Archive for the 'Bike Month' Category

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!

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

Dewey joined the League in 2008. For four years prior to that, Dewey worked for Massachusetts- based Landry’s Bicycles and served on the board of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. Dewey has a MA in International Relations and Communications from Boston University and is a graduate of St. Olaf College. She spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal.

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.

 

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.

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.”

.After all, compared to walking, an individual can ride four times the distance on a bicycle — and can carry five times the amount of cargo. But, like SRAM, WBR is continuing to innovate, continuing to re-imagine how a bicycle can be a tool for more than transportation. As I saw firsthand, a simple metal device can turn a bike into a mill, eliminating the need to haul raw materials long distances and turn corn into meal in local villages.

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.

 

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!

It’s here! National Bike Month starts today — a full 31 days packed with unique and wonderful events and rides that celebrate the many joys and benefits of bicycling in communities nationwide.

Sure, we say it every year, but 2013 promises to be bigger than ever. So here’s our list of 10 things to get your Bike Month rolling — and take full advantage of the BEST month of the year.

Find out what’s going on in your community: Search our national database for events in your area and get in touch with your local advocacy organization, favorite bike shop or bike collective to get plugged in to the happenings in your community.

Mark your calendar and get involved in special national events:

• National Bike to School Day is one week from today: Wednesday, May 8. Hundreds of events are already scheduled — learn more here.
• Women unite: The second annual Cyclofemme takes place on May 12. Organize a ride in your community or join one of the nearly 200 events already planned — join the movement!
• The Ride of Silence, honoring bicyclists who have been injured or killed on our public roadways, marks its 10^th anniversary on May 15 — find a ride in your area here.
• And, of course, celebrate Bike to Work Week (May 13-17) and Bike to Work Day (May 17)

Connect your event to the national movement: Download our new National Bike Month logo for your materials. Nothing says style like our updated winged wheel!

Use our free posters to promote your events: This year, we have not one, but four Bike Month posters, highlighting the diversity of people who ride. You may recognize some of our models, too. Thanks to New York City bicyclists (and advocates) Helen Ho, Karyn Williams, Ed Hernandez, and Kyle Mosholder for sharing their passion for cycling on the national level. Plus, new this year, we have a poster in Spanish, too!

Get ideas from our updated Bike Month Guide: Need a creative new idea to get folks rolling or guidance on how to make sure your event runs smoothly? Looking for key facts and figures to convince peers and policymakers that bicycling benefits your community or quick links to helpful commuting tips? We’ve got you covered! Click here to download the rebranded and updated Bike Month Guide.

Build the buzz on social media: Understanding that social media has become a critical advocacy tool, we created a new resource for 2013: a social media toolkit with plenty of sample Tweets and Facebook posts to help you engage, encourage and get folks talking about bikes in your community this May. We also created an official National Bike Month Facebook timeline cover you can use, as well.

Get in the game with Bike Month Bingo: To inspire you to pedal somewhere new or use your bike in a different way, we created a Bike Month Bingo card. Download the Bingo card and stick it on your fridge or wall — and check the boxes as you ride. Once you’re done, share a picture of you with your completed card on our Twitter feed and you could win a prize!

Join the National Bike Challenge: Now in its second year, the National Bike Challenge continues its mission to inspire and empower millions of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation and better health. Join the friendly online competition to track your miles, make new friends, compete for prizes — and help us show the power and popularity of bicycling in the U.S. by uniting 50,000 Americans to log 20 million miles from May 1 to September 30.

Tune in to our web series: We got great feedback on our Why I Ride web series last year — so we’re bringing the daily Bike Month blog posts back! This year, in line with our “Where will the ride take you” and the developing efforts of our new Equity Advisory Council, we’ll be spotlighting how bicycles aren’t just about recreation and transportation, but tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development. Subscribe to the blog — the series starts tomorrow!

Have fun — and tell us all about it: Don’t forget to share pictures and stories with us on our Facebook page or Twitter feed. After all, YOU make Bike Month the best time of the year!

Where will the ride take you? Get involved in National Bike Month and find out!

 

They’re here! We’re just five weeks out from National Bike Month and excited to debut our posters for May 2013. Yep, you read that right; instead of just one, we have four options for you to choose from or use as a set.

We’re still focused on Bike to Work Day — the pinnacle of the month! — but, with the tagline “Where will the ride take you?” we’re showcasing the many ways bikes benefit our lives and our communities. Whether you ride to work at a construction site, pedal your kids to school or cruise on two wheels to meet up with friends, we’re celebrating YOU this May.

To help you organize and promote Bike Month in your area…

1) Download a poster with the dates of Bike to School Day, Bike to Work Week and Bike to Work Day — and use the white space at the bottom to include information about your organization and details about your events.

2) Use our web button or web banners on your website to highlight May as Bike Month — and the different dates of national events.

3) Incorporate the new National Bike Month logo in your materials!

4) Get involved in the National Bike Challenge, which kicks off May 1. Help us unite 50,000 Americans to bike 20 million miles; download posters, postcards, web materials and more here.

And coming soon:

• We’re currently in the process of refreshing our Bike Month Guide, which includes a wealth of ideas for organizing events in your community. The rebranded version with updated stats and content will be available by April 12!

• Need help building the buzz for your events? We’ll have a Social Media Toolkit with a sample blogs, Facebook posts and tweets on April 8.

• We’re also working with our partners and Equity Advisory Council on Spanish-language resources to be available in April, as well.

• And we’ve got a whole feature about different types of celebrations in the upcoming May/June issue of American Bicyclist. (If you’re not a member, join here to receive our magazine — AND a free winged wheel t-shirt!)

How are you getting ready for Bike Month in your community?

 

Last week, we wrapped up National Bike Month 2012, closing the book on 31 days of incredible energy and creativity from advocates and officials across the country to boost bicycling in their communities.

Here in Washington, D.C., the brilliant folks at Bicycle Space rolled out the red carpet for bike commuters — and, in our mind, everyone across the nation who organized or participated deserves that VIP treatment. THANK YOU for making Bike Month 2012 the best yet!

Unfortunately, we can’t tell you precisely how many (millions?) of people participated in Bike Month festivities, but we can share a few other impressive numbers:

$4,600,000,000: On Bike to Work Day, the League released a new fact sheet, in partnership with the Sierra Club and the National Council of La Raza, that showed Americans save $4.6 billion per year by riding their bikes instead of driving.

3,000,000: The National Bike Challenge kicked off on May 1st, and during Bike Month alone, riders logged more than 3 million miles!

1,006: On May 22, the League released our 2012 Bicycle Friendly States Ranking and the blog post alone was shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook.

700: This year, the Center for Safe Routes to School, in partnership with the League, launched the first-ever National Bike to School Day and more than 700 events took place in 49 states.

318: The Ride of Silence, which honors fallen cyclists, marked it’s 10 anniversary with 318 events in all 50 states and 19 countries. Highlighted as the 2012 Champion, 16-year-old Angelique Martinez in Oxnard, Calif., organized a ride in memory of her 6-year-old brother, Anthony, who was killed on Thanksgiving, riding in front of his house.

214: The League also announced our latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community designations and, with the additional of 24 new awards, the total numbers of BFCs nationwide rose to 214 in 47 states.

163: Sarai Snyder of Girl Bike Love designated May 13 as Cyclofemme — a day dedicated to women’s riding — and female cyclists organized 163 rides in 14 countries.

83: On May 9, America Bikes released a new survey showing 83 percent of Americans — in all regions and from all demographics — want Congress to maintain or increase federal funding for biking and walking.

31: In honor of the “One Ride, Many Reasons” theme for this year’s Bike Month, we shared the inspiring personal stories of 31 cyclists from across the nation in our Why I Ride blog series.

But, perhaps the most important number of all:

361: Number of days until Bike Month 2013!

 

(Andy Clarke is the president of the League of American Bicyclists.)

Growing up in England I followed a similar path to many an American. I rode everywhere as a kid on a light blue Coventry Eagle ten speed with a leather saddle (probably the most valuable thing on the whole bike, and certainly what I missed most when it was inevitably “nicked”) my older brother David bought me for Christmas. As a teenager I pretty much gave up riding — true, I also went to boarding school, which limited the opportunity and need to ride whole lot — and didn’t get back in the saddle until the end of my second year at university, when I was invited to go on a cycling holiday in France.

At the start of that summer, I got a second-hand bike and started to ride in preparation for the trip. Lo and behold, not only was it a fun way to see the countryside but it was also a whole lot better and more practical than waiting for the bus at home in Bristol. Riding turned out to be quicker and a lot cheaper than any other way of getting to classes in Birmingham. At the end of that summer, I traded in the bike for a new one and had another “aha!” moment: I got more trade-in value and had ridden more miles than my other brother Peter did on his motorcycle over that same summer!

So before I turned 20, I’d figured out that riding a bike was cheap, economical, quick, practical, and enormous fun. Why wouldn’t I ride a bike?

A growing social and environmental conscience confirmed the bike as a true vehicle for change in the world — more so than the law degree I was finishing at the time. The day after exams finished I took off on a six-week ride around Europe with a fierce determination not to be a lawyer and not much else. On my return, I volunteered for a local cycling campaign in Cheltenham and worked on a Safe Routes to School project. That was the summer of 1984 and within a matter of months I had gotten a job with Friends of the Earth in London as a part-time bicycle campaigner, visited the Netherlands for the first time, and in May 1985 found myself appointed the [volunteer] Secretary-General of the European Cyclists’ Federation — still the best title I’ve ever had.

What’s not to love about cycling and riding a bike?

Almost 30 years on, I am still amazed at the practical versatility and simple common sense of the bicycle. I still ride to work every day. I still see the bike as THE vehicle for change. And I am still amazed that so many people just don’t get it… yet. Why wouldn’t you ride? Why on earth haven’t individuals, communities and nations embraced the multitude of diverse benefits bicycling brings; all the reasons you’ve read about in this compelling “Why I Ride” series of articles.

Why do I ride? Seems pretty obvious to me: it’s a good thing to do.

Why wouldn’t I ride?

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we brought you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

Click here to view the full series.

 

(Elizabeth Williams is the founder of Cali Bike Tours in Long Beach, Calif.)

I remember my mother teaching me to ride my bike with training wheels as a child. I remember riding lopsided. And I remember finally being able to balance my bike all by myself and not having to depend on my lopsided training wheels. I had no idea what kind of wonderful journeys my bike would take me on then. I just knew I was having fun.

Growing up, we (my brother & friends) rode our bikes all over our neighborhood in Compton and North Long Beach, exploring, just having fun riding and being outdoors. Everyone didn’t always have a bike of their own, so we would take turns riding each other’s on the handlebars. Just about every summer day included some adventure by bike.

When high school came around, riding bikes was replaced with hanging out at the mall or a friend’s house or talking on the phone. But I’ve always fondly remembered those Saturdays and long summer days riding. As an adult, for years I told myself that I was going to buy a bike, but it didn’t happen until my 36th birthday. My initial desire was to buy a bike and use it as an alternate form of exercise. I had no idea that my purchase would eventually change my life.

I was going through a divorce and my birthday was coming up. I like to give myself gifts for my birthday, so I decided it would be a bike that year. It would serve two purposes 1) provide a fun type of exercise and 2) get me out of the house so I wasn’t sitting at home being depressed about my divorce. My plan was to buy a beach cruiser like the one I had as a child, but I found out I had more of a need for speed. I bought a road bike.

I started out putting my bike in my car, driving to the beach and riding between 30 minutes and one hour after work. I was too afraid to ride the two-plus miles from my house to the beach, because I was not comfortable riding in traffic. After a while, I finally got up the courage to ride from my house to the beach. It felt great not being afraid.

I did this for about 6 months. With the new year coming, I decided I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something major in my life. I wanted to stretch out my boundaries further than I had ever done. A friend was training for a marathon and suggested I try one. That didn’t excite me. So I went online to look for some kind of adventure that would spark my interest. Nothing gripped me.

One day I was standing in line at Whole Foods and saw the Outside magazine. On the cover it talked about “10 Things to Try for the New Year”. The write-up on training for a triathlon jumped off the page and said “Pick me!”  So I did.

I decided to train for a triathlon with Team In Training. They helped me overcome my childhood fear of drowning and taught me how to swim. They also taught me how to be a better runner and how to get more out of my bike riding.

After I completed my first international triathlon, it increased my already growing need to ride. I started meeting people who did century bike rides for causes they supported. I couldn’t get my mind around riding my bike 100 miles in one day, but my interest was piqued.

The event I did was the Solvang Century and this was a full century in one day. I met a guy in the parking lot on the way to pick up my registration packet and, while standing in line, he tells me one of the craziest things I’d ever heard. He tells me he’s planning a bike tour from San Francisco to Los Angeles! I really thought he was crazy. But the more I started to ride and the more century rides I completed; it started to not seem so crazy after all. This guy became a friend and a coach and encouraged me to join him and his friends on this ride. I trained with them and on my own and built up enough strength, endurance and most of all, confidence to complete the tour.

Six days down the beautiful Pacific Coast changed my life forever. It was breathtaking, beautiful, challenging, fun and inspiring.

While I was training for the SF to LA tour, I started thinking about how much time and energy I was investing into cycling. I decided I needed to share some of this fun with others and thought long on how to translate it into a business. Several ideas came up, but a bike touring company landed on top. I decided to start a bike touring company, Cali Bike Tours, so people could experience my wonderful city, Long Beach, Calif., by bike.

Since then, I’ve been able to do just that and then some.  I bought a vintage Schwinn bike that I love riding around town for shopping, attending meetings and running errands.  I’ve had opportunities to teach basic bike education on safety & maintenance to women and girls that included women only group rides, held a bike drive & give-away to women living in transitional housing, and I try to encourage all listening ears to get on a bike and ride.

Who knew my bike would have taken me on so many different journeys. And I keep discovering new places to ride and explore around the world. It looks like my next adventure will be cycling 500 miles along the Camino de Santiago in Spain, hopefully this summer. I love riding my bike and exploring. I want everyone to experience what I feel when the wind is blowing against my smiling face and I’m feeling free to ride anywhere I choose.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Grant Petersen is the founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works and author of JUST RIDE from Workman Publishing.)

I ride a bicycle because…

I want to get around on a vehicle that weighs less than I do.

I’d rather be a bicycle rider than envy them.

I like to sweat a little, not a lot, every day, and riding is my favorite way to sweat.

I never find money and tools on the road when I’m in a car, but I do when I ride my bike.

A bike fits in places a car doesn’t, and I often want to go into those places—like between cars and the curb, between two cars, on bike-and-pedestrian bridges and overpasses.

My house and yard fit more bikes than cars.

I can park my bike on the sidewalk, or a lawn, or anywhere. I don’t need a parking lot.

If I drive on a sidewalk, I go to jail. If I ride my bike on a sidewalk, no big deal. Somebody might try to make a big deal of it, but it doesn’t register with me as a big deal.

I just want to go someplace without announcing “I’m a-coming!” and a bike does that a lot better than a car or motorcycle.

If I hit somebody when I’m riding my bike, I’m not likely to kill him. I know it’s possible, but I’m not that reckless, and I’ve never hit anybody yet.

I like riding something I can fix.

I own a bicycle company, and it would be weird if I didn’t (though obviously, I rode before I owned).

If I couldn’t ride a bike, I know there would be nothing I’d want to do more. I’m glad I have had that realization while I can still ride.

It’s a habit. It’s not something I have to do, or something I think about doing, and often it’s not something I even think about wanting to do.

Some rides are pure utility, not fun, but they’re never bad.

A few times every year I get on my bike and feel proud that I’ve mastered this flip-floppy thing that doesn’t look like it could do everything it does for me. I don’t need to hop it from boulder to fence-top, and then somersault down to a soft-front wheel landing. I sure don’t need to be able to grind out 10,000 miles a year, or a dreadful double century in under 11 hours.

I’ve mastered my bike for how I ride it.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Pilar Perez is a student at Brooklyn International High School in Brooklyn, NY, and a bike mechanic at Recycle-A-Bicycle)

My love of bikes began when I was very young.

I learned to ride a bicycle when I was 7 years old. I lived in Puebla, Mexico at the time and I learned to ride on my father’s Panasonic mountain bike. It was much too big for me. Each time I fell down, I was motivated to keep trying.

Eventually I discovered my sister’s old bike that she had grown too big for. It was just about my size but it needed a lot of work. I studied the bicycle and could see that each and every part fit into another part, again and again, making the bicycle whole. I realized that if the bike was broken, it was just a matter of finding and fixing the broken place.

After three afternoons, I had fixed the bike.

I would ride through the city until the streets turned to earth and the air was fresh and I felt free. My sister told me I was crazy but I knew that if I could do this, I could do anything.

Learning to ride a bike is something I think back to a lot — that particular combination of feelings: self-sufficiency, motivation, and accomplishment — is something that I take great comfort in. These are the lessons I want to carry with me no matter what I learn and do.

I am a curious person. I moved to New York City, learned to speak English, learned carpentry and welding, learned to fix bikes and cars, and I want to go to college and study to become an electrical engineer.

So why do I ride? I ride because biking makes my life complete. I can be a responsible citizen, care for the environment, help to save our natural resources, save my money, choose my pace, and at the same time, I can go anywhere I dream.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Parry Burnap is the executive director of Denver Bike Sharing.)

I am mostly a bike commuter and errand runner. I replace relatively short car trips with my bike and pair transit with bike sharing too. On weekends, my family takes rides when we have time, when we are together. I don’t race. I don’t wear spandex or bike shorts. I ride about 12 miles a day, on average four days of the work week. My commute takes me in equal parts through old tree-lined neighborhoods, along Denver’s Cherry Creek Greenway and through the heart of downtown to my office.

I ride because it helps me know where I am in space and time. I have eye contact with my neighbors. I am aware of my breathing and in touch with my health. I know what season it is. These cool Colorado spring mornings are glorious. Last week, I rode through clouds of Iris fragrance. Soon it will be the flowering Linden trees. I see hawks on top of trees, herons along the creek, inspiring sunsets as I ride on the highway overpass near my home. In the bottom half of my visual field: eight lanes of clogged, stop-and-go traffic on Interstate 25 going both directions. In the top: the Rocky Mountains, often snowcapped, lowering sun piercing through multi-colored clouds. Beautiful!

Riding helps me prioritize my time, enforces a kind of preparatory discipline or mindfulness about the day and weeks ahead. I organize meeting places to be on my ride in or out, or I consolidate those that are far away on one day. Any marginal extra time it may take me to ride to work regularly is quickly compensated for by efficiency. At the end of long work days, I might start dragging, think how much easier it might be if I had a car to pop into and numbly drive.

Then, without fail, every time, within three blocks I am smiling.

So I ride for me — my joy, my health, my energy, my sense of belonging.

But that’s not all.

In 1989, before either of my two children were born, I had the great honor of working with Walter Orr Roberts, an older gentleman, a brilliant scientist and the Founder of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He changed my life forever. The project was an exchange on climate change with the Soviet Academy of Scientists. In the 21 years since, my husband and I have raised our two children, Luke and Meg. In truth, not a day has gone by when I did not, at some moment, experience a wave of despair for the world we are leaving them and outrage at the perpetual inattention and inactivity of our generation. How is it that not everyone feels this urgency!!!

While raising Luke and Meg, I worked on pollution prevention and sustainability projects for different sectors – for a non-profit, for different levels of government, with a partner on our own small business. Enter bike sharing. Since 2008 I have worked to bring bike sharing to Denver, and without contest, this work is the single most effective, most rewarding, most real contribution I have made to a sustainable world.

I can see it. We can measure it. We know that 37% of our riders are replacing car trips, and it makes them smile while they are doing it. We know that the emission of more than 1 million pounds of carbon to the atmosphere have been avoided since we opened. Not to mention, we estimate our riders have burned almost 20 million calories while headlines rage about an obesity epidemic that will cripple future generations for years to come.

And not to be underestimated: My now college-aged children and their friends think I’m cool. How great is that?!

While our political and social institutions are polarized into inaction on almost every issue at every level, each of us can do something real. With each simple ride, we are simultaneously helping our own sense of well being and place, our neighborhood cohesion, our city’s public and economic health, our nations’ reliance on limited fossil fuels supplied by unstable and unethical governments, and if we are not too late already, the habitability of our planet for future generations and communities we cannot imagine.

I ride my bicycles for me.

And I work long hours every day to get more people to ride for the planet.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Jenn Fox is an environmental engineer; and a Board member of the League and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.)

It’s hard to believe but there are only six days left in this year’s National Bike Month. So Jenn gave us her top six reasons she loves to ride.

• To get more quality time with friends. The bike is a perfect vehicle, not just for transportation, but also for conversation. I meet people riding. I do some of my best thinking while riding, and I get uninterrupted time with friends while riding.  Sure, sometimes we get interrupted by passing traffic; sometimes I can only get a few words out while huffing and puffing up a hill. The punctuated staccato rhythm of a ride lends time to think, time to laugh, time to take it all in.

• To see my home and be part of my community. I learned to ride a bike when I was 18. I had acquired a red Schwinn ten-speed to get around the Stanford campus. The following summer, I rode across the U.S. Whether touring the Rockies on my own, or riding RAGBRAI with 10,000 Midwesterners, I’m hooked.

• To feel empowered. I was the opposite of a tomboy growing up. Fixing flats on my first long tour brought out the engineer and tinkerer in me.

• To make a living doing something I love. I spent summer vacations working for the Denver Spoke learning the industry. I worked for Backroads leading hiking and bicycling trips. What could be better than helping (and joining) others to see the world by bike?!

• To stay healthy, mentally and physically. My daily bike commute to work isn’t far, but I know it is my time, everyday. Once a week, I leave my house at sunrise to ride in the Marin Headlands before heading to work in downtown San Francisco. I notice the weather, the roads, the daily cycles; and I enjoy them.

• And, maybe most importantly, to have fun!

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

We’re coming into the home stretch of May and the final innings of National Bike Month have been action-packed.

Last Friday, of course, thousands of people from coast to coast celebrated Bike to Work Day, including a record turnout of more than 12,500 participants here in Washington, D.C. In fact, the festivities in the region were so out-of-this-world that these guys showed up at a pit stop in Arlington…

They weren’t the only costumed riders on Bike to Work Day, though. The folks in Pocatello, Idaho, got into the spirit with a bike parade, too. (What’s cuter than a tiger riding a bike?)

Down in Georgia, our friend Neil Walker was among the advocates who took a ride with Thomas Dimitroff, the General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons football team. Not only is the guy a local icon, but he also proved to be a great spokesperson for cycling. “[Biking is] good for the environment,” he told reporters. “It’s good for everyone to understand that, hey, I can get on a bike and run down one of those two-mile or three-mile trips to take care my business. Over 70 percent of the rides today are less than three miles and they are in driven by cars.” Well put!

Up in Rhode Island, two policymakers pledged to leave their cars at home for the week. Representative Arthur Handy rode his bike the full distance to his Providence office, while Representative Teresa Tanzi made a multi-modal commute by bus and bike.

In Wichita, advocates staged a commute challenge race between a car, bus and bike. Yep, you guessed it: The bike came out on top, arriving more than two minutes before the car.

Redmond, Calif., celebrated its love for bikes AND the city’s centennial with a 100th Birthday Bike Bash at City Hall, complete with food, music and a chance for riders to “talk to officials about cycling issues in the city.”

Also out West, Salt Lake City added some extra online buzz to BTWD by debuting a new website for local cyclists, featuring maps, info on trails, safety tips and more.

In the South, San Antonio cyclists got affirmation from above at a Bless the Bike ceremony offered by a local church. Meanwhile, up in Princeton, New Jersey, angels with the “Random Acts of Community” program rewarded random cyclists with gifts and discount coupons to local businesses to show support for their earth-friendly travel.

On Bike to Work Day, Des Moines, Iowa, named its Commuter of the Year. According to WHOTV, Chad Ulrick started riding four years ago and recently gave up his job as a furniture salesman to serve cyclists at a trail-side bar.

And, finally, for the Bike Month Moment of Zen: The unveiling of New England’s only large-scale bicycle sculpture in Simsbury, Conn.

How was your Bike to Work Day?

 

(Omar Martinez is a bicycle commuter in Portland, Ore., and a participant in the Community Cycling Center’s “I Ride” campaign.)

I’ve been interested in cycling all of my life, since I was a kid. But growing up and in college, cycling was about racing. Living in Arkansas, riding to work wasn’t a safe or comfortable option. It wasn’t until I moved to Portland that I got a different kind of introduction to cycling. In Portland, bicycling is more for commuting.

One day, shortly after I moved here, I was in a car accident. It was the first car I’d purchased brand new, and I’d driven it, at that point, for about seven years and I’d paid it off. I had already lived a couple of years without a car payment and I thought it was a vehicle I’d have for a really long time. After the accident, I didn’t want to spend all that money on another car again. When I got the money back from the insurance company, I thought, “Well, I can buy another car and have another car payment for who knows who long, or I can try commuting by bike.”

I decided I would give myself three months to test it out and it was the hardest three months in Oregon: November, December and January. I was able to do it and I enjoyed it. I’m in a bike lane basically the whole way to work, which is great and something that’s almost unheard of in any other part of the country. I saved a lot of money, felt healthy and less stressful at work.

At the time, I had just started new job at a nonprofit organization, the Hacienda CDC. One of our programs partnered with the Community Cycling Center and we felt really close to that work. At one point, 20 percent of the Hacienda staff was commuting by bike. The organization targets the Latino community and, in those neighborhoods, there weren’t a lot of Latinos riding to work. I happened to be one that does, and the Community Cycling Center felt my story would be a good connection to community outreach, too.

I hope I am a role model for younger kids. I have a little brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters and one of the first things we did, one of our first activities together was going to the Community Cycling Center and learning how to fix your own bike. Hopefully, he learned something. Hopefully, he will want to become a commuter one day, too — and not spend all his money on a car.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Chene is a participant in the Gearing Up program, a student at Philadelphia Community College and works part-time for WashCycle Laundry, towing up to 200 lbs. of dirty laundry behind her bicycle!)

I bike, well… because I can.

It’s been less than a year since my passion for biking was born but, then again, it’s pretty amazing what can happen it just one year.

Less than a year ago I was struggling to get through life without a dependency on alcohol. During this time I was given the opportunity to join Gearing Up, a Philadelphia-based bike program offered to women as a means of self-growth and motivation.

“Sure, I’ll ride a bike,” I thought. “Can’t hurt any more than what I’m already going through.”

That first ride made me feel like a little girl again. A sense of freedom and independence from daily struggles had overcome me. Something in me had been sparked. How grateful I was to have those feelings.

So it began…

Goals were set and met, not only in my biking program, but in life, too. Riding became my outlet, my personal sense of freedom and accomplishment. The more I rode the more grateful I was to be able to.

Over this year I have learned to look at things from a different point of view. There are so many people in this world who would give anything to be able to do something as simple as ride a bike. But for whatever reason they are physically unable to. How can I take riding a bike for granted? That’s why I say I bike because I can.

Each and every time I am grateful to experience the ride.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

 

(Yolanda Davis-Overstreet is a cyclist in Los Angeles and the creator of the documentary RIDE: In Living Color.)

Fifteen years ago, I was transformed.

After doing the AIDS Ride in 1996 – my life changed. After this RIDE, I no longer just rode a bike; I understood what it meant to move on two wheels and experience the space and communities around me.

After this RIDE, I knew what it felt like to be in good shape and actually thought much clearer in my daily decision making. After this RIDE, I wanted and want to be on a bike to simply enjoy life and all the benefits that come along with it rolling on two wheels.

As a child, I road my bike almost every weekend with my sister and neighborhood friends. We grew up and went to school in an area that is now called South Central LA. Growing up in the sixties was a different time – as children, we were more free and able to explore much more than what our youth are able to do today.

Knowing that my life and lifestyle have been positively altered because I ride, it has become a mission of mine to find ways to incorporate this lifestyle and ways of thinking about a bike within my family and beyond.

Over the past year I have been on a mission to direct and produce my first documentary RIDE: In Living Color, which will be a documentary that drives a campaign to tell the stories of African American cyclists who are part of the fabric of life within diverse communities in California and beyond.

The film and campaign will provide an insiders’ perspective on how cycling in urban American communities is increasing in numbers and participation, both recreationally and professionally.

A few of the numerous cyclists, bike riders, and advocates I have had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing are Olympic 2x medalist Giddeon Massie; first African American National woman cyclist Karla Bland; and noted biographer Andrew Ritchie, who chronicled the story of the first recognized African American competitive cyclist Major Taylor.

I’ve interviewed Tafarai Bayne of T.R.U.S.T. South LA (and CicLAvia board member) and John Jones III of the East Side Riders in Watts, who both are advocating for safer streets and programs that encourage young kids to get involved in the varied rides paired with empowerment events.

Not to mention, I’ve talked to cyclists about the wide range of health benefits bikes are having in our community in the areas of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and the like. I too have been educated and enlightened with real stories on how cyclists are changing their lives for the better!

In the end, however, while this film will offer more insight into our commonalities than our differences- my journey has shown me that the bike is being utilized as a tool to help us “find our own internal happiness” and can be used as a “vehicle for change in any community,” too.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Shailen Bhatt is the Secretary of Transportation for the state of Delaware, which moved up dramatically in the 2012 Bicycle Friendly State Ranking released today. He spoke with us in April about why he bikes and wants to make cycling accessible to all Delaware residents.)

Growing up, I used to go everywhere on my bike. I’d get on my bike and just go. I actually got in trouble, because I had a lot of friends in the next town over, which was 30 miles away, and me and my buddy biked there a couple of times. My parents found out — and it was bad news for young Shailen. But generally, I have very care-free, happy memories biking around everywhere with my friends.

Biking makes sense on a number of levels to me. I see the economic benefits, for one. Just the other day, my in-laws were in town and my wife asked me to pick up an extra gallon of milk. And I started thinking how, we, as a family, go through a gallon or two of milk per week — and there are some people who are going through 100 gallons of gasoline per week. That’s a lot!

I bike to work occasionally and, a couple times a week my wife bikes to work, too, but our built environment is not conductive to that. There are a lot of people out there and there’s a wide range on the scale of comfort when it comes to biking. There are people out there in spandex with that road warrior mentality, but they’re a very small minority. For a lot of people, it’s not intuitive. We’re not saying everybody needs to get on a bike, but, from an economic perspective, from the environmental side, we need to give people who want that opportunity the safest shot possible to adopt this lifestyle.

The impetus [for the state's leadership on bike/ped issues] came from the Governor [Jack Markell] — this is something important to him. Early on, I had some meetings with him about ‘What will be the legacy at the end of the first term?’ I think it’s important when you’re in public office that you have a sense of urgency. From a legacy perspective, what can we get done? One thing that’s a challenge in transportation is we talk about a lot of things. There’s a lot of planning, thinking, visioning — but what can we get done now? What we wanted to do was come up with a plan where we could see things going to construction very quickly… And the demographic, geography and economics of the situation make Delaware a perfect state for this. We’re small enough to get things done quickly, but we also have a diverse population and everything you’d find in any state.

My wife and I do a lot of biking events. When we got engaged a couple years ago in D.C., we bought matching bikes… Here in Delaware, we decided to do the Amish Country Bike Tour, which is five, 15, 25 or 50 miles. We were going back and forth on the 15 or 25 and I thought, I’m the new Secretary of Transportation, I gotta do the 25. Well, it was a lot more than either of us was up for that day. But the best part was, halfway through, they give you Amish baked pie. So, here we were, in middle of bike ride, scarfing down pieces of apple pie. That’s definitely been the highlight of being Secretary thus far.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(A native of Kenya, Winnie is a participant in the Learn to Ride education program at Cycles for Change in Minneapolis.)

The best experience I have ever had is when I was in Kenya, and my friends and I went cycling in the woods. As we were still riding, a monkey jumped on my back. It was so exciting that he made me lose my way home. I had never been that close to the monkeys; it was then that I learned they are very friendly animals.

In Kenya, at one point, I used to actively train and race every other Saturday with my friends. I still train, but only for physical fitness. Cycling provides physical relaxation, too, despite the intensity of exertion. I always feel refreshed, relaxed and motivated after a good ride.

When I first came to the United States and had my physical done, the doctor noted that I had high cholesterol. Without any medication, riding a bicycle has helped lower cholesterol in my body. It acted as a mood enhancer, as well, providing me with physical and mental benefits.

Now, when I have time to ride my bicycle, I do it. Riding a bike to go to work, school, and shopping can be faster than riding the train or buses. I get straight where I want to be because it’s accessible and it’s cut my cost for bus fare a lot. On a bike, a person is able to bypass heavy traffic jams, eliminate the time it takes to find a parking spot, and arrive wherever I am going refreshed.

As a bike rider, I find myself multitasking by getting from different places and getting some exercise in at the same time.

I cycled back in Kenya but not on major roads, because drivers in Kenya don’t agree that cyclists have the right to the road. Now I can ride my bicycle anywhere, provided I am in a safe position to do it. I am learning how to ride in traffic; I try to ride as safe as I can. I am now eagerly looking forward to the day when I will know how to ride even on major busy streets.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Corinne Winter is the executive director of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and a member of the League Board of Directors.)

I started riding a bike when I was a kid because it was fun: pure and simple.

Now it’s still fun, but it’s also so much more.

In high school and college I found it the fastest, cheapest, and most enjoyable way to get around town. After college, when I moved to San Jose (which is a huge sprawling city in Silicon Valley), I wanted to ride to work but found it a little intimidating. I was lucky — I had a colleague at work who helped set me up with a good road bike complete with a rack and also advised me on what panniers to buy, and what gear I would need. For years I rode my bike to work, often taking my bike on the train for part of the 10-mile route.

Over time, I began to notice that each time I chose to drive my car for some reason–maybe I thought I had too much to carry, maybe the weather was wet–it made me grumpy. Really grumpy.

Thus I learned the great secret that bike commuters keep: sitting in traffic in a car is really annoying, and flying by stopped traffic on your bicycle is really invigorating.

When I took the Executive Director position with Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, I was plunged head first into the world of bicycling. In Silicon Valley, where “bicycling is the new golf,” I quickly found myself in circles where our fundraising asks were best made while in the saddle. While I’d ridden some casual recreational rides before then, at that point I started doing more frequent hill climbs and longer rides.

Thus I learned the great secret that recreational riders and racers keep: rides on which you burn over 1000 calories are a great way to stay in shape while not having to pass up your favorite foods.

Finally, I started traveling around with my bicycle. I’ve now ridden my folding travel bike in France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. This summer I’m going to hit England and Ireland. What an amazing way to see a country, and a culture. In Italy, a town elder in Sicily invited us into his home and shared some brandy with us while telling us all about his life. That sort of thing doesn’t happen very often when traveling by motor vehicle; traveling by bicycle is an entirely different way to see the world.

Thus I learned the great secret that bicycle travelers know: bike travel is the single best way to really see a foreign land and dive into its culture.

My typical week these days includes two or three recreational rides along with a bunch of commute trips. Our organization serves a very large area, so sometimes I drive when that is the most convenient option–but I much prefer it when I can ride. When riding a bike becomes the most convenient option for the majority of the trips taken in Silicon Valley, and all riders are given respect on the roadways, then I’ll be able to retire.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Russ Roca is a bike advocate, traveler and co-founder of Path Less Pedaled)

I think every cyclist has that moment in their life when they are riding, feeling great and a little voice inside asks, “What if you just kept going?” For Laura and I, that voice got louder and louder until we couldn’t ignore it anymore, and we decided to embark on an open-ended bicycle tour.

In short order, we sold everything we owned and loaded our bikes and set off across the country. We ended up traveling continuously for 15 months in the U.S. — and have been living as nomads for the last three years.

As we traveled, we always looked at things through a bike advocate’s lens. We would meet and do presentations with local bike groups and talk about the growing nationwide bicycle movement (especially bicycle travel). When we first started PathLessPedaled.com, it was meant to document our personal experience,s but over the years it has changed to advocate and inspire others to travel by bike.

Our goal has been less about our own personal feats and exploits as it is about democratizing bicycle travel and making it accessible. Too often it is seen as the sport of young, adventurous, college-aged young men with stubble who sleep under bridges. We want to change that image and show that bike travel can just be another travel choice.

We’ve also recently been more interested in how bicycle tourism can revitalize rural communities. We traveled to New Zealand and rode the Otago Central Rail Trail and saw first-hand how a simple gravel rail trail conversion brought back a string of dying communities. We want to share that vision to others in the U.S. and work with communities to attract and promote bicycle travel.

 

 

We’ve already seen some people that get it in the U.S. Oregon is rolling out a series of Scenic Bikeways that go through some stunning rural areas, and we hope to ride those this summer and document, not only the riding, but the communities around the bikeways.

The last three years have been a strange journey where we’ve switched hats from being tourists to advocates of bike travel. I don’t think three years ago — when we listened to that voice that told us to keep going — we would have imagined doing what we’re doing now, but that’s just one of the joys of pedaling and wondering what’s around the next bend.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

New data released today by the League of American Bicyclists, Sierra Club, and National Council of La Raza (NCLR) highlights the tremendous economic benefits of bicycling and its importance as a safe transportation choice that should be available to every U.S. resident.

The fact sheet release coincides with National Bike to Work Day, as more than 1 million U.S. residents are expected to participate in hundreds of events across the country, showcasing bicycles as a healthy, affordable and efficient form of transportation.

New and key data highlighted in the fact sheet includes:

• Bicyclists in the U.S. save $4.6 billion per year by riding, instead of driving

• If American drivers replaced just one four-mile car trip with a bike each week for the whole year, it would save more than 2 billion gallons of gas.

• From 2001 to 2009, Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans took up biking at faster rates than other Americans, representing 21 percent of all bike trips in the U.S. in 2009.

“There are so many reasons more people are riding, from improving their health to protecting the environment,” said League President Andy Clarke. “But, especially in tough economic times, bicycling can also be an economic catalyst, keeping billions of dollars in the pockets of American families.”

“Biking is an important piece of a 21st century transportation system,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “Biking reduces America’s dependence on oil and lets individuals bypass the gas pump, saving individuals money and protecting our health and environment from dirty oil pollution.”

“Bicycling is a crucial mode of commuting for many Latinos,” said Catherine Singley, Senior Policy Analyst at NCLR. “Federal transportation policy should ensure that biking is a safe and viable way to connect people to jobs.”

Widespread desire for-and widespread benefits to be gained from-bicycling make it an important part of a 21st century transportation system. Everyone who chooses to bicycle should have access to safe infrastructure that lets them take advantage of the economic benefits of bicycling.

Click here or the image above to view the full fact sheet. (Click here to download the fact sheet in Spanish.)

(Ellen Fletcher volunteered at a Palo Alto Energizer station for Bike to Work Day for nearly four decades, in addition to  serving as a city council member and leading bicycle advocate.)

I was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1928 and was sent to England 10 years later. I don’t remember seeing anyone ride a bicycle in Berlin, but almost everyone, or so it seemed, rode a bicycle in England.

So I started riding, too. As I grew up I enjoyed riding my bike so much I took many pleasure rides, as well as the regular rides for various errands.

I moved to New York City in 1946 at the age of 17. The extreme crowding on public transit soon enticed me back on a bike, a rarity in the City in those days. I was the only one using the bike racks at Hunter College “uptown” in the Bronx all year round.

Moving to the California suburbs in 1958 with a baby, I thought my biking days were over. But it wasn’t long before I was again back on the bike, at least for short trips. But those short trips expanded greatly, partly for ideological reasons during the Arab oil boycott. Although I still owned a 1964 Plymouth Valiant until a few months ago, I rarely used it, filling my gas tank no more than once a year. The rest of my trips were by bike or with my bike on transit.

When my son entered elementary school here in Palo Alto I volunteered to be “Safety Chair” for the PTA. That got me started in bicycle advocacy. Bike lanes, under and over crossings at major obstacles, bikes on trains and buses and the Nation’s first bicycle boulevard.

At one point when the City Council balked at adopting some bike improvement policies in its General Plan, I decided to run for a seat on the City Council myself and served on the Council for twelve years, from 1977 to 1989.

I don’t remember when or where I started serving at Energizer stations on Bike to Work Day. Probably when BTWD started in the seventies (I’m not sure when that was). I’m skipping it this year due to my deteriorating physical condition.

Now at the age of 83, I have terminal lung cancer and can no longer pedal. I now have an electric motor in a trailer, the RideKick, to get me around, still on my bike. I’m so grateful because otherwise I’d have to rely on others for rides.

I’m so glad I can still get around by bike!

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Geraldine Carter is the Co-Founder and Director of Climate Ride – the largest charity bicycle event that supports green organizations and bicycle advocacy.)

Simply put, I ride because riding a bicycle is, hands down, the best way to get around. Especially where I live in Missoula  – a wonderful Montana town tucked away in the sky-high Rocky Mountains.

I think perhaps it’s all too easy to list all of the reasons why I ride; I can think of a million of them. Because it’s free. Because I always get a parking spot right out front, and never get a parking ticket. Because I zip past traffic. Because a full bike tune up is 1/5th the price of tuning up my car. But really, all that stuff aside, I ride because it makes me feel free, and it transforms my everyday life into a new adventure.

I have learned so much seeing the world from behind my handlebars. The Blue Ridge Parkway taught me how to climb hills. Long, hard hills. I learned that just because butterflies sped past me does not mean I’m slow and weak. I can climb at my own speed, and get there all the same. The pace at which I take my life is my own to choose, and my own to determine.

Cycling in Burma taught me what it’s like to be fearless. Riding in France brought me back to my heritage. Each tour has taught me I was far more capable and stronger than I imagined myself to be.

I’ve been lucky. I’ve had the opportunity to bike in many places all over the world as a tour leader for Backroads Bicycling, and now as the Co-Founder and Director of Climate Ride… but there’s nothing like commuting and riding where I live now.

On my commute to work, I smile when I spot different varieties of tulips. I know which yards have the brightest blooms, and route myself accordingly. I know where all the big furry cats sit in windows, dying for something new to happen outside, and whoosh, I fly by and their eyes grow wide, curious and intrigued. I know them; I wonder if they recognize me.

In the fall, I ride under quaint neighborhood streets lined with shedding maple trees. From my bicycle seat, I look up through the bright yellow leaves to a crisp blue fall sky. I ride to the bridge that crosses the Clark Fork River and marvel at the kayakers flipping in the river’s whitewater. There’s so much of the world that you completely miss from a car.

I’ve been so inspired on bicycles, and that’s why I founded Climate Ride — a 300-mile, 5-day charity ride designed to raise money for more than 45 green organizations working to avert the climate crisis and get more people on bicycles.

When I organized the first Climate Ride from New York City to Washington, D.C., I really wanted to affect serious change and now, five years in, Climate Ride is doing just that. My vision was for people to experience for themselves that their abilities far exceed their limitations, to push themselves past the boundary of what they think they can do.

It’s exactly what I think the planet needs most right now – to discover that we all have the power within us to change the world – one person at a time, one bicycle at a time. And that’s really why I ride.

Well, that…and to give the window cats something to wonder about.

(Follow the 2012 NYC-DC Climate Ride starting this Saturday at www.ClimateRide.org)

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

In addition to the League’s announcement of new Bicycle Friendly Communities, Monday marked the launch of a new resource for cyclists: Bike Score.

From the creators of Walk Score and Transit Score, Bike Score is a quantitative measure of bikeability based on the availability of bike lanes, hilliness, road connectivity, nearby amenities, and the percent of people in that area who bike to work.

“Across the country, biking is growing in popularity and we’re excited to celebrate Bike to Work Week by introducing Bike Score to help more people find bicycle friendly places to live,” Josh Herst, Walk Score CEO, said in the press release.

Bike Score kicked off with rankings for ten major U.S. cities — and, not surprisingly, the League’s top Bicycle Friendly Communities came out on top.

1. Minneapolis (Bike score: 79 out of 100)
2. Portland (70)
3. San Francisco (70)
4. Boston (68)
5. Madison (67)
6. Washington, D.C. (65)
7. Seattle (64)
8. Tucson (64)
9. New York (62)
10. Chicago (62)

To request Bike Score for your city, visit www.walkscore.com/bike. Walk Score will add Bike Score for the top 10 cities receiving votes between May 14 and May 31, 2012.

Read more on the Walk Score blog.

 

With the announcement of the latest Bicycle Friendly Communities on Monday, we debuted a new map on our website. No longer will residents of the East Coast have to use a microscope to click on their state and see their new 2012 Bicycle Friendly Communities, Universities and Businesses.

But we’re not done yet: The 2012 Bicycle Friendly State rankings will be released NEXT WEEK. The current map still lists the 2011 rankings.

Where does your state rank THIS year? Find out on Tuesday!

(Chris Phelan is the founder of the Ride Of Silence, occurring in communities worldwide tonight at 7 p.m.)

Larry Schwartz ambled down the road on May 4, 2003, on his bike and without a care, into history. When he died that day 10 years ago, he became the initial inspiration for The Ride Of Silence.

It was late morning and everything was normal. He was well on his way to riding another 20,000 miles that year on his bike, a number that was numbing to other cyclists who thought getting in 2,000-5,000 miles for the year was outstanding. But not Larry. This was another normal day, and ride, for him. But Larry was anything but normal to those who knew and loved him.

His wife, Judith, supported his enthusiasm and zest for life. Together they rode to many of the area rallies. Once there, he rode the longest distance that was offered (70-100 miles, many times with the pack leaders). And then rode home. It wasn’t unusual for him to log 200-300 miles per day, for consecutive days, many times. This was normal.

On May 4 that year, all was normal. It was a work day, the kids were at school, and the sun was out. It was another beautiful spring day north of Dallas. Normal, until the only other vehicle that would share the road with him, a bus, came along in the same direction as Larry, with a full view of him riding alone through the windshield. It would be Larry’s final ride.

Two days later at the funeral, I talked with movers and shakers in the community. “We should do something,” I said. “Maybe go to the lake.” (White Rock Lake was one of the places where Larry used to train and enjoyed meeting up with other cyclists.)

No one did. There was not a lot of motivation by those I looked up to. All were non-committal, probably for very good reasons. Maybe they were jaded from all the previous deaths and near-death injuries caused by motorists in the past. Maybe it was hard to shake off a funeral for a friend on a bike, only to have to attend another a month later. Everyone knew there would be another one. It was just a matter of time.

No one seemed to know what to do next, least of all, me. I was primarily a runner and therefore outside the cycling circle. Certainly being an outsider, I wasn’t the one who would band cyclists together. I was “just” an outsider. But Larry was a friend. Very humble, he rode with anyone, at any time, including me: a pseudo runner and triathlete wanna-be.

Angry that no one appeared to be doing anything to mark Larry’s senseless death, I sent out a few e-mails in defiance, stating I was going to ride around Dallas’ nine-mile rim of White Rock Lake in silence, 10 days later, on Wednesday, May 21. It was intended to be a one-time only event. “Hope you can join me,” I wrote half pleading, and half with indignation.

When the day came, May 21, 2003, my wife Janalou, and a friend Mike Keel, joined me, probably thinking no one else would. Both feared I’d be embarrassed, looking a little out of place at Dallas’ premier recreation spot for runners and cyclists, riding silently and slowly, all alone.

We rode over the final rise at T. P. (Texas Pacific) Hill, and, there were over 1,000 cyclists gathered, waiting to be led in a procession of silence, a ride of which had never occurred before. I was overwhelmed, not just emotionally, but logistically, as well. There were no plans, speeches, amenities, cones, signs, or announcing system in place. It was a community bonded together over a common cause.

During the ride, one could hear a pin drop or, at least, sniffling and sobbing. I was choked up thinking about Larry and hearing the passion of people I was riding along side. People at the park with their families just came to a stop. Even motorists dramatically slowed down and gave us room on the road. It seemed everyone KNEW something was going on, something reverent, and important. They just didn’t know what.

When the ride finished, when we came over the rise at T.P. Hill, my friend Mike Keel said to me, “Life will never be the same.” He was right.

The next day, I had e-mails, and was getting phone calls about the ride. Among other things, they asked if I could put on a Ride Of Silence in their town. At first, I had no intention of doing it again. I had closure. My vision didn’t extend beyond that first ride. Needless to say, by January 2004 I relented. By the May 2004 event back at White Rock Lake, more than 50 rides had sprung up from Hawaii to Montreal.

I was stunned.

In 2005, the number of locations hosting a ride ballooned to 120. A board was created to help organize the now International Ride Of Silence. The following year, Texas alone had 13 locations, while the total number of sites more than doubled again to 220 worldwide. As I write this (in late April), we are on course to have even more locations this year.

As The Ride Of Silence founder, it’s humbling, unbelievable, and hard to comprehend the passion others have about something I thought only affected me. Alone we are but a whisper. But, tonight, at 7 p.m., we will speak loudly through a silence that will resonate around the world. It’s our hope we can change our laws, courts, and the perceptions of our legal right to the roads, and motorists’ legal responsibility to share the road.

Michael Ortiz lost his brother on March 22, 2012 as he was riding his bike to work in San Diego. He will be organizing a Ride Of Silence in his brother’s name. He wrote me this April 16: “Three weeks ago, I had no ties to the bike community; I don’t even own a bike. Now I find myself becoming an advocate for safer conditions for bicyclists. This event continues to grow because people have been and continue to be affected adversely by tragic bicycle accidents, whether directly or indirectly. My brother was my best friend, and now he is gone. Riding in his honor next month will let his family and friends know he still has a voice and will be remembered.”

This is the 10th Ride Of Silence. Let us ride for Schwartz, Ortiz and every cyclist who’s been hit. Let us be consoled that our ride is attracting attention to the deaths of cyclists that are taking place. These cyclists did not die in vain. Let us come together to remember, and to feel what it’s like to ride a bike.

Let us ride in silence.

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

(Helen Ho is the co-founder of POW! People on Wheels and the Development Director for Recycle-A-Bicycle, in New York City.)

I learned to ride my bike, like most New York City kids, on the sidewalk with my mom running up and down the street next to me. My first bike was a pink Ross with white flowers on the banana seat. My pink bike and I had some good times rolling up and down the sidewalk, but we were never allowed to cross the street because it was too dangerous.

Actually, a lot of things were dangerous for us in the neighborhood, so I spent a lot of time indoors watching TV and eating snacks. Not surprisingly, I was a chunky kid.

Picture a fat Asian kid with a perm and coke bottle glasses. That’s me.

Twenty years later, as an adult, I happened to stumble upon a group of bike advocates and for the first time allowed myself to “cross the street” with my bike. It’s totally scary the first time because you don’t really know what to expect. I gathered up all my courage one day in 2007 and rode my bike five miles to work from Astoria to Flushing, Queens. What a liberating feeling it is to propel yourself to your destination!

I took that same route many times and started to notice things — most notably that I was the only woman cycling on the road. There were lots of other men; men in spandex, men in suits, deliverymen; but curiously no women.

Then I starting going to bike meetings and events and noticed that I was frequently the only minority in the room and that no deliverymen ever came to our meetings.

I have met several others who share this same experience. During a visioning session at the 2^nd Annual Youth Bike Summit (which was inspired by the National Bike Summit 2010!) on the third day, we were envisioning the future. I was in the diversity group. Someone mentioned that diversity was a topic that was frequently talked in the bicycle advocacy movement about but rarely did anything happen past the point of conversation. I can see why if there are other priorities in an organization whose mission is not explicitly about diversity. Also that people of color and immigrants and deliverymen may be a harder group of folks to reach for existing advocates.

But then I thought that it should be *someone’s* priority.

We all had to go around in a circle and say an “I will…” statement.  Before fully realizing the impact of the words, I said, “I will start a minority bike coalition.”

While that statement was made just a few months back, I’ve since found some friends, advocates and students to form a new group called POW! which stands for People On Wheels. We’ve had a few meetings and decided that we would be a project-based group looking to expand the universe of cycling advocates to engage more women, minority and delivery cyclists in NYC.

POW!’s first foray will be a storytelling project, taking portraits of cyclists and celebrating the cyclists, who are often ignored by pedestrians, cars and even each other. We further seek to engage workers, residents, and commuters on a grassroots, local level to create a safe space so that women, minorities, immigrants and working cyclists can share their thoughts and ideas about how cycling, the neighborhood, and the street impacts their day to day life. Whether working with the underserved communities of Roosevelt Ave in Queens or the East New York neighborhood in Brooklyn, we seek to envision a more inclusive future for all cyclists and identify local resources to fill the gaps and support that vision.

We seek to create a dynamic, replicable model that can be integrated into cities across the U.S. Join us, “cross the street” and expand your cycling universes too!  In the end, more advocates equals more voices to champion cycling and that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

We hope to bring what we will learn from this process to the National Bike Summit 2013. See you there! POW!

May is National Bike Month and this year’s theme is One Ride, Many Reasons. To highlight and celebrate the many benefits of bicycling, throughout May we’ll bring you the personal reflections and inspirations of a diverse collection of bicyclists from coast to coast with our daily 31 Days, 31 Reasons blog feature.

 

Adding more excitement to Bike to Work Week, AAA has partnered with the League to produce a series of bicycle safety videos, designed to educate both motorists and bicyclists on the importance of sharing the road.

AAA’s newly redesigned ShareTheRoad.AAA.com offers bicycle and helmet fit guides, safety tips and riding skills advice.

“This year’s theme for Bike Month — One Ride, Many Reasons — recognizes that cycling enhances our lives in countless ways, from keeping us fit to giving us a fun way to get to work,” said League president Andy Clarke. “We’re excited about AAA’s strong support of Bike Month and commitment to educate motorists, so every ride is safe and comfortable for drivers and bicyclists alike.”

Check out all the great tips and resources on the new Share the Road site and AAA’s YouTube channel!