In May, we released the latest Bicycle Friendly States Ranking and, over the coming weeks, we’ll explore the building blocks of a BFS and profile some of the leading and innovative advocates and officials. Today, Scott Lyttle, Executive Director of Bike Utah, discusses the role of advocacy, the importance of collaboration, and “The Greatest Biking on Earth.”
Bike Utah partnered with state agencies for a Road Respect Ride in 2011
Guest post by Scott Lyttle
The most exciting thing about cycling in Utah is that the state offers the best of everything.
I’m going to steal our winter counterpart Ski Utah’s slogan “The Greatest Snow on Earth” and translate it to “The Greatest Biking on Earth.” Utah offers scenic recreational rides for families through the national parks. We offer hardcore roadies some of the most challenging climbs and descents. And we offer the best mountain biking throughout the entire state from Park City, Moab, St. George/Hurricane and Vernal.
I’ve only lived in Utah for five years, but I think Moab helped put Utah on the biking map more than 20 years ago when it established itself as the mountain biking Mecca. And since then, we’ve seen cycling grow throughout the state. There has been a 27 percent increase in bike commuting in Salt Lake City. Utah has endless potential. We have great recreational, road and mountain biking all year-round.
As the statewide advocacy organization it’s our role to continue building one powerful voice for cyclists to promote change. Since 2005, when Bike Utah was founded, the organization has been able to establish the state’s 3-foot-passing law, work with the Utah Highway Patrol to promote safe cycling, and create the Share the Road license plate. As we move forward as an organization we’re focusing on building statewide awareness through our annual Utah Bike Summit and the Road Respect Campaign, which is a partnership between Bike Utah, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and Utah Department of Public Safety (UDPS).
Utah Bike Summit
The League’s state ranking has given us some great feedback on what issues we need to tackle in Utah’s BFS Report Card. Funding is Utah’s biggest challenge. As Bike Utah builds the above mentioned relationships our goal is to continue identifying funding sources for new infrastructure.
As a young organization, Bike Utah feels that we can be most effective at building relationships with UDOT, UDPS, elected officials and local, regional and state planners while continuing to make an annual trip to the National Bike Summit and meet face to face with our members of Congress in Washington D.C. Those strong relationships will give Bike Utah a better opportunity to help influence future legislation, and state and federal funding.
Thus far, we’ve relied on many other organizations for help. I’ve personally spoken to Bike Texas, the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, groups from Portland, San Francisco, Minnesota… the list goes on. They have been invaluable in helping us grow as an organization and identify what areas we should focus on. I don’t think we’ll ever stop listening and asking for advice.
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.
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.
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!
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.
If you’ve ridden on a bicycle trail or a major stand-alone bicycling project, the chances are good that you have taken advantage of a product of the federal funding program known as Transportation Enhancements (TE).
Credit: National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse
As a new report from the National Transportation Enhancement Clearinghouse (NTEC) shows, every state, every congressional district, seemingly every community, has benefited from Enhancements projects, most of which relate to bicycling and walking:
Bicycling and walking infrastructure: 50.4%
Rail-Trails: 6.9%
Pedestrian facilities: 6.3%
Or bicycling and walking safety programs: 0.3%
The report shows the scope of the TE program at a time that a broadcoalition is fighting for the Cardin-Cochran agreement (new link), a measure in the next transportation authorization bill that would increase local control and ensure bicycling and walking funds get spent. Meanwhile, a handful of members of Congress on the transportation bill conference committee are doing their best to eliminate bicycling and walking funds altogether.
This attack comes despite the fact that the program has been popular and over-subscribed. “Transportation Enhancement funding continues to be in high demand,” the report says. “Most states report that they cannot fund all of the qualified projects and many sponsors are providing larger than the required non-federal share of project costs.”
“With the current interest in re-evaluating funding for the TE activities on Capitol Hill, it’s more important than ever to understand what these funds are and are not,” says Tracy Hadden Loh, NTEC’s director. “This report is a tool for decision-makers and their constituents to understand the role of the TE activities in building a complete and high-quality transportation system, and to explore variations in TE implementation from state to state.”
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
There’s no denying that separated facilities, like buffered bike lanes in Los Angeles, are getting more folks riding. Yesterday in Chicago, our partners at Bikes Belong officially launched their new and exciting Green Lane Project to propel the development of such innovative facilities across the country.
Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez (red) leads the way down the Kinzie Street protected bikeway in Chicago (Credit: Bikes Belong)
Top transportation officials, including Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, headlined the launch of a new initiative to bring protected bikeways to six U.S. cities — Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Portland (Ore.), San Francisco and Washington, D.C. — over the next two years.
“We are seeing an explosion of interest in making bicycling stress-free on busy city streets,” Martha Roskowski, Green Lane Project director for Bikes Belong, said in the press release. “The selected cities have ambitious goals and a vision for bicycling supported by their elected officials and communities. They are poised to get projects on the ground quickly and will serve as excellent examples for other interested cities.”
Integrating “green lanes” — dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway, protected by curbs, planters, posts or parked cars — has the potential to boost bicycling in a big way. Here in Washington, D.C., bicycle volume tripled after a protected cycletrack was installed on 15th Street, a key connector between residential neighborhoods and downtown workplaces. In Portland, Ore., more than 70 percent of survey respondents said bicycling is easier and safer in green lanes, too.
“Green lanes benefit everyone who uses city streets, not just people on bicycles,” Roskowski continued. “With these facilities, people in cars and on foot know where to expect bicycles. More people on bikes eases congestion. When people ride bikes, they are healthier, and they save money.”
Read more and see additional resources on the new Green Lane Project website: www.greenlaneproject.org.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
One of the many benefits of League membership is a subscription to our magazine, American Bicyclist. The latest issue includes features on the rise of women in the bicycle movement, a wonderful narrative about cycling in Japan, an interview with the “fittest couple on the planet” and so much more.
Click here or the image below to read the online edition.
I’m already working on the next issue, so, if you have comments you’d like to see on the Letters page in July/August, please email me: Carolyn@Bikeleague.org. We welcome and encourage your feedback!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
More than 70 national organizations united today to urge members of Congress to preserve control over biking and walking projects in the federal transportation bill.
In a new sign-on letter to transportation bill conferees, the League and dozens of other groups asked members of Congress to support the Cardin-Cochran agreement, a bipartisan compromise that would give local governments and school systems access to a small amount of federal transportation funds for projects like sidewalks and bikeways.
While members of Congress may be debating the issue, most Americans overwhelming support these popular projects. A Princeton survey recently found that 83 percent of Americans want Congress to increase or maintain federal funding for sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways, including 80 percent of surveyed Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats.
Here’s what the League, AARP, National Council of La Raza, American Heart Association, and others urged the transportation conferees today:
Dear Members of the Conference Committee on Surface Transportation Reauthorization:
As you move forward conferring on the transportation bill, the 70 undersigned national organizations respectfully urge you to maintain the Cardin-Cochran agreement from MAP-21 in the conference report.
Our organizations care about a diverse range of issues—transportation, safety, accessibility, economic competitiveness, historic preservation, health and obesity. And we are united in asking you to ensure that local governments have flexibility and funding certainty to address these issues by making available to them a small portion of federal transportation dollars.
MAP-21 directs a percentage of funds under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program for “Additional Activities.” This program includes Transportation Enhancements with expanded eligibility for environmental mitigation, Safe Routes to School, and some road and other uses. These programs have traditionally been invested in a variety of smaller-scale, local transportation projects such as building sidewalks, bikeways and other improvements that make downtowns economically competitive and safe for families and pedestrians of all ages.
The Cardin-Cochran agreement is a bipartisan compromise that gives local governments a voice in transportation planning through sub-allocation and grant competitions. It gives local governments—those closest to the needs of their constituents and communities—an opportunity to weigh in on how states spend their Additional Activities federal transportation dollars. The compromise does not change the underlying Additional Activities program or the new eligibilities.
Americans want more biking and walking projects in their communities—rural, suburban, and urban—to provide healthy and safe transportation choices, improve air quality, create jobs and stimulate economic competitiveness in their downtowns. A national poll conducted in March 2012 by the Princeton Survey Research Associates showed that 83 percent of all Americans, including 88 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of Republicans, support maintaining or increasing federal investments in biking and walking.
Maintaining local access to this small portion of the transportation bill by retaining the Cardin-Cochran agreement is critical to ensuring that cities and counties of all sizes have a voice in addressing the needs of their constituents. We appreciate your consideration and urge your support for the Cardin-Cochran agreement.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Last week saw the release of the 2012 Bicycle Friendly State rankings and there was a lot of media coverage of the results. We take this as a good sign that the media and people in general are continuing to take notice of bicycling.
Equally impressive is the response from bike advocates across the country, who have been using the rankings and feedback to make the case for bike-friendly policies, programs, and infrastructure.
Over the next few months, we’ll be delving a bit deeper into the BFS data. There’s a lot of interesting trends and stories to share. For now, here are some quick facts that should be useful for anyone looking to move up in next year’s rankings.
Complete Streets policies have been adopted in 26 states to create safer, more livable streets for everyone.
Safe passing and vulnerable road user laws in 22 states are working to increase awareness of cyclists on the road and provide law enforcement an additional tool to create safer streets. Sixteen of these laws are safe passing, while six are a combination of safe passing and vulnerable road user. Legislation is pending in five states (MI, CA, MA, RI, and CT), with Washington’s law going into effect in July.
In order to spend federal safety funds on bicycles, they first have to be in the state’s strategic highway safety plan. Thirty states (including seven of the 10 least safe states for bicyclists) already include bicycles in these plans. Florida deserves credit for being the best at using these funds to address their bike safety problem.
Only 15 states have a statewide bicycle plan, a pretty sad statement about how state DOTs treat bicycles as part of the overall transportation system. To be fair, some states do include bicycles as part of their overall transportation plan (though the quality of this inclusion runs from recognizing they exist to just as good as a stand-alone plan).
The economic impact of bicycling is becoming one of the most potent arguments to win over state and local officials. So far 14 states have conducted some sort of economic impact study, most of which are focused on the overall impact to the state’s economy. Two of our favorites? Iowa and North Carolina.
Elsewhere in cycling advocacy…
The Missouri Blue Ribbon Committee on Transportation is currently touring the state over the next few months. Their objective is to tackle the current, and very serious, crisis in transportation funding in Missouri and set the direction for a new funding source in the Show Me State. If bicycles and pedestrians are included in this new funding source, it will change everything — for the better. The next meeting is June 1 in Springfield. Visit the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation website for the remaining dates.
Delaware Governor Jack Markell has asked the state General Assembly to invest millions of dollars to support walking and bicycling. The critical committee vote on the Governor’s request will be next week, or the week after. Bike Delaware is asking residents to contact state senators and representatives today to ask them to support this important budget request.
Have news from your advocacy organization? Email Matt Wempe, state and local advocacy coordinator, at matt@bikeleague.org.
(Andy Clarke is the president of the League of American Bicyclists.)
Andy Clarke riding a stage of the Tour de France
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.
(Elizabeth Williams is the founder of Cali Bike Tours in Long Beach, Calif.)
Elizabeth Williams
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.
There’s no simple or single solution to get more women riding bikes in the U.S. In 2009, women accounted for just 24 percent of bike trips and the reasons for that under-representation are numerous and complex.
Jennifer Klausner (left) and Alexis Lantz (right) of the LACBC (Credit: Women on Bikes SoCal)
But one thing is becoming clear — specific types of facilities can dramatically impact the number of female cyclists.
The latest evidence? New data on a separated bike lane in downtown Los Angeles, California.
In late 2011, the city installed a green buffered bike lane on Spring Street, a major corridor in the downtown district. The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (which, incidentally, is staffed by some phenomenal female leaders) wanted to capture the impact of the new facility, so they conducted bike counts before and after the paint went down. Released this month, the results are impressive.
Overall, riding went up 52 percent after the green lane was installed, with a particularly big jump on the weekends (250 percent). But even more eye-opening was the gender shift.
The most encouraging news from this count is the strong gains in the number of women riding bicycles on the Spring Street lane.
As we report in our newly-released 2011 Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Report, the state of female ridership for the city as a whole is not good. The proportion of women who ride bikes in Los Angeles has remained virtually unchanged at below 20% for the past two years.
Spring Street, on the other hand, is an indicator of how in just a short while bicycle infrastructure that provides a buffer between auto traffic and the bike lane can make a big difference in the number of women who ride bicycles.
Even accounting for the overall increase in ridership on Spring Street, the gains in female ridership are impressive. The number of female cyclists on the weekday went up 100% after the green lane was installed. On the weekend, the percentage increase was a massive 650%.
The proportion of cyclists who were women also went up. On the weekday, female cyclists were only 8% of the riders counted before the green lane was installed, but that proportion went up to 13% afterward. On the weekend only 7% of the cyclists counted were women before the green lane went in. That proportion went up to 14% afterward.
Of course, Spring Street wasn’t the only road that witnessed a rise in women riders. The LACBC’s 2011 City of Los Angeles Bicycle & Pedestrian Count Report confirmed that, citywide, “bicycle infrastructure is positively related to the overall rate of bicycle ridership, the number of women bicyclists, and occurrence of safe bicycling practices.”
Read more and download the full report on the LACBC blog.
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.
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)
Pilar Perez
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.
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.
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…
Forget flying: Superheroes ride bike share
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?)
Pocatello Bike Parade (Credit: Idaho State Journal)
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!
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 Bike Bash (Credit: Redmond Reporter)
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?
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.
As you might imagine, everyone here at the League of American Bicyclists is participating in the National Bike Challenge.
For the most part, we’re utilitarian cyclists. We ride to work. We ride to the grocery store. We ride to press conferences up at the U.S. Capitol that showcase the overwhelming support for cycling in communities across America.
A few members of the Bike League team at BTWD in DC
And, well, we’re doing pretty well — even without logging those long, recreational rides that have put inspirational folks like Leonard Wright at the head of the Challenge pack.
Among small businesses of less than 25 employees, the League is #4 — and we’re in good company. The top five businesses in our category are all fellow advocacy organizations. Bike Maryland has edged out the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin for the #1 spot and we’re just a hair behind #3 Local Motion, an advocacy organization in Burlington, VT. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is nipping at our heels and Bike Pittsburgh is just a few pedal strokes behind at #8.
Transportation cyclists are starting to climb the ranks among individual riders, too. While Leonard Wright is #1 with 100% recreational miles, the number 2 individual rider is the exact opposite. Michael Lemuel of Topeka, Kan.,has racked up more than 2,100 points — ALL from transportation trips. He’s not alone: Ron Clegg, from Columbus, OH, is in 6th place with 67% of his miles coming from transportation, and Mark Lucas in Hartford, Md., is in 8th with 60% of his miles for utilitarian trips.
Which raises an excellent point: Even if you’re just going out for a quart of milk, the National Bike Challenge rewards you for your trip with 20 points PLUS the mileage. So take me as an example. I very rarely go out for a 70-mile ride, like Leonard. In fact, my average day — going to the office and yoga — is only 6.8 miles of riding all told. But I’m already at the Gold level — more than 500 points. That’s because I ride. Every. Single. Day. And even if it’s just a two-mile round trip to Ella’s Pizza for Sunday brunch, I log it.
And I know there are a lot of folks out there like me, like the folks here at the League. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are actually more than 730,000 of us — people who bike to work. How powerful would it be if we could recruit just a tiny fraction of those folks to join us in the Challenge?
So, as we close out Week 4, I’d like to propose a personal challenge. I have plenty of friends who ride like me — relatively short but consistent trips for work and errands and day-to-day life. I commit to recruiting at least one new Challenge rider before the end of May — and report back in next week’s recap.
Will you join me?
If you haven’t already, sign up for the National Bike Challenge here.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
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.
Zac Totten wanted to go out with bang. Little did he know that his senior bike ride idea would make national news headlines.
The senior at Kenowa Hills High School in a suburb of Grand Rapids, Mich., wanted to put on a show, but he didn’t want to end his run with something silly. “In years past, seniors did stupid stuff, like painting the school and camping at the school — dumb things that got them in trouble,” he told me this morning. “I wanted to do something that wouldn’t harm the school and would be good for the community.”
So he came up with a great idea that fit that bill. He got on the (private) Facebook group for his senior class and proposed a bike ride. The idea took off and, with more than 80 kids expected to participate, Zac realized they needed back-up. His friend Steve called the police, who arranged an escort. Zac’s mom invited her friend, the city’s Mayor Rob VerHeulen, who showed up for the event with donuts for the riders.
And, then, smiling and singing the school fight song, the band of merry seniors pedaled to school.
Seniors biking to school (Credit: MLive.com)
“It was a lot of fun,” Zac says. “It was a great experience.”
But then something unexpected happened. After hanging out and taking some pictures, the students started to go inside — but they were redirected to the performing arts center by a school official. “We got chewed out a little bit by our principal who said we were suspended and weren’t able to participate in the traditional senior walk, where we walk through the high school and say goodbye to our teachers and underclassmen,” Zac says. “She said they were going to investigate the prank more and some people might not walk at graduation. My heart kind of dropped, because it was my idea and I had a speech to give [at graduation]. It was really scary at first.”
Joshua Duggan, a board member of the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition (GGRBC), was lobbying at the Michigan state capitol when he heard the news. Even before the local advocacy organization could respond, the community rallied behind Zac and his fellow students. In fact, the response backing biking was so strong that the principal quickly reversed course — and even apologized publicly.
“As evidenced by the overwhelming support for the students in the comments on the news articles, the huge attendance at the board meeting, and the written statement with an apology of sorts by the principal, most people in West Michigan seem to support what the students did,” Duggan says. “And I personally was impressed that the Walker Mayor stood by the students and did not waver in his support of their event.”
In hindsight, Zac says, keeping the ride a secret wasn’t the best tactic. “I felt bad for blindsiding the principal and superintendent, and looking back now, I would have told them we were doing it,” he says. “[At the board meeting], I apologized to them, but I told them I hope what we did this year becomes a tradition: that seniors, on their last day, ride their bikes to their high school.”
Aside from the controversy, though, the Kenowa Hills ride taps into another topic that’s receiving national buzz: the challenges — and in some cases, administrative prohibitions — that many students face in trying to ride to school. If you haven’t seen it yet, David Darlington’s recent article in Bicycling magazine is a must-read. For Duggan in Grand Rapids, Zac and his friends underlined the issues raised in Darlington’s piece and the need for safer routes to school.
“When it’s not safe for the kids to ride to school without a police escort, and when the principal states in her public response to one of the TV stations that she feared for the seniors because ‘I have two kids of my own. I’ve seen car accidents, even this school year right outside our student parking lot,’ it indicates there is a problem with the location of the school and its surrounding roads, because they were designed solely for motor vehicles,” Duggan says.
Zac agrees. He, for one, lives just one mile away but didn’t bike to high school because it didn’t seem safe on the fast-moving, high-volume streets. “We definitely have quite a big population around the school, so we could ride a bike if we wanted to, but it’s kind of dangerous,” he says. “That’s something I’d like to see changed.”
The good folks at GGRBC are still formulating their response and contemplating how to capitalize on the students’ energy and community support — and we’re putting on our thinking caps, too. In the meantime, though, Zac’s ride already inspired his fellow students. “I went back the next day and there were quite a lot of bikes,” he says. “A lot of underclassmen rode to school.”
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.
With the release of the 2012 Bicycle Friendly State rankings, it’s great to see states and advocates continuing to improve conditions for bicyclists.
With that in mind, here’s this week’s advocacy roundup:
West Virginia is updating its 1997 State Bicycle Connectivity Plan. WVDOT held a series of public meetings in May to gather input from bicyclists throughout the state. “The meetings have been well attended and folks are providing good comments and input into the process,” says Perry Keller, WVDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. This input will be used to create draft plan recommendations on necessary bicycle connections. Residents can review the recommendations during another series of public meetings in August/September.
Credit: NYBC
New York Senator Charles Schumer has come out in favor of building the new Livingston Avenue Railroad bridge (connecting Albany and Rensselaer) with bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. “Senator Schumer’s involvement at this early point in the project design is very timely,” said Brian Kehoe, executive director of the New York Bicycling Coalition. “The [Livingston Avenue RR Bridge] Coalition anticipates productive engagement with all projects stakeholders as this critical project moves forward. We deeply appreciate the Senator’s support for bicycling.” NYBC received an Advocacy Advance Rapid Response grant to help ensure this opportunity results in a multi-modal connection between the two cities.
California’s three-foot passing bill, SB 1464, faces a vote by the full state Senate soon. The bill will require drivers give bicyclists at least three feet of clearance when overtaking them from behind in the same lane. This bill is a response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto last October of SB 910, the previous attempt to enact a three-foot passing law in California. In his veto message, Brown expressed support for the concept but objected to an exception to the three-foot requirement meant to accommodate drivers in dense urban traffic. SB 1464 contains largely the same language as SB 910, but the exception is slightly less restrictive. We’re confident this version of the bill is one that Gov. Brown will sign. Check out the California Bicycle Coalition’s website for more info.
Massachusetts advocates are pushing for a series of bills, including a vulnerable road user law, to address bicycling and walking safety in the Bay State. The vulnerable road user bill provides law enforcement with more flexible tools to encourage motorists to exercise caution when operating around vulnerable road users, including increased fines, traffic safety classes, and community service.
Georgia Bikes! and the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety have awarded their 2012 seed grants for local advocacy organizations across the state. Several projects are already off the ground as a result of the grants.
Matt Wempe League State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Mr. Wempe joined the League in September 2011. For the three years prior, he worked as a transportation planner and Safe Routes to School Coordinator in Fort Collins, Colo. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
(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!)
Chene
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.
We have been gratified by the reception of our new website, Every Bicyclist Counts. The site is a memorial to cyclists who have been killed in the saddle. It is also a data-gathering tool that will help us learn more about the nature of fatal crashes — and hopefully prevent them. The project is meant to demonstrate the need for better reporting on these tragedies. We have already seen a lot of interest in this project from League members and cyclists in response to our latest appeal. If you would like to contribute, please donate here.
On Monday, we provided an early look at our very preliminary data. We are just beginning to track fatal crashes, but we are already re-examining some of our assumptions, based on the first 150 records.
We haven’t yet reported on all of the data we are collecting. Today, we want to share a little bit more about the information we’re collecting to give you a sense of what is to come.
Currently, we are collecting information in the following categories:
Date of incident
Age of cyclist
Gender of cyclist
Obituary
Location (street, city, state, closest intersection)
Driver age
Crash time
Photo
Land Use
Road Type
Where on Road the Collision Occurred
Collision Type
Vehicle Type
Driver at Crash Time
Cyclist at Crash Time
Wearing helmet
Sources
Legal Status
The purpose of these particular questions is to build upon the data captured by the federal Fatalities Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and add richness and detail that can’t be found there. This allows us to check our data against the official federal database, while gaining a more complete picture of why these deaths occurred. What type of collision was it? What were the contributing factors? What were the features of the road? Was the driver distracted? If so, by what?
Members of the public are invited to email Elizabeth Kiker at Elizabeth[at]bikeleague.org to notify us of cyclist fatalities as they occur or to add details about existing profiles. We want the most complete and up-to-date information possible.
We initially entered the deaths that we knew about in 2011. Please note that, going forward, we will only be able to track events that take place in 2012 and later. While we want to honor every cyclist, we are constrained in our ability to record past events. If we have missed any cyclists who were killed since January 1, 2012, please do let us know.
This practical constraint also explains why we are limiting the project to fatalities. We know that examining all crashes would be very instructive. Unfortunately, capturing those data would be a mammoth task, fraught with logistical complexity.
Thanks to the member contributions we’ve received so far, we’ve already added a new feature to Every Bicyclist Counts – a map. This custom, Google-powered map shows where the fatal crashes are occurring. Click here to see the map.
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
(Yolanda Davis-Overstreet is a cyclist in Los Angeles and the creator of the documentary RIDE: In Living Color.)
Yolanda Davis-Overstreet
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.
By Mary Lauran Hall, Communications Coordinator for America Bikes
A small group of House and Senate leaders are still negotiating on the final transportation bill right now. The window is closing fast on our last real chance to impact the bill.
It’s all in their hands—whether or not local communities will have access to funds to build biking and walking infrastructure—and we need your help.
Today, America Bikes is joining with numerous other organizations from around the country to call congressional offices and make our priorities clear in these last few days to impact the transportation bill’s final outcome.
Can you take a moment to call your Senators and Representative and let them know that the transportation conference committee must preserve the bipartisan Cardin-Cochran agreement? This agreement ensures that communities will have access to funds to build biking and walking infrastructure.
Here’s how to call:
1. Check out the profile on your senators and your representative using the America Bikes state and district resources pages.
2. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Use the script below to ask your elected officials to preserve the Cardin-Cochran agreement.
Hi, my name is [name] and I live in [city/town/county].
I’m calling to ask Representative/Senator [name] to support the bipartisan Cardin-Cochran agreement in the transportation conference committee that ensures local governments have access to funds to build bikeways and sidewalks.
Americans support federal funding for biking and walking. In a March 2012 poll, 83 percent of Americans said they support maintaining or increasing federal funding for biking and walking- That includes 88 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of Republicans.
These projects are important to my community. (Mention a local project, or use some of the facts from your state or district profile.
Please support the Cardin-Cochran agreement so that [your city/town/county] can build projects important to our community.
3. Repeat for all three of your congressional representatives.
(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.)
Shailen Bhatt (orange jersey) finishing up a 14-mile ride to South Dover Elementary School on Bike to School Day (Credit: DelDOT)
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.
Adding more excitement to National Bike Month, the League has released its latest Bicycle Friendly States ranking. For the fifth year in a row, Washington continues to lead the nation, with outstanding performance in all categories. Riding the wave of significant bicycle improvements, other states like Colorado and Delaware charged into the Top 10.
Click on the map above to explore the state ranking
“We are encouraged to see significant progress in top states like Washington, Minnesota, Colorado and Massachusetts,” said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. “But, as the scores clearly highlight, there’s much work to be done in critical areas like infrastructure and funding. Overall, we see states — and especially state Departments of Transportation and state legislatures — lagging behind cities and the expectations of local cyclists, despite the many well-documented benefits of a more active lifestyle.”
The 2012 rankings mark the launch of an updated and improved evaluation process. Throughout 2011, the League held Bicycle Friendly America listening sessions across the country to understand the successes and shortcomings of the program. Based on public input, the Bicycle Friendly State survey was revised to give a clearer picture of a state’s accomplishments and next steps towards becoming more bike-friendly.
Even with the revised survey, Washington once again set a high bar in 2012. With support from the highest levels of government, the state leads the nation in creating new bicycle infrastructure and using federal funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects. In 2011, the state passed a safe passing / vulnerable user law, due in no small part to the efforts of the Cascade Bicycle Club and Bicycle Alliance of Washington, which have some of the highest advocacy capacity in the country.
“People in the Pacific Northwest embrace bicycling as part of a lifestyle that honors the environment, healthier living and transportation choices,” said Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. “This title once again confirms that we’re on the right track, supporting bicycling as a transportation option in our communities.”
Also on the right track, Colorado and Delaware rose to #4 and #10 respectively in the 2012 rankings. Colorado exemplifies many of the qualities the League looks for in a bicycle friendly state, including a bicycle commuter mode share that’s more than double the national average, a bike-friendly department of transportation, and a top-notch statewide advocacy group.
Delaware also jumped to #10 thanks to visionary support from top government officials. With dedicated state funding for bicycling projects, Governor Jack Markell and the state departments of Transportation (DelDOT) and Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) are leading the way to create a multi-modal transportation system. And the partnership between state leaders and Bike Delaware, the statewide advocacy group, is a model for other states seeking to become more bike-friendly.
“We welcome our rise in the ranking as recognition of what we are doing to make walkable, bikeable communities a priority in Delaware,” said Governor Jack Markell, who is himself an avid cyclist. ”Trails and bike routes are a part of a vision for a state with interconnected communities. We will continue working to make Delaware an attractive place not only to bike, but to live and work.”
But the BFS program is more than an annual assessment. Throughout the year, League staff work actively with state officials and advocacy leaders to help states identify and implement the programs, policies and campaigns that will improve conditions for bicyclists. While Mississippi placed #38 in this year’s rankings, Melody Moody, executive director of Bike Walk Mississippi, is confident her state won’t be in the bottom tier for long.
“Mississippi is a state typically ranked low in bicycle friendliness, but bicycle advocates across the state are working hard to make these changes, and fast,” Moody said. “Bike Walk Mississippi is working one-on-one with local communities to provide on the ground assistance to connect leaders to tools and resources that can be used to create better and safer infrastructure, policies, plans, and programs.”
Learn more about the BFS program at www.bikeleague.org/states and stay tuned to the blog for more analysis in coming days.
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.
Earlier this year, the League of American Bicyclists quietly launched a new website called Every Bicyclist Counts. The site tracks bicyclist fatalities, and, it does this for several reasons.
First, it serves as a memorial for fallen cyclists. Every bicyclist matters and we want to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives bicycling, while also providing a place for grieving friends and family to pay tribute in the comments, if they wish.
Second, we recognize that we all have a lot to learn about the circumstances of fatal crashes. To improve safety on our roads, we need to better understand what leads to fatal crashes and other bicyclist deaths (they’re not all crashes).
Third, we want to try to improve the response to, coverage of, and follow-up to every one of these fatal crashes. We believe that if we can hold a spotlight to the police, justice system, and media response to these incidents, we may be able to improve the quality of such responses over time.
This month, we sent out an appeal to League members describing Every Bicyclist Counts and asking for support for this important memorial, data-gathering, and awareness-raising tool. We immediately heard from members who were appreciative of the project – and eager to find out more about what we’ve learned so far.
In recognition of the interest in new data on bicycling fatalities, we decided to share some of what we know up to this point. However, please treat these data as highlypreliminary. Imagine a big “Draft – Data not final” watermark on the page behind all that follows.
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
Reflecting the city’s long tradition of cycling culture, the city of Gunnison, Colo., attained Silver Bicycle Friendly Community designation last week. Gunnison City Manager, Ken Coleman, shares his community’s enthusiasm for biking and was proud to shed some light on his city’s love of cycling.
Our community culture has embraced cycling for some time. I can only speak to my time spent here in Gunnison, although we do have a picture in our council chambers with one on Gunnison’s founders, Alonzo Hartman, by his bicycle in 1882.
Even Gunnison’s founders were into cycling
I moved to Gunnison in 1981, 100 years after Alonzo. My brother attended Western State College and after graduating began working for the school district here. I ended up relocating to the area and when I arrived he told me I needed three things: shades (it’s sunny), some telemark skis for those long winters, and a mountain bike.
After I settled here, he took me on a day ride over West Maroon Pass to Aspen and back. Although that almost killed me, I immediately went down to the Tune-Up Ski and Bike Shop to buy my first mountain bike. The owner, Chris Haas, talked me into a sweet little Univega number. Since I was all but broke, he let me take that bike, ride it all summer and make payments until we were square. Where else would that happen other than a truly bicycle-friendly kind of place?
Our community has cycling embedded in its soul. As you pass through the community there are bikes leaning against porches, parked in racks, resting by sign poles and ambling here and there with a lucky rider mounting the saddle. The townie scene ranges from utilitarian to outright ostentatious. Children converge on the schools each day in packs and you have to navigate a maze of bikes to get a cup at the local cafes.
The Red Zinger Classic bike race had been successful in Colorado and our local bike shop entrepreneurs brought some of the professional riders to our town for training. The Coors Classic followed the Red Zinger and, with it, our local sports enthusiasts hosted some stages. A citizen criterion also brought some cycling excitement to our downtown. The mountain bike scene grew up right outside our doors and we offered training to Olympians. Alexi Grewal, Connie Carpenter, and Rebecca Twig tuned up their ride for the 1984 games on our county roads. Davis Phinney was a regular at these events.
It wasn’t just the pros that were enjoying our venue, though. The town has had year round biking long before I arrived. It’s how folks get around here. There are many commuters enjoying the brisk mountain air each morning, and each weekend there are road and mountain bikes winding their way through the network of trails and scenic roadways. I guess it just seemed natural that we ARE a bicycle-friendly kind of place — so naturally we’d apply for Bicycle Friendly Community status.
Our city staff has picked up the ball and carried it to the goal line. The planning for trails and bike lanes, the events that bring the community together, the educational material, enforcement strategies, and actual building of infrastructure along with the BFC application were handled by city staff. Since we are a small community with a smaller budget we do not have a dedicated bicycle program director. I felt it was important, so I personally volunteered to help organize the effort.
Thus far, I’ve been learning by trial and error. We hope to improve our ranking with each application. I would love to see us roll out a solid school program that gets our youth educated to the benefits and proper use of bicycles. It only makes sense to give the young folks the right information up front so they can enjoy many years spinning their wheels.
(A native of Kenya, Winnie is a participant in the Learn to Ride education program at Cycles for Change in Minneapolis.)
Winnie (Photo credit: Angela Lundberg)
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.)
Corinne Winter (Credit: Richard Masoner)
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)
Russ and Lisa
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.
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