Here is a fun one. Kimberly-Clark’s Scott® Brand and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (Bike Fed) have teamed up to offer a free, four-month biking challenge to all adult Wisconsin residents. The goal of the first ever Scott® Brand Get Up and Ride Wisconsin Challenge is to promote bicycling and provide a fun and environmentally friendly way for Wisconsin adults to improve health and wellness.
The Challenge is open to all Wisconsin businesses, organizations and residents 18 and older. It begins at the start of National Bike to Work Week on Monday, May 16, 2011, and runs through September 30, 2011. It’s easy to enter your rides and miles using the free online tool developed by Endomondo, a leading sports tracking company. Additionally, an optional free app is available for smartphone users.
Participants will earn points based on the number of miles and trips in both the transportation and recreation categories. Individuals will be entered into prize drawings and will receive one entry for each point earned. Monthly prizes will be given away based on transportation points. Grand prizes (for example a Trek bike or Trek recreation product package includes a factory tour and mountain biking) will be awarded at the end of the Challenge for both recreation and transportation points. The more you ride, the better your chances to win! For additional details and to sign up for the Challenge, go to www.challenge.bfw.org.

In only its second year, nearly 600 advocates, industry members, and citizens gathered in Madison for the Second Annual Wisconsin Bike Summit put on by the Bike Federation of Wisconsin.  Over the course of two days (April 21-22), attendees participated in breakout sessions, seminars, round table discussions, and meetings with their local and state government representatives.

The event was highlighted by the evening Plenary Session, which featured guest speakers Andy Clarke, President of league of American Bicyclists, Amanda White, Director of the Wisconsin Bike Fed, Tim Blumenthal, Executive Director of Bikes Belong, and John Burke, President of Trek Bicycle Corporation.

A nearly full house for the Plenary Session at the Summit

The night was a success despite the fact that the original Keynote speaker, Andreas Rohl, the Bike Coordinator for the City of Copenhagen, inability to attend due to flight cancellations from the Icelandic volcano.  Additionally Madison’s Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and five other panelist where stuck in Amsterdam and unable to present. The mayor was leading a group of 20 Madison area advocates visiting and researching best-in-class cycling cities across Netherlands and Germany. This trip was the kickoff for Madison’s new goal: to achieve 20% bicycle mode-share transportation by the year 2020. Visit the blog website at 20-by-2020.com to see details and lessons learned from their trip, and to see how Madison is going to accomplish this lofty but attainable goal.

And there is a great chance this goal will be attained.  Last year at the summit this same group accomplished great things. On lobby in 2009, the Wisconsin Advocactes asked for three things. 1)Complete Streets legislation, 2) a Fair share of funding and 3) pass Anti-Dooring legislation. Within three months of the summit all three asks were signed into legislation. It is proof that advocacy does work.

While the Wisconsin Bike Summit and all of its accomplishments are specific to Wisconsin, everything they’ve done and achieved is very applicable to your city and state.  John Burke always says that Government is of the people, by the people, for the people who show up. If you just show up, you will begin to make a difference.

To start, visit peopleforbikes.org and sign the pledge.  Then have everyone you know who cares about cycling also sign the pledge, to help gather over one million names of support for cycling.  There is so much momentum in cycling advocacy happening right now, with support from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, bikesbelong.org, bikeleague.org, imba.com, and many other organizations.  As a member of the cycling industry, make sure you are doing everything you can to move cycling forward.

he 2010 National Bike Summit drew over 725 cycling advocates from across the Union last week, including 108 Trek Retailers, Trek President John Burke, and Trek’s Advocacy guru Krista Rettig. Thanks to everyone who attended and made their voice heard at this influential and important event.

Highlights of the 10th annual Summit included the unveiling of Google Map’s Bike feature, the successful lobbying of representatives by constituents, and the commitment of Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to promote and fund a bicycle friendly future in America.

This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized, wrote LaHood on his blog following the Summit. We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

Want to learn more about the events at this year’s Summit? Check out these links below:

Read Ray LaHood’s entire blog post and watch video coverage of the Summit at http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/03/my-view-from-atop-the-table-at-the-national-bike-summit.html#more 
Read the League of American Bicyclist’s Top 10 Summit Highlights at http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/03/10th-national-bike-summit-rocked/.
Also read John Burke’s Top 10 Summit Highlights at http://agreatride.typepad.com/a-great-ride/2010/03/national-bike-summit-wrapup.html#more on his new blog, A Great Ride.

Remember, it’s never too early to begin planning your trip to the 2011 National Bike Summit!

After months of waiting and some light nudging from some dedicated groups, Google has finally released the beta version of the “Go By Bike” feature for Check out any google map directions and click the dropdown menu and select “Bicycling”.
The application is just in beta format right now so feel free to report back to Google with any unmapped bike routes or streets that are not suited for cycling. It already seems pretty dialed as I bike mapped my route to a favorite pub and “the Google” already knew that the main street along the route is part highway and re-routed me to a street I was previously unaware of. Can’t wait to try out the new route.

Many props to the Google peeps today!

Well, Ride the Drive has come and gone, and it was, how shall I say, AWESOME! The weather was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky. Temperatures were unseasonably cool, which was great. It was a perfect day. And the turn-out was amazing. Walkers. Runners. And of course bikers. Heck, we even had dancers. All enjoying Madison’s great streets in a way that, until today, would have been impossible. I saw families out on the route, little kids riding 12 inch wheel bikes. I saw pull behind bikes. I saw empty-nesters rekindling their romance. Bagpipes under the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace? Yep. Acoustically impressive (can you feel my goose bumps?). Live music sprinkled throughout the six-mile route. Oh, and the high wheelers. How cool was that?!? And, anytime you’ve got the Wienermobile at your event, it’s a good time. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported RTD. And see you next year!

The first-ever Wisconsin Bike Summit kicks off today. It’s really exciting to think about cyclists from all over the state coming together, getting organized, and having our voices heard by our state legislators. The Bike Fed of Wisconsin is putting on the event, and today advocacy leaders from the League of American Bicycles, Bikes Belong Coalition, and the Bike Fed will talk to Summit-goers to get them fired up about all the good things bicycles can do for their local communities, the state of Wisconsin, and for the country. Traffic congestion. Air pollution. Obesity. The bicycle really can be a simple solution to complex problems.

Tomorrow we head to the Capitol to meet face-to-face with our respective representatives. We have three asks on the docket: 1) a commitment to increase funding for bicycling infrastructure and maintenance from 1.4% to 3.0% of all transportation dollars; 2) support for Complete Streets, which in essences requires that all new road construction takes into account bicycle traffic as part of the road plan; and 3) support the car-dooring legislation currently up for a vote; right now, in Wisconsin, if a motorist opens the door of his parked car and takes out a cyclists, by law, it’s automatically the cyclists fault; this new legislation would remove the automatic culpability from the cyclists and instead allow the investigating authorities to assign the blame where it rightly belongs in each particular instance a cyclist OR motorist.

Are you one of those people who would ride to work IF there was a place to lock up your bike and a place to clean up? Or maybe you’ve begged for a bike rack at work only to get no response? Fear not….you now have a resource to turn to for help.

Our good friends at the Bike League (.org) have launched the Bicycle Friendly Business program.  BFB provides technical assistance to companies and organizations so they may foster a healthier workplace.

The BFB evaluates applicants but just because a company applies doesn’t mean they will earn the designation “bicycle friendly business.”  Still, they just might learn what it is they need to do to become bike friendly.

Send this link to the decision makers in your company:www.bicyclefriendlybusiness.org. You might try putting “how to lower company health care costs” in the subject line. And, if you do work for a Bike Friendly Business, tell me what your company does–I’m interested in knowing what works.

Here at Trek we have showers and a “commuter room” to store our bikes.  In our cafeteria, all the “healthy” food (salads, yogurt, sandwiches) is rather cheap and the less healthy food (chips, fries, soda) cost enough to make it easy to choose the better food.  If you really want that big gulp, it’ll cost you a buck fifty! Milk or juice however, is just .50.  The weight watchers food score is on the menu next to each item so those on the program can select the best choice.

What’s in your lunchbox??

I got an email from the brilliant bike advocate, Tim B. (Bikes Belong.org) who was watching PBS Evening News Hour last night. On the show Professor John Cochran of the University of Chicago singled out the “Bicycle Commuters Benefits Act” which is included in the credit bailout bill that the House will vote on tomorrow, as THE prime example of what’s wrong with the revised bill that the House will consider.

I would have to agree with Tim that extra stuff tacked on to a rescue plan (presumably to broaden the bill’s appeal) isn’t the best light to put bicycling in, especially right now.  But it is politics.  Timing is everything.

Still, an election year is a good time to stay focused on growing the bike piece of the transporation pie. If you ride a bike to work or for exercise there has never been a better time to raise your voice in support of bicycle infrastructure.

When’s the last time you wrote a letter to your local or state lawmakers? Hummm?  If the answer is “more than a year” giddyonup to your desk and google your state legislator’s name and address and start writing . Not sure what to say? Here’s a simple, short message:

Dear ____; I ride bikes and I vote.  What is your plan to increase the safety for bicyclists in (town/state)?

Feel free to ad lib, of course. Then, after you’ve sent your letter you can follow along on who ISN’T supportive of bikes at the Bike League.org.  They’ve got a new page to track trash talking politicians and arms you with data so you can talk back.  That’s courtesy of another brilliant bike advocate, Andy Clarke.  This is good stuff:

http://www.bikeleague.org/action/trashtalk/

I rarely get time to watch TV so when I got an email with the link to the Today Show story on World Bicycle Relief, I just had to pass it on. 

F.K. Day, who founded the WBR group is a featured “Hero” on this very website.   This story is touching and shows the impact that the simple and humble bicycle can have.   Maybe for us a bike is transportation but for some, it’s a lifeline. 

Click here: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/26950282#26950282

We are in week two of the Go By Bike Pledge event with 4.5 million miles pledged by 14,000 people. (I haven't looked at the site since this morning so we're likely well beyond those numbers). The best thing about this Go By Bike Pledge event is the comments I'm getting from all over the world. What is the theme of most of the emails? "I've been wanting to do this for a long time, thanks for giving me a kick in the pants!"

Well, those aren't exactly the words but that captures the spirit of the most common response coming by this desk. And is it me or am I seeing a WHOLE LOT of news stories about "going by bike?" CBS ran a very thoughtful piece yesterday on its Sunday morning show. In the story the city of Portland gets props that it rightfully deserves; over 6% of its population is "going by bike."

Speaking of Portland, that's Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland, with bow tie) in the above photo posing with a 1World2Wheels jersey, yours truly, and from left to right, Patrick Seidler of WTB, Mike Mercuri of Sram and Chris Kegel of Wheel & Sprocket, a Wisconsin Bike Retailer. We were all at a bike advocacy reception and I couldn't resist bringing the jersey with me to see who I could get in a photo. The reception was across the street from the Oprah Studio in Chicago and I got the bright idea to show the jersey to Oprah. I walked over and knocked on the door but the cleaning person didn't seem to want to unlock the door and let me in. So much for shameless promotion.

So we have more bike winners from week 2. Each of these people has won a Trek 7.2FX bike. I'll post more winners in a week so check next Monday to see if your name is on the list.

Monday, July 21: B. Phifer
Tuesday, July 22: Jeremy Woodhouse
Wednesday, July 23: Samuel Johnson
Thursday, July 24: Pat Scanlon
Friday, July 25: Cindy Crawford
Saturday, July 26: Greg Christie
Sunday, July 27: Sanjdy Kimerer