The League of American Bicyclists, Endomondo and Bikes Belong announced this week that more than 30,000 Americans took part in the 2012 National Bike Challenge, with a collective journey of more than 12 million miles that spanned all 40 states.
The initiative encouraged new cyclists to start riding, challenged current bicyclists to ride more and showcased the tremendous health and financial benefits of bicycling.
“The Challenge has given us just a tiny glimpse of the remarkable potential of bicycling to address major social and environmental issues — in a fun and engaging way,” said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. “Every one of the 30,000 participants deserves recognition for the miles they contributed to the impressive grand total — and we look forward to seeing everyone in the saddle for next year’s challenge!”
In addition to encouraging individual riders, more than 9,000 workplaces participated in the Challenge, using the initiative as a free, fun wellness tool for employees. The winners in the workplace categories (based on number of employees) included IBM, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Trek Bicycle Corp, Shimano, Toole Design Group, Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and BikeArlington.
Congrats to all those that took part, and congrats to the League of American Bicyclists, Endomondo and Bikes Belong for offering this challenge! List of winners after the jump
Last week the nation’s three largest bicycle advocacy groups, Alliance for Biking & Walking, Bikes Belong and the League of American Bicyclists announced that the three will not seek unification at this time. The three groups, which have worked over the past several months to unify as a single advocacy group, will instead operate independently, but in close collaboration. 
Riding a bike is a good way to get some exercise and it can also be good on the wallet. According to new data released by the League of American Bicyclists, the Sierra Club and National Council of La Raza (NCLR) the savings can be big with a capital B. U.S. bicyclists save $4.6 billion per year by riding, instead of driving. The study’s release coincided with last Friday’s National Bike to Work Day, which saw more than one million U.S. resident participant by riding instead of driving to work. 
A lot of bicyclists are doing some climbing during their commutes, because Colorado and Montana lead the way with new gold and silver level bicycle friendly communities according to the League of American Bicyclists. The group has just named its largest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) yet.
This week the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong, Endomondo and the Kimberly-Clark Corporation kicked off the National Bike Challenge, which runs from today until until August 31, 2012. This is a new, nationwide initiative to inspire and empower millions of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation and better health.
While rising gasoline prices may have many commuters down, more than 500,000 American employees are now using pedal power to get to the office, and work at a Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB). This is the result of pro cycling leadership in the private and public sector, and this week the League of American Bicyclists announced 67 new BFBs, who joined the ranks of the 412 local businesses, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies that are transforming the American workplace. 
The League of American Bicyclists last week as part of the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. presented Leadership Awards to 13 members of the United States Congress for their strong support for healthy and active transportation options for all Americans. These include members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, who have worked to preserve popular, cost-effective programs that make bicycling safe and accessible for rural and urban residents across the nation.
This week marked the official end of winter and the beginning of spring, but it also marked the announcement of the National Bike Challenge, which aims to inspire and empower millions of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation and better health. This is an initiative from the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong and Endomondo,
Mr. Smith move over, as this week two of the leading bicycle advocacy groups – which for the record are in the process of a merger – have headed to Capitol Hill for the National Bike Summit. This comes as Americans across the nation are bicycling in record numbers, and bicycle sharing is seeing adoption in places that just a few years ago might not have seemed so bike friendly.
