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.

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.

On this Earth Day, the League of American Bicyclists announced 63 new Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFB) from across the country that are leading America toward a greener future.

The BFB program has now expanded to 44 states and Washington, D.C., and these new awardees join a visionary group of more than 500 local businesses, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies across the United States that are transforming the American workplace.

Click here for the full list of BFB awardees. 

“More and more business leaders are realizing that bicycling is a simple and cost-effective way to move toward a more productive company,” says Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “Promoting healthy transportation is increasingly attractive to employers and prospective employees – and it’s moving America toward a more sustainable future.”

Bicycle-friendly businesses encourage a more bicycle-friendly atmosphere for employees and customers alike. Through cost-effective investments, BFBs attract, reward and retain staff that are not only healthier and happier, but more productive, driven and passionate about the work they do and the communities they live in.

Award winners in this round include:

• Texas Instruments Inc. (Bronze)
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wis. (Moved from Silver to Gold)
• The World Bank Group (Moved from Bronze to Silver)
• Peace Corps, Seattle and Chicago offices  (Bronze)

Texas Instruments, a new Bronze-level BFB, worked with its local government to secure funding and build a 35-mile trail that will enable employees to bike to work safely, in addition to widening transportation options for those living in the community. TI also has employee representation on the City of Dallas Bicycle Advisory Committee as it updates the Dallas Bike Plan.

“Texas Instruments sees great value in supporting alternative commuting solutions for employees. We’ve invested resources to build bike paths that connect to local trails, added bike racks, repair stations and onsite showers, and created social networks that support TI bike commuters,” says David Thomas, Vice President of Worldwide Facilities at TI. “We want to make it easy for our existing bike commuters to get to work safely and to encourage more employees to try biking to work. We continually seek new ways to educate, encourage and engage employees in safe bike commuting.”

To apply or learn more about the free BFB program, visit the League online at bikeleague.org/businesses

(Photo: TI employees bike along the Cottonwood Trail, the path for which the Texas company helped secure funding.)

“Harvard is extremely proud to be recognized as a Bicycle Friendly University,” said Lisa Hogarty, vice president for campus services, in a University news release. “While the work of our CommuterChoice team has been exceptional, our initiatives and programs are successful because of the complete support and enthusiasm of Harvard’s biking community. Being named a BFU highlights just how strongly students, faculty, and staff are committed to using alternative forms of transportation.”

Harvard has reason to be proud:

• Approximately 17 percent of its campus commuters used bicycle as their primary means of transportation last year.
• It’s home to almost 400 bicycle racks, creating about 4,000 spaces for bicycles on campus.
• It’s invested more than $600,000 in the Hubway bike share system, of which Harvard has sponsored 12 stations throughout Cambridge and Boston (oh, and they have two other Bikeshare programs, known as CrimsonBikes and Read & Ride Bikeshare, too).
• The university is also an active participant in the Cambridge Bicycle Advisory Committee.

What’s more, it offers a Departmental Bike Program, which gives all schools and departments at Harvard the option of buying bicycles for campus transit. The program, which involves 20 Harvard departments currently, aims to reduce automobile trips and air pollution and increase the health of those on campus.

“Our students, faculty and staff have created a vibrant bicycling community and, in partnership with Harvard’s Schools, departments and community partners, we’re working to make the University safer and more accommodating for bicyclists,” Harvard University Commuter Choice program coordinator Ben Hammer told me this week. “Harvard’s strong support for bicycling makes the University stronger and helps our community explore alternatives to driving that are healthier and better for the environment.”

Keep up the good work! And keep an eye out for award announcements for our other Bicycle Friendly programs in the coming weeks!

(Photo credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer)

In our latest issue of American Bicyclist — the 10th Anniversary of the Bicycle Friendly America program — we give you a glimpse at the next generation of the BFA program. From communities to businesses, we’re continuing to raise the bar for leading communities and corporations that want to improve cycling for their residents and employees.

Last year, for instance, we announced our new Diamond BFC designation — an award that challenges and guides our top Platinum communities to become world-class cycling cities. In this Anniversary issue, Bill Nesper, our VP of Programs, shares the full story behind the development of this new award and how we’ll measure success…

“We never thought Platinum would be the end of the road, the pinnacle of bicycle friendliness,” Bill writes. “But the degree of innovation and pace of improvement in the top BFCs blew us away. We knew we needed new ways to support and challenge the Platinum-level communities. And they were eager to step up their game, too. Last year, we had a call with advocates and city staff from Davis, Boulder and Portland. The consensus was clear: ‘We need a higher bar. We need you to push us to become even better — and give us clear metrics to make our communities world-class cycling cities,’ they said.”

So what will it take to be world-class?

“Attaining Diamond is different than any other BFA designation,” Bill explains. “The biggest change: Defined minimum requirements for ridership, safety and bicyclists’ perceptions. Right now, the average Platinum-level BFC has a bicycle mode share of 12 percent. To get to Diamond, you’ve got to hit at least 15 percent. But that’s not all.”

Read the full story starting on page 14…

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.

So who dreamed up the idea for this roadmap to bicycle-friendliness?

Well, the BFA program didn’t get its start here at the League office in D.C. It wasn’t launched in a city known for cycling or by one of our hundreds of advocacy affiliates, either.

Nope, it started in Kansas — Overland Park, Kansas.

As Hamzat Sani, our Equity and Outreach Fellow, writes in this issue:

“For Wayne Byrd (pictured above right, below left), the Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) concept was a combination of his two passions. Byrd had his second date with wife, Anne, on a bike and worked as a public servant and elected official in Overland Park, Kan., for more than 16 years. In 1993, he was inspired by the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City program. “As an avid bicyclist,” he says, “I wondered why there wasn’t a similar program to encourage safer bicycling in urban and suburban areas.” So Byrd set out to create that program — an initiative that would recognize communities that were making strides for bicyclists and create clear criteria for others looking to get on the path to better biking.”

How did it evolve from one member’s dream to a national program with hundreds of designations? Read the full story…

Make sure you get American Bicyclist delivered to your mailbox; join the League today!

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.

But this magazine also showcases a transformation that goes far beyond the pages of American Bicyclist — or even the League itself.  A decade ago, we launched a program that in just 10 years, has guided hundreds of communities, businesses and universities to make biking better.

In this issue, we mark the 10th Anniversary of the Bicycle Friendly America program.

Now, I know I’m biased, but this may be our best issue yet — showcasing the history and future of the BFA program, great graphics and, of course, the latest (and longest!) list of current BFA awardees. Read it online now, or become a member to make sure you get American Bicyclist delivered to your mailbox.

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.

Today, the League announced the designation of 14 new Bicycle Friendly Universities, expanding the program to 58 colleges in 30 states across America.

Click here to see the full list.

“More and more young people are getting on their bicycles instead of in their cars,” says Andy Clarke, League President. “The League commends universities like Harvard that are embracing that trend by providing better access and improved safety for bicyclists on their campuses.”

At Harvard, a new Silver-level BFU, there are plenty of options to travel by bike at the Cambridge, Mass., campus. With a Departmental Bike Program — which involves 20 departments and offers the purchase of bicycles over reliance on a car or taxi around campus — and two bike share programs, Harvard has cemented its commitment to bicycling as a sustainable, healthy and environmentally conscious transportation choice.

“Our students, faculty and staff have created a vibrant bicycling community and, in partnership with Harvard’s Schools, departments and community partners, we’re working to make the University safer and more accommodating for bicyclists,” said Harvard University Commuter Choice program coordinator Ben Hammer. “Harvard’s strong support of bicycling makes the University stronger and helps our community explore alternatives to driving that are healthier and better for the environment.”

The high marks don’t end with the Ivy League. Also taking home honors this round is the University of California, Berkeley, which received a Silver award for its efforts to make bicycling accessible on campus.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award from the League,” says Greg Haet, Chair of the Campus Bicycle Committee at Berkeley. “The number of students, faculty, and staff coming to the campus by bicycle continues to increase, and we’re working hard to make Cal a better place for our growing cycling community. This award confirms that we’re on the right track, and motivates us to continue making improvements.”

In the Midwest, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was awarded with a Silver, as well. The campus’s new Outdoor Adventure Center is just one of the reasons the Lincoln, Neb., university received the award. It provides bicycle repair opportunities, access to 24-hour end-of-commute shower facilities and bike locker storage. The University is also working on a new master plan, which will include multi-modal transportation priorities and projections for new bike infrastructure.

“The Bicycle Transportation Committee has worked diligently to evaluate, assess and execute a number of initiatives to support the university’s goal of becoming a Bicycle Friendly University,” says Steve Smith, University of Nebraska-Lincoln spokesman. “Bicycling is on the rise at UNL, and is increasingly seen as a healthy, supportable method of getting to, from and around campus. We’re pleased that UNL’s new designation will bring renewed attention to the university’s as well as the City of Lincoln’s progress in this important area.”

(Photos: A student shows off her bicycle at Campus Bike Day in Berkeley at left; Students ride their bicycles on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus at bottom)

“These women are literally risking their lives to ride bikes,” says Shannon Galpin.

Over the past five years, Galpin has dedicated herself to improving the lives of girls like Kakar through her organization Mountain2Mountain. In 2006, the Colorado trainer and avid mountain biker established her nonprofit to empower women and girls in conflict zones — through cycling.

In 2010, she became the first person to ride across Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley and has been a key supporter of the Afghan Women’s Cycling Team.

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“I started challenging that barrier [against women riding bikes] myself by being a foreign woman and looking for other women riding bikes,” she told NBC Nightly News. “Finding out that a small group of women were riding in Kabul as part of a cycling team it was a really natural segway to work I was doing in Afghanistan to support this burgeoning group of women pushing the boundaries on bicycles… It brings bikes into a whole new realm that could galvanize women’s rights in Afghanistan.”

And, if women like Kakar are willing to take the risk, Galpin says, the least we can do is support them. The first step: gear. The Mountain2Mountain founder has garnered hundreds of pounds of donations from bike shops, industry and individuals in a matters of months. And with her new Combat Apathy campaign she’s encouraging all of us to step up, building a “battalion of passionate mothers, daughters, and sisters, that are willing to sacrifice time, money, and energy to be crusaders of gender equity and human rights.”

Watch the video above to hear more from Galpin — and see the incredible passion of the Afghan Women’s Cycling Team. Galpin, along with Let Media and Side of the Road Sessions, are currently working on a full documentary about the team; click here to learn more and support the effort.

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.