicycling. That investment will be returned many times over in the health, environmental, transportation, and quality of life benefits of a thriving, attractive community.”

See the full list of Bicycle Friendly Communities here. An additional 18 communities received Honorable Mentions.

A bicycle culture is evident in the top BFCs, and in Fort Collins, a new Platinum community, bicycling is, simply, a “way of life.”

“A bicycle culture is key in defining the fabric of what makes Fort Collins a great place to live, work and play,” said Fort Collins Mayor Karen Weitkunat. ”We know it is a primary means of transportation for many, a major form of recreation for most, and a significant factor in attracting new businesses and new residents. Our City works alongside many community organizations to build a seamless bikeway network and ensure a safe cycling community. Bicycling is a community value and a way of life in Fort Collins.”

In the East, Cambridge, Mass., a new Gold-level BFC, has seen its ridership grow threefold in the past decade alone. Cambridge’s Harvard University was also honored with a Silver Bicycle Friendly University award last month.

“Cambridge is proud of its reputation as one of the best cities for bicycling in the U.S.,” said Cambridge City Manager Robert W. Healy. “The City has actively invested in making cycling a priority, including establishing the Hubway bike share program and creating an expansive network of bicycle facilities. The popularity of bicycling here can be seen in the exponential growth in cycling, with numbers tripling in the past decade. The bicycling culture here is epitomized in such events as the award-winning community bike rides, which highlight the collaborative nature of our work, with citizens, local businesses and the City working together.”

And the long, snowy winters in Anchorage, Alaska, which moved up from a Bronze to Silver community, haven’t put a stop to the thriving bicycling community there.

“Anchorage bicyclists are so committed to bicycling that nothing can stop them,” said Lori Schanche, Municipality Of Anchorage Non-Motorized Transportation Coordinator. “Anchorage’s eight long winter months come with darkness, frozen roads and snow but our bicyclists have adapted by gearing up with cold weather gear, lights, fat tires and studs. When summer arrives we all enjoy almost 24 hours of daylight to be out cycling our miles of beautiful trails and bike lanes.”

Learn more about the program and view the full list of Bicycle Friendly Communities at www.bikeleague.org/bfa.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development in our with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Mary Brown, one of the bicyclists featured in Ride in Living Color, who’s still rolling at age 83.

My journey with cycling has taken me farther than I ever imaged.

Starting at age fifty, I chose to start exercising — doing some yoga and some running. It didn’t take long to see some improvement in my mental  and physical health. I was coping with life better, not as depressed and increased self-esteem to name a few.

Retiring at 65 and experiencing some joint pain, I added cycling to my regiment. Little did I know that at age 69 I would be one of a team of four doing Race Across America, riding from Irvine, Calif. to Savannah, Ga., with three other seniors. This was my greatest cycling experience. The benefits were many — mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Then at 81 in 2011, doing Tour de Cure ride for diabetes, I fell and broke my leg. This was my worse experience. I had always been able to get up from a fall and continue my ride. The recovery went well physically. Mentally, fear has been a very present force, slowly I am beginning to ride again and enjoying my bike.

Attitude determines your altitude — with determination, dedication and devotion each ride is a joy.

Cycling is a wonderful way to meet new people, see the world and support other.

Hear more stories like Mary’s in Ride in Living Color.

Photo by Nikkie Whalen / Ride In Living Color

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

To kick of Bike to Work Week, we’ll be announcing the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities — including some new cities joining the ranks of Platinum and Gold — on Monday. And, with every announcement, we always get the same (great!) questions.

What are the key components that make a community bicycle-friendly? What will it take for my community to get on the board with a Bronze designation? My city made it to Silver — how do move up to Gold? 

Well, we worked with our design partners at Language Dept to create an infographic to help answer those questions.

Click here to download the PDF (to print).

Now, the beauty of the BFA program is the fact that it’s not one-size-fits-all. We’re able to take into account the unique characteristics of each community — so it’s not a rigid rubric. But we love the way this distills some of the key benchmarks and metrics in an interesting and engaging way.

So who will join the more than 250 communities that are already BFCs? Stay tuned for our announcement on Monday!

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development in our with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post features the work of World Bicycle Relief — and their new partner, Po Campo.

We were about halfway through our tour of SRAM headquarters in Chicago, when we heard a strange sound coming from a small work room and caught the sight of F.K. Day.

One of the founders of the leading bicycle components manufacturer, Day was hunched over a bulky black bike next to a bucket of… corn. Attached to the side of the bicycle, operated by the spinning wheel, was a grinder that shucked the kernels right off the cob.

For F.K. and wife, Leah Misbach Day, driving innovation is more than providing the revolutionary components for the ultimate ride. It’s also about turning bikes into a flour grinder — and transforming the lives of residents in small villages in Africa.

In the wake of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, F.K. and Leah founded the global non-profit World Bicycle Relief. In the two years following the disaster, WBR provided 24,000 bicycles to the residents of Sri Lanka, supplying a key resource to citizens in rebuilding their lives. In partnership with local aid organizations, World Bicycle Relief shifted its efforts to Africa in 2006, providing 23,000 specially designed, locally assembled, rugged bicycles to healthcare workers treating HIV/AIDS patients. And they continued to expand their efforts.

Leah Misbach Day

To date, WBR has supplied more than 125,000 bicycles through programs in Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

At the National Women’s Bicycling Summit in September, we got a chance to see one of those amazing bikes in person — and hear from Leah about the amazing impact of WBR’s work in Africa. “When addressing global development challenges, a single-speed bicycle can improve the dignity and quality of life for women,” she says. “Entrepreneurs can get their goods to market; mothers gain access to life-saving medical clinics; girls are able to attend — and stay in — school.”

And WBR’s reach is growing, too.

Maria Boustead, owner of Po Campo, was also a presenter at the Women’s Summit in September. Inspired by Leah’s presentation, the stylish bag maker is now a WBR partner — for every 25 bags sold, Po Campo is donating the funds for one new bike.

“WBR shares our passion for supporting girls in realizing their dreams as well as recognizing the bicycle as the perfect tool for gaining access to new opportunities,” Boustead said in the announcement this week. “By working with WBR, we are delighted to play an active role in equipping the female leaders of tomorrow with the tools they need to change the world for the better.”

Learn more about WBR here.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

More than 1,300 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia took part in Bike to School Day today! Some of our Twitter followers were kind enough to share photos of their Bike to School Day fun — check it out below. How did you celebrate?

Kids prepare for the ride in Georgia this morning. Credit: @FrankMc12

Credit: @DCxFitChic

Credit: Andy Clarke, League President

Credit: Andy Clarke, League President

The racks are full outside a school in Colorado! Credit: Bicycle Colorado.

Up next? CycloFemme is this Sunday and Bike to Work Week starts Monday!

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development in our with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Neil Walker, a leading League Cycling Instructor Coach, a youth program coordinator for Metro Atlanta Cycling Club, founder of Cycles and Change and member of the League’s Equity Advisory Council.

Two years ago, the Atlanta Bike Coalition, the Dream Team and Metro Atlanta Cycling Club partnered with City Councilman Aaron Watson to do a series of rides called “Living Smarter.” These rides were developed to support farmers markets and community gardens.

There has always been the conversation about quality food and the fact that it isn’t affordable for those that are financially challenged. Unfortunately, whole foods are not an option when you are living on a limited budget — but visiting the local community gardens and understanding how they work gives parents a more viable option.

The initial idea was to find a way to deal with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. We have always worked with nutrition as part of our  programming but most of it had been done through our partnership with the East Atlanta Kids Club. The Tour de Farm was different than anything else that had been done in Atlanta — an opportunity to educate our youth contingent (The Dream Team and The Drew Charter School Bike Club) on healthy eating choices and  affordable food options other than the local supermarkets.

Each farm or vendor site represented a unique aspect of local sustainable agriculture, offering a great learning experience — with riders having the option of participating in the whole tour with camping or for one-day only. All meals and snacks were provided and primarily sourced from the farms on the tour and other market vendors and partners fincluded the East Atlanta Farmers Market, the Grant Park Farmers Market, Whole Foods, The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, Loose Nuts Cycles, Georgia Organics, and the participating farm sites.

While bike tours are common, it’s not often you get to camp out on an urban farm and have a casual dinner with one of the city’s hottest chefs. The kids not only saw the backyards and patched pieces of land that urban farmers are utilizing; they also get to see behind the scenes of some of the most popular new food entrepreneurs. From experiencing sausage making to perfecting a croissant, the event highlighted the most unique and edgy parts of the Atlanta local food scene.

The response from the kids was superb; after all, they love to ride and they love to eat! The most fascinating part for me was to see them get involved. They have no problems getting their hands dirty. The knowledge they received during those rides and the various classes have birthed two new Community Gardens in areas that were once abandoned lots.

The other aspect is that they are aware of terms such as GMO (genetically modified organism), saturated fats, cholesterol and pesticide. They now know that “you are what you eat.” They know that potato chips and sodas are not an option — and the proper foods they should eat to help fuel their bodies on our weekly bike rides.

It all works together, exercise (cycling), proper nutrition and the rest. Overall, it has been a success for the farms, the farmers markets and for the riders. We are looking forward to the second annual Tour de Farms and to continuing to ride, as well as educate and inform.

The collaboration of bicycling and proper nutrition is just one of the ways we are fighting against obesity and other health related disparities in our city.

Read more about Neil and his efforts in the January/February issue of American Bicyclist. 

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

There’s nothing rusty about the pointed rivalry between Cleveland and Pittsburgh — and, this month, they’re taking it to the streets (and trails). The 2013 Rust Belt Battle of the Bikes has begun, and the winner is promised bragging rights and a locally welded crown (seriously).

There’s nothing wrong with a little city competition in the 2013 National Bike Challenge – we’re impressed with the two Rust Belt cities’ devotion to winning this year. In fact, Bike Cleveland Executive Director Jacob VanSickle said trouncing its Rust Belt neighbor is embedded in the very fabric of Clevelanders.

“Beating Pittsburgh is in our DNA as Clevelanders,” VanSickle said. “This is another way to show them that we are the Rust Belt capital of biking, and that’s why we’re strongly encouraging anyone who owns a bike in Cleveland to sign up and start logging miles.”

Bike Pittsburgh‘s Lou Fineberg, program director, called the cities’ relationship “special.”

“Rooted in our close proximity and the storied football rivalry between the Steelers and Browns this was too good to pass up,” Fineberg said. “There’s very little love between these two towns. We’d like to exploit that as much as possible in the name of bike advocacy!”

And while the Browns haven’t fared too well on the field, Bike Cleveland is hoping to give its fellow Clevelanders something to root for.  Mary Lauran Hall of the Alliance for Biking & Walking caught up with Jacob, too: “Finally, we’ve found something we’re really good at where we can beat Pittsburgh — riding our bikes,” he told her last week.

But one week into the Challenge, Cleveland has some work to do. At the end of week one, Pittsburgh has more than 12,000 more miles logged than Cleveland, plus more than 400 additional individuals registered. Pittsburgh is also No. 3 in the large city category currently, trailing Madison, Wisc., and Lincoln, Neb.

But Cleveland’s not far off: They’re No. 6.

The competition is good and well, but it also shines a light on the unique bicycling challenges facing these two Rust Belt cities.

“Our cities tend to be older, the cycle of freeze thaw reeks havoc on our roads, and the public sector can be slower to adapt and embrace change,” Fineberg said. “The National Bike Challenge is such a fantastic stage to show that people in this country care about this stuff in significant measure. As advocates we can use the Challenge to shed light on issues that reach well beyond who’s ahead on the Leaderboards.”

If you haven’t already signed up for the National Bike Challenge, there’s still time! May miles can be retroactively logged until June 1! Register now. (*Disclaimer: I’m a Pittsburgh native — this coaster sits on my desk and I have a framed photo of Three Rivers Stadium in my bedroom.)

Not everyone can commit to logging as many as Keren Tischler and Curt Webb, but the National Bike Challenge can be a motivatation for bicyclists at all levels.

Take Val Roemer of Menasha, Wis. She’s 88 years old and has been riding her bicycle for the better part of 70 years.

“When I was 16, I bought my first bike from my cousin’s neighbor,” Roemer says. “Biking is wonderful exercise, plus you’re getting fresh air and seeing things you don’t see from a car: birds, the colors of the trees, flowers.”

Roemer signed up for the Challenge just before the May start with her son-in-law’s email address (she doesn’t have one).

The Challenge is off to a great start this Bike Month, with nearly 21,000 riders already registered! Our goal is to see 50,000 people ride 20 million miles — Roemer contributed to that goal this last weekend. She rode two miles on the trail near her home, which were her first logged miles for the Challenge.

Join in on the fun; Sign up today and make every mile count! 

In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development in our with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Kristin Gavin, founder of Gearing Up, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that uses bicycles to help women transition from abuse, addiction and incarceration. 

In my early twenties I began using a bicycle for transportation, to get around Seattle and, frankly, to avoid having to pay for parking or wait for public transportation. Nearly immediately, I recognized I was arriving to my destinations in much better spirits than I would have had I driven. This enthusiasm led me to find a job as a bicycle tour guide.

Kristin Gavin, pictured right

Over the course of four seasons leading bicycle tours, I witnessed countless emotional and social changes among accomplished professionals and recreational enthusiasts. Week after week the same theme was unfolding: a day in the saddle can be transformative.

It’s a relational experience in which new friendships are established, new places explored, and unforgiving emotions managed. My experiences as a tour guide inspired me to return to graduate school to study exercise and sport psychology – and further investigate how physical activity can be an effective intervention for adults managing anxiety and depression.

Gearing Up is a result of my master’s internship experience at a women’s residential recovery home in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded on National Bike to Work Day in 2009, Gearing Up is a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization whose mission is to provide women in transition from abuse, addiction, and incarceration with the skills, equipment, and guidance needed to safely ride a bicycle for exercise, transportation, and personal growth.

In addition to the scientifically proven benefits of exercise in combating depression and anxiety – which for many are both root causes of addiction and obstacles to recovery – exercise-based programs build self-esteem through tangible accomplishment and the ongoing goal of positive progress. Group bike riding in particular has additional advantages, including learning how to build and maintain something valuable (the bike), gaining a mode of transportation for potential employment purposes and, of course, the camaraderie of accomplishing a common goal through teamwork.

Bicycles – they can save the world!

Click here to watch the trailer of a new documentary about Gearing Up.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

Cross-posted from Advocacy Advance blog,  by Mary Lauran Hall, Alliance for Biking & Walking

Last fall, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition set out a bold plan.

During the November 2012 election, voters in Alameda County considered a reauthorization of the Alameda County Transportation Sales Tax Measure. The ballot measure, Measure B1, was a 30-year plan to raise an additional $7.8 billion for county transportation needs by instituting a penny sales tax. And thanks to the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s careful advocacy, the measure would direct more than 11% of the new funding to biking and walking projects.

The measure’s passage would be big news for transportation in Alameda. Dave Campbell, Advocacy Director at the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, knew that the measure was a golden opportunity to create a local funding source for local transportation improvements. “The county transportation agency had realized for several years now that federal funding was significantly decreasing, and state funding was decreasing even more,” Dave explained. “They needed to raise more money locally to support the projects they wanted to do.”

Staff at the East Bay Bicycle Coalition readied a full-on campaign to support the ballot measure’s passage. To bolster the organization’s efforts, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition applied for and received a Rapid Response grant from Advocacy Advance.

What happened next? Read more on the Advocacy Advance blog.

Last year, the League celebrated Bike Month with our daily Why I Ride web series. This year, in our “Where the Ride Takes Us” series, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development. Today’s post comes from Mario Giampieri, a delivery cyclist in New York City and a co-founder of the Biking Public Project.

I started riding a bike in the suburbs of Denver when I was seven years old, but, as I grew up and my world expanded, distances made riding an impossible means of transportation (even my school was 20 miles away). That same mentality persisted throughout high school, especially after I turned 16 and got a car.

But, when I moved to New York two years later, I noticed that everyone that rode around on a bike just seemed so… happy. I saw people riding and they looked free and in control of how they got around, and they were always smiling.

Needless to say, I wanted in on that action.

The first bike I bought in New York was dumpy to say the least — it literally fell apart over the course of two years. One day, as I was riding, a pedal just… fell off in the middle of the street. But I guess that’s what you get when you pay $20 for a rusty road bike at a stoop sale. After that, I decided to invest some more money in my ride! Soon after, I was looking for a job and a friend of mine delivered cookies. I realized that getting paid to ride a bike was about as good a gig as I could ever hope for, and started delivering for this bakery. After about a year-and-a-half, and several vicious struggles between fellow delivery workers and management, most of us quit. They cut our hourly rate (which was $5/hr, plus tips) and were generally very nasty to us.

Over the course of the next year, I started delivering for another four restaurants at various levels of frequency, and was generally happy doing it. The money was usually decent, although it fluctuated quite a bit (as it goes, when you depend on tips). I’ve been doored on several occasions on the job, and have been in a number of other accidents in the line of work, which of course went on no matter what the weather was like. Sadly, tips didn’t often reflect conditions, and were often stingy even in snow storms or downpours.

From Bicycle Utopia’s “Am I Invisible? A Portrait of New York City Bicyclists” Credit Andrew Shiue

After about a year and a half into this line of work, it really began to strike me as to just how much I stood out as a delivery guy — the vast majority of other delivery workers I saw out on the streets were Latino or Asian, and I became curious as to why that was. It didn’t take long to find out that there was very little being done to represent this huge, ever-present (but often ignored or scorned) workforce that provided such a widely used service to a lot of New Yorkers.

There was some existing support systems in place for traditional bike messengers, and others still for restaurant workers, but very little work has been done at this intersection of the two. It was about at this time in 2012 that Helen [Ho, now development director for Recycle-A-Bicycle] and I went to the Youth Bike Summit and realized that little work had also been done to reach out and connect with and engage female and minority riders more broadly. It was after that conversation that the two of us, along with our friends Shelma Jun and Jessame Hannus started the Biking Public Project to try and change that.

The goal of BPP: Expand local cycling advocacy discussions by reaching out to underrepresented bicyclists around New York City including women, people of color, and delivery cyclists.

From left: Mario, Helen Ho, Shelma Jun and Jessame Hannus

These days, I ride mostly for fun or to commute around — the bicycle still represents freedom and a sense of agency to me, just as it did when I first saw people riding around New York five years ago. It makes it easy to travel in between places that public transportation forgot, and transforms any sort of mundane trip into a healthy endorphin rush. I recently started delivering pizzas again on the side, partially as a favor to friends at a restaurant I always very much enjoyed working for, and partially because any excuse to ride a bike for seven hours is reason enough.

I still think that being a food delivery worker is a largely thankless job, but I have high hopes that through our work at the BPP we can celebrate the diversity of the cycling community — including, and highlighting, the thriving economic system that depends on bicycles and workers — and get more delivery cyclists involved in ensuring that they can do their jobs safely (and have fun, too!).

I wouldn’t trade my years of experience as a delivery worker for anything, nor would I ever trade in the freedom my bike offers for the confines of a car.

If you’re in NYC, help BPP celebrate its first birthday on May 8!

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

And we’re off! The National Bike Challenge kicked off yesterday, and we’re already shattering records from last year.

Yesterday, we averaged more than 150 registrations per hour. And we blew our single day registration record number out of the water.

On May 1, 2012, we had 14,228 riders registered for the Challenge — yesterday we closed with 17,160 riders — a 21 percent increase. And we’re seeing the uptick continue today: We’re at 18,858 riders today compared to 15,795 last year, a 19 percent increase.

We’re on pace to hit 25,000 riders in the next few days.

Keep up the great work! With your help, we’ll hit our goal of 50,000 riders pedaling 20 million miles.

If you haven’t already registered, now is the time.  Whether you ride to work every day or are only dusting your saddle off for the first time in 15 years, the Challenge is for you. Visit www.nationalbikechallenge.org and make every mile count!

Just in time for the start of May, our latest magazine is hitting mailboxes with plenty of ideas and inspiration for National Bike Month.

To get you energized for the best month of the year, we’ve got stories on the Many Faces of Bike Month, the evolution of Cyclofemme, the Top 5 reasons to participate in the National Bike Challenge and a cool infographic on the growth of bike commuting…

Plus, read more about the transformational work of Team Better Block, be inspired by the incredible journey of the Seattle Cycleteens, meet the members of the League’s new Equity Advisory Council… and more.

Click here to read the issue online and, if you’re not a member already, join the League to become a subscriber of American Bicyclist!

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

Last year, the League celebrated Bike Month with our daily Why I Ride web series. This year, in our “Where the Ride Takes Us” series, we’ll be spotlighting how bicycles are more than means of recreation and transportation, but tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development. Today’s post comes from Mathew Portell, the founder of Ride for Reading, in Nashville, Tenn.

During my first year of teaching, I asked my students to read for 15 minutes at home each night. One student replied that he didn’t have any books at home to read. It didn’t take me long to realize that student’s problem wasn’t unique. According to the Handbook of Early Literacy Research, the ratio of books per child in low-income neighborhoods is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children.

I felt compelled to do something to help my students and others like them — so I combined my passion for cycling and reading. The result: Ride for Reading.

Our mission is to promote literacy and healthy living by donating books via bicycle to children from low-income areas. Since our start in February 2008, RfR has donated more than 110,000 books, delivering them by bicycle to kids at Title I schools.

Every month in Nashville, as many as 40 cyclists gather and ride to the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods with books in tow.  The riders arrive to smiles, homemade welcome signs, and cheering children. Once they come to a stop, a RfR representative speaks to the children about the importance of a healthy life and literacy — and describe the various types of bikes ridden by the volunteers (mountain, road, commuter, tandem, etc.).

Then the children raise their right hand and pledge: I promise to read my book twice. I will never ever throw my book away. I will pass it on to a friend, family member, neighbor, classmate or someone else I know. And I promise to be the best student for the rest of the year

In 2011, we brought our mission to Interbike — and, with the help of several industry companies, government agencies, and other organizations, more than 100 volunteers showed up to help transport more than 2,500 books to the students of Peterson Elementary School in Las Vegas. The first year was such a success that RfR completed a second Interbike delivery in 2012 and is planning its third delivery during Interbike 2013!

In order to help more children, we began a national push called Ride for Reading Week in May. During this week, RfR volunteers and partners across the nation host their own book delivery via bicycle.  In 2013, there are 20 cities, from Maryland to California, who will be spreading Ride for Reading’s mission to children who come from low-income areas.  The organization is ecstatic to be partnering with Colorado Women’s Cycling Project, Stan’s NoTubes, Pivot Cycles, RideKick, Primal Wear, Girl Bike Love / Cyclofemme, Global Bikes, Safe Routes Philly, Devon Balet Photography and many local bike shops across the country.  RfR is also honored to have an amazing partnership with Better World Books! which is donating thousands of books to partnering cities around the country.

In 2008, I met professional mountain biker Dejay Birtch. Since then, Dejay has supported RfR in a variety of ways, including raising funds for the organization through his 2011 Tour Divide finish. This partnership led to the launch of Team Ride for Reading in 2013! Dejay will be wearing Ride for Reading’s colors as he races nationally and internationally. The team will not only focus on winning races, but also informing the public of the need for books in the homes of children in low-income areas.

Ride for Reading believes that education is not only found within the four walls of a school building. Within the pages of a book you can go anywhere, see anything, and experience everything. Every child deserves that despite economic status. To donate or learn more about our organization please visit us at www.rideforreading.org.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

We’re celebrating the first day of National Bike Month with our new Bicycle Friendly States ranking.

For the sixth year in a row, Washington continues to lead the nation, with high performance in all categories. But up-and-coming states — including Delaware, Illinois and Arizona –  charged up the ranking in 2013, shaking up the top 10.

Click here for full chart ranking

“We’re encouraged to see significant progress in top states like Washington, Delaware, Colorado and Oregon,” says League President, Andy Clarke. “But as the scores clearly highlight, there’s much work to be done in critical areas like infrastructure and planning in every state.”

The 2013 Bicycle Friendly State ranking is now even more comprehensive, capturing more information than ever before and delving more deeply into the issues embedded in becoming a more bicycle friendly state.

Click here to see the ranking chart.

Click here to view the map. 

Click here to see the state report cards. 

Delaware took a leap in the 2013 ranking, moving from No. 10 to No. 5 in just one year. U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) praised Governor Jack Markell, the state legislature, congressional delegation, advocacy organizations and the people of the First State for prioritizing biking.

“Creating more walkable and bikeable communities boosts air quality by reducing the amount of time cars and trucks idle on our roadways releasing harmful emissions.” Sen. Carper said. “Biking also helps decongest our transportation system, allowing individuals to spend more time working or relaxing with their families instead of wasting time and money sitting in traffic. The benefits of biking are countless, and that’s why I’m proud to support dedicated federal funding for biking and walking infrastructure, as well as the efforts of the League of American Bicyclists and others to promote biking as an invaluable piece of the American transportation system.”

Click here to view all six maps

Also making a strong showing in this year’s rank is Colorado — and Gov. John Hickenlooper says he plans to be No. 1 very soon.

“An important part of making Colorado the healthiest state is encouraging people to be more active in their everyday routines,” Hickenlooper said. “We’re proud that our bicycle-friendly policies have skyrocketed Colorado’s rank up 20 places in just five years, and we are committed to being No. 1 in the near future.”

In the Southwest, Arizona moved back into the top 10. Among other strides, the state completed its Bicycle Safety Action plan to improve bicyclist safety on Arizona’s highways.

“The goal is to reduce the number of bicyclist fatalities and injury crashes with motor vehicles,” said Michael Sanders, Arizona Department of Transportation’s bicycle and pedestrian program coordinator. “We ‘crash-typed’ nearly 750 reported crashes that occurred over a five-year period to better define the sequence of actions leading to the collision. For example, we found that over half of all crashes occurred while a motorist was making a right turn. The Plan consists of action items addressing potential changes to policies and education programs, or new tools, such as bicycle road safety audit guidelines, to improve bicyclist safety.”

Click here to view all of the state report cards

Learn more about the BFS program at www.bikeleague.org/states.