Pedaling to Prosperity

This is a great article and worth a read. The key point: bicycling and walking make up 12% of mode share in the U.S and yet only receive 1.6% of transportation funding. Biking and walking help to reduce congestion, are environmentally friendly, and lead to more healthy people which in turn reduces medical costs... which happen to be the largest and fast growing expenditures in the U.S. budget. Another great day to be advocating for a Bicycle Friendly America.

Pedaling to Prosperity: Bicycling Saves U.S. Riders Billions a Year [Forbes]

Help out Bo Bikes Bama

Last December, my rock star assistant, Cindy, walked into my office and said Bo Jackson was on the phone.

“Really,” I replied. The legendary Bo Jackson from my youth, who starred in the “Bo Knows” Nike commercials, and who was the Rock Star football player and baseball player? “Put him on the line.”

Bo wanted to talk about starting a bike ride in Alabama for the tornado victims from last year. I listened and said that sounds interesting; we like to use the bike company to help people. Bo replies, “Great. How about if I come up and we can meet.” Sure enough, a week later Bo Jackson drives up to Trek in his pickup truck and we talk about Bo Bikes ‘Bama.

Well, Tuesday the dream became a reality. I arrived in Birmingham Monday night and rode the first day’s route from Henagar to Lake Guntersville State Park.

My top ten observations from Tuesday’s ride:

10.  Alabama is a really great place to ride your bike.  Kind of like Wisconsin, but warm!

9.  Scottie Pippen, the 6 time World Champion Chicago Bull forward, is a great guy and a great basketball player, but didn't know a lot about riding a bike. Pat “Sully” Sullivan (Director of Trek Component Group) and I took care of that and rode with Scottie for the first twenty miles going through shifting with STI, clipping in and clipping out. We even got into drafting with a 20 mph headwind in the afternoon. In the end, a great athlete is still a great athlete.

8.  Rebecca Falls, who lead the Logistics team for Trek Travel, is a Rock Star!!! Ride was awesome and the logistics were better.

7.  It was cold at the start. Glad Sully was with me. He brought extra arm warmers and leg warmers and I used them both.

6.  The tornadoes that ripped through Alabama were the real deal. Over 400 tornadoes in three days. The damage was incredible.

5.  A lot of people lost their lives in Alabama; Over 300. When you read the paper, it seems like a horrible statistic. When you meet an 8 year old kid named Bryce, who lost his Mom and his Dad along with two siblings, it is no longer a statistic.

4.  The Alabama State Troopers rock. The ride support by all the law enforcement was impressive.  

3.  Picabo Street is the best climber I have ever seen. Her husband’s pickup truck riding next to her did not hurt the effort.

2.  I met a guy today riding a 1977 Trek. Really??? Yep. Original bike, original paint, still riding strong. A little rust, but a very happy Trek customer!!

1.  Bo Jackson is an amazing person, leading a ride to help heal the wounds left by the tornadoes that wreaked havoc in Alabama a year ago.

This is a good cause and worthy of a donation. Check out Bo Bikes Bama and help out the effort.

Jb.

 

I need your help to save funding for bicycles

5 minutes today can save $1.2 billion in federal funding.

Trek family, 

Over the past ten years, the bike community has made a huge difference in helping to make America a more bicycle friendly country. We’ve made a lot of progress, but we have a long way to go. Unfortunately, as a movement, we are facing some real challenges in Washington. On Thursday, February 2nd the House Transportation Committee is voting on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, a bill that eliminates crucial funding for biking and walking. We stand to lose $1.2 billion and over 3,000 potential bike and pedestrian projects, including Safe Routes to School programs. 

We need your help to preserve these dedicated biking and walking infrastructure funds.  What can you do?   

1. Pick up the phone and contact your elected official. Find their phone number here.

2. Send an email to your elected official. Find their email here.

3. Ask your representative to vote for Representative Petri's amendment to support dedicated funding for walking and biking.

4. Send your friends an email asking them to also contact their representative.

5. Ask your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter to take action.  

Your message can be as simple as this: 

My name is [YOUR NAME], and I’m contacting you today to ask you to protect the dedicated pedestrian and bicycle funding in the new American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.  

This bill is expected to eliminate the two largest programs that fund bicycling and walking infrastructure: Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Without these programs, communities in your district and all over the country will lose access to resources to build the facilities that keep people safe.  

Bicycling and walking are critical to keeping our communities moving with healthy, safe, and accessible transportation options. 

Biking and walking make up 12 percent of all trips, but only 1.5 percent of federal funding.  

And bicycling is good for health and the environment.  

Thank you for your support. [YOUR NAME] [YOUR CITY AND STATE] 

A call will only take five minutes out of your day, but it could be the difference between no funding and over a billion dollars in funding. Zero projects or 3,000 biking and walking projects. 

When you call your representative’s office, you will most likely get voicemail or talk to the representative’s staff member. That's okay. Still leave the message. Every call counts. It is vital that every everyone reaches out in some way. 

Your phone call matters. Last year, when the Transportation extension was at risk, Bikes Belong called upon 20,000 California residents to contact Congressperson Pelosi and ask for her support of dedicated bicycle infrastructure funding. Within 48 hours they had over 2,000 calls to her office. 48 hours later Senator Pelosi called a press conference and publicly announced her support of the bicycle funding. This new multi-year bill is critical. We need every representative to hear from their constituents.  

Thank you, John Burke 

Click here for more information regarding the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.

 

An important day for cycling in Washington

 Yesterday I was in Washington DC to testify before the Congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. This was the first time that anyone from the bicycle industry has ever testified before this committee. I was among twenty witnesses and it was a big plus that the bicycle industry was on the guest list. We are making progress. I was told that I did “Ok.”  My response: “It is hard not to when you have such an AWESOME cause.” Below is my statement to the committee.

 

Subcommittee chairman Mr. Duncan, ranking member Mr. DeFazio, and committee members, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is John Burke, CEO of Trek Bicycle Corporation. I’m here to speak on behalf of the U.S. bicycle industry and the Bikes Belong Coalition, our nonprofit association.

Trek is based in Waterloo, Wisconsin—a rural town of 3,000 people between Madison and Milwaukee. Our company generated more than $800 million in sales last year and we sold 1.5 million bikes worldwide. We employ more than 1,100 people nationwide.

The U.S. bike business generates more than $6 billion in annual retail sales.¹ Between 15-20 million bicycles are sold in the U.S. each year²— more units than cars and trucks combined.³ More than one million Americans work in bike or bike-related businesses.⁴

There are more than 4,000 independent U.S. bicycle retailers:5 time-tested community businesses that are often cornerstones on main street throughout America. The U.S. bike industry provides a growing number of high-paid, professional jobs in design, engineering, management, marketing, and logistics.

The federal investment in bicycling
The federal investment in bicycling is providing tremendous benefits to our nation. It is boosting our economy, making our transportation system more efficient, improving the health of Americans, and enhancing the quality of life in communities coast to coast.

Few other federal investments—if any—provide so many tangible benefits for so few dollars. Since 1999, about 1.⁵ percent of annual federal transportation funding has been spent on bicycling and walking infrastructure,⁶ and these dollars have provided an outstanding return by supporting 12 percent of all trips. Bicycling has become safer, more convenient and more appealing. These investments have also helped bicycling grow—in some places, dramatically.

This investment has helped the bike industry

• The federal investment in new trails and new paths has contributed to steady increases in the sales of bikes and bike equipment.⁷
• More Americans are riding bikes than ever, especially for commuting and short trips that would otherwise be made by car.⁸ Beyond the transportation, health, pollution and government budget benefits, this increase in short bike trips has helped the bike business develop a new category of bikes and equipment that is now producing significant sales.
• In Minneapolis, Trek and other leading bike companies sell seven or eight times as many bikes as we do in some similar size cities, because Minneapolis has done such a great job of building new trails and paths that make it easy and safe to ride. The federal investment has played a key role in making this possible.
• Talk with the CEO of any bike company: where riding is safe, convenient and easy, the bike business is strong and bicycling is thriving. But the benefits to the bike industry are only the beginning of this great economic story.
• Bicycle commuting has increased 64 percent nationwide in the last 20 years.⁹
• Annual bike fatalities have dropped 21 percent nationwide since the late 1980s.¹⁰
• More than four BILLION bicycle trips—a record—were taken in the United States in 2009.¹¹

This investment provides other economic benefits
The economic benefits of the federal investment in bicycling are not limited to the bike industry. Here are just a few examples of the ways that towns, cities, counties and states are gaining, too.

In Hattiesburg, Mississippi, $4.5 million in Transportation Enhancements funding was spent in the year 2000 to develop the Longleaf Trace Trail. As a result, annual sales at the nearby Moore’s Bicycle Shop doubled, and this has generated an additional $175,000 in sales tax for the state.¹² The federal investment made this possible.

In my state, Wisconsin, a recent study pegged the annual economic value of bicycling at just under $2 billion.¹³ Bike manufacturers generate $594 million for our state, and tourism and recreation produces $924 million in benefits.¹⁴ A $9 million annual federal bike/ped investment in Wisconsin projects and programs has helped make this possible.

Minnesota provides similar numbers: $481 million spent annually on bike equipment by residents, nearly 6,000 bike business jobs, and $40.6 million per year generated in state and local taxes.¹⁵

In western Pennsylvania, more than $40 million in annual direct spending and another $7.5 million in wages are tied directly to the Great Allegheny Passage, a 132-mile trail. More than 25 percent of businesses along the trail are in the process of expanding.¹⁶

Back in Minneapolis, a $7.5 million federal investment helped build theMidtown Greenway, which is now used by an average of 3,500 bike riders a day. The Greenway transports more people than 77 percent of Minneapolis city roads.¹⁷

New bike tourism success stories are being created nationwide—in urban, suburban and rural areas—as new trails and paths are enjoyed by individuals and families who spend money on lodging, food, fuel and equipment.

New bike infrastructure projects are putting lots of people to work. Recent bike infrastructure projects—for example, those in Baltimore—often create more new jobs per million dollars invested that comparable highway projects.¹⁸

The cost-effective federal investment in bicycling is helping cities andtowns save money. That’s why nearly every U.S. city mayor has become a major proponent of bicycling. They see more bicycling as a way to reduce road congestion and wear and tear, cut parking construction and maintenance costs, and improve the overall quality of life in their communities.

Here’s a specific example:

Portland, Oregon, has spent $57 million since 1990 to improve its bike infrastructure.¹⁹ That's roughly the cost of building a single mile of urban, four-lane highway. The city—population 600,000 with a metro area total of two million—now boasts more than 400 miles of bike lanes and paths.²⁰ The percentage of Portland residents who commute by bike has increased from less than one percent to nearly six percent.²¹ This has helped the city save money, and it is only the beginning: Portland plans to keep investing in bike infrastructure and has set a goal of 20 percent of all city trips by bike by 2020.²²

Today, mayors and governors all across the U.S. recognize that everything they do to support bicycling will ultimately save money. They need your continuing help.

Summary and comments on the next Federal Transportation Bill
In a growing number of U.S. cities and towns, the percentage of all trips made by bike now exceeds five percent.²³ In some places, this figure is more than 20,000 trips per day. That’s significant—and the cost of developing safe and convenient infrastructure was small.

Bicycling is precisely the type of cost-effective investment that afiscally challenged government should make because of the tremendous, multiple returns.

Many of these benefits are economic—for the bike industry, for bikefriendly cities and towns, and for individuals who can safely replace some short car trips with bike rides. Americans who bicycle save money, improve their health, and live more active, energetic lives. They help governments save, too, and help our nation address major societal challenges at the same time.

The federal investment has helped rural communities develop mountain bike trails and rail-trails: these routes have provided crucial tourism dollars and tax revenue.

The federal investment in bicycling not only helps people who ride bikes, but also people who don’t: every time an American decides to bike instead of drive, one less car is on the road. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said it well: “So, even for those folks who have no interest in bicycling, this relatively low investment actually pays dividends for those who still choose to drive. Everybody wins.”

That’s bang for the buck…and why I urge you to continue to provide strong federal support for bicycling. We need to continue to diversify our investment in transportation and provide options for state and local officials—and the public.

I would like to close with one specific recommendation for the next federal transportation bill: we need to maintain the integrity of the Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School programs within the Highway Trust Fund. These programs are doing great things for bicycling, our communities, our businesses, and our nation.
Thank you.
______________________________
1 “Bicycle Industry Overview 2009.” National Bicycle Dealers Association. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://nbda.com/articles/industry-overview-2009-pg34.htm>.
2 Ibid.
3 U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. “NationalTransportation Statistics 2010.” Table 1-17.
4 Outdoor Industry Foundation. “The Active Outdoor Recreation Economy.” 2006.
5 “Bicycle Industry Overview 2009.”
6 Federal Highway Administration. “Federal-Aid Highway Program Funding forPedestrian and Bicycle Facilities and Programs.” 2009.
7 “Bicycle Industry Overview 2009.”
8 Pucher, John and Ralph Buehler. “Analysis of Bicycling Trends and Policies in Large North American Cities: Lessons for New York.” Feb. 2011.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 U.S. Department of Transportation, Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. “The National Bicycling and Walking Study 15-Year Status Report. May 2010.
12 Peel, Jeff and James Moore. “Bike Trail Boosts Business in Mississippi.” Bikeleague.org Blog, 16 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. [Optional:] <http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2011/03/bike-trail-boosts-business-in-mississippi/>.
13 Grabow, Maggie, et al. “Bicycling’s Economic and Health Impacts in Wisconsin.” University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jan. 2010.
14 Ibid. p. 31
15 Venegas, Ernesto. “Economic Impact of Recreational Trail Use in Different Regions of Minnesota.” November 2009.
16 Campos, Inc. “The Great Allegheny Passage Economic Impact Study.” Aug. 7 2009.
17 Bikes Belong Coalition. “The Federal Investment in Bicycling: 10 Success Stories—Midtown Greenway.” <http://www.bikesbelong.org/top10>.
18 Garrett-Peltier, Heidi. “Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure. Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dec. 2010.
19 Geller, Roger. “Build it and they will come: Portland Oregon’s experience with modest investments in bicycle transportation.” City of Portland, Oregon. Mar. 2011
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Pucher, John and Ralph Buehler.

Ride L’Étape & benefit the Robert F. Kennedy Center

We are participating in an upcoming online auction to raise money for the Robert F. Kennedy Center which does an amazing job promotion human rights around the world. We wanted to do something special so Trek is donating a trip of a lifetime. Every year the Tour De France sponsors a race called L’Étape du Tour, a citizens race over the most difficult stage at the Tour. For the last five years I have participated in this race and it is a blast. The auction item is a trip for two to L’Étape. My wife Tania and I are leading the trip and Trek Travel will ensure that it is an incredible experience. This is a great event to benefit an awesome cause. Please share this information along to anyone that you think might be interested. The auction ends on Thursday so place your bids now!

Thanks. Jb.

Mike and I and the $100,000 cup of coffee

At the National Bike Summit, Jenn Dice, who heads IMBA’s (International Mountain Bike Association), made a presentation on how hundreds of the best miles of singletrack are being shut down in Montana and that thousands of miles across the United States might be lost to mountain bikers if we don’t do something. Well Jenn, what are we going to do? She presented a very good plan with the pitch at the end. “All I need is money. I can put the organization in place to stop the madness, but I need resources to do it.” How much do you need? $300,000. Can Trek put in $100,000? My reply? YES!

Jenn is one of the all time great advocates and keeping trails open is a big deal. My next comment: make sure you talk to Mike. That is Mike Sinyard at Specialized. Mike sells a lot of mountain bikes. Jenn talked to Mike and Mike said YES. Jenn talked to Tim Blumenthal at Bikes Belong and he said YES. There you go, $300,000 in 30 days.

Last week at the Bicycle Leadership Conference in Monterey, California, IMBA wanted to have a press conference to announce the grants. Mike, Jenn, Tim Blumenthal, and I talked about the press conference for the following day. I asked Jenn if $300,000 is enough. “Well, we are going to be able to do a lot with that, but my dream would be $600,000.” Mike and I agreed that we should use this event to try and get the rest of the money. The next day we decided to ask the BLC attendees for the rest of the cash.

I asked Tim Blumenthal if Stan Day from SRAM should be part of the press conference. SRAM has given a TON to all sorts of great advocacy efforts over the past few years. The next morning at a coffee shop an hour before the event I saw Stan in line for a coffee. “Stan, at 9:30 Mike and I are going to make an announcement to help IMBA save thousands of miles of trails. We are also going to challenge the industry to come up with another $300,000. Would you like to join the effort?” “Sure, I’m in for $100,000.” That was it, a 30 second conversation and Stan’s most expensive cup of coffee to date.

Go Jenn, go.

You can help IMBA too. Become a member or make a donation today.

Photo courtesy of bicycleretailer.com

A good friend

I get to meet a lot of people and one of my favorites is Chris Kegel. Chris is the owner of Wheel and Sprocket in Milwaukee, a long time Trek retailer, and one of our biggest and best.

Why I like Chris Kegel:

1.  Whenever I see him he has a really big smile. It’s always there!
2.  Chris is fun! At Saturday's event Chris hosted the Wisconsin Bike Fed awards and dressed up in a tux. I wore jeans.
3.  Chris has been a tireless advocate for cycling. He's always at the National Bike Summit, on the board of IMBA, leading the way in Wisconsin, and advocating for better bike facilities in Milwaukee. He joined the advocacy train early and has made a HUGE difference not only in Wisconsin, but around the United States.
4.  Chris helps people. Chris does a lot of work for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and has been one of the lead organizers for the Trek 100, which benefits kids with cancer. He always says yes.
5.  He sells a lot of Treks.

 

Chris and Gary Fisher enjoying beer and conversation.

National Bike Summit Wrap-Up

I spent the majority of last week at the National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. I was hoping for a good week. It turned out to be a great week. My top ten highlights for the Summit:

1. My haircut. I failed to get a much needed haircut before I left for D.C. Haircut appointment at 5 at the salon three blocks from the hotel. I am on a tight schedule so I check in and off I go. Less than one block out of the hotel I see a barber shop that looks like my kind of a place. I look inside and indeed it is. A lot of old guys sitting around a very dirty barber shop. They are packed and I have no time so...... Off to the salon. I have never been to a salon before. I knew I was in trouble when the receptionists took me to the changing room to put my smock on. Wow. Then another lady takes me and puts me in a chair and has me lean back to give me a shampoo. I am thinking to myself, I didn’t order a shampoo. Before she gives me the shampoo she starts giving me a head massage. Then the shampoo, then the neck massage. This really isn’t so bad after all. Then I am presented to Jennifer the “stylist.” I have never had my hair cut by a “stylist.” Hello Jennifer!!! Anyways we get to the end of the haircut and Jennifer asks me if I would like anything in my hair? No, not today. Anyways, I proceed to the check out where I am presented with the bill. $60 for a hair cut!!! I have never paid more than $15 and now I am on the $60 program. I figured for $60 I should get a photo of this historic moment.

2. Trek Dealer Reception. We had 103 Trek retailers and Trek employees at the National Bike Summit.  The first year I went to the Bike Summit there were 70 total attendees. Grand total this year was over 700 people. A great group of people that included the regulars like Jay Graves, Chris Kegel, Dan Thorton and many more. What was most impressive was the list of first timers. I was especially pleased to see Bert from Bert's in Buffalo and Jim Ruggles from Eddie's in Cleveland. These are good guys who run good businesses, who can get stuff done. We had the reception at the Old Ebbitt Grill near the White House and it was fabulous, packed, loud, and I could not find a good place to welcome the group. So I asked the bartender if I could stand on the bar. Answer NO. Why not? Because the manager won't let you. Well, could you ask the manager? While he was asking the manager I was standing next to Mayor Dave of Madison, WI. I asked......Mayor have you ever given a speech on a bar. Answer. No. Well I have seen my wife dance on a bar and the way I figured that was the only place to get everyone's attention. And so I jumped up onto the bar and gave a short welcome to the Bike Summit speech. I talked about how my Mom and Dad had done so much to give back and that one of the missions of Trek was not just to make the best bikes in the world, but to use Trek to do good things. One of the good things that we do with Trek is to spread the message that bicycles are a simple solution to complex problems like global warming, the health crisis, and congestion. The World is run by those who show up and 103 Trek people showed up in D.C. That was a great sight.

Off to the National Bike Summit

I’m heading off to Washington, D.C. tomorrow for the 10th annual National Bike Summit. It’s one of my favorite events of the year! The Bike Summit gives me an opportunity to listen to some great speakers share their vision of the future of cycling in America, to catch up with advocates from around the country, and to spend a day visiting with members of Congress to advocate on behalf of cyclists. One thing that I learned early on is that our government is a democracy. It is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people…who show up! Over the last ten years the bicycle movement has started to show up in Washington and in State Capitols around America.
 
Here are my Top 8 Reasons to Advocate for a Bicycle Friendly Future:

8. In 1970 35% of kids rode their bikes to school. Today that number is less than 5%. With the Safe Routes to School program, this trend is being reversed for the first time in 30 years.

7. Because 40% of car trips are less than two miles. If we build better bicycle trails and infrastructure more people will ride bikes instead of using their cars.

6. Because our cities are congested and every person who rides a bike is one less car on the road. More cyclists translates to less congestion, and that’s good for folks who have to drive as well as cyclists. Always thinking about others!

5. Because I love to ride my bike and I am tired of playing Russian Roulette every time I go out on a ride. How many close calls do you have per season? My guess is one every thousand miles. Complete Streets legislation, enacted in 14 states now, makes it mandatory for civil engineers and road planners to consider cyclists and pedestrians. How about every state in the union?

4. Because I care about the environment. Consider the following.... In 1880 London was the world's largest city with one million people. By 1960 there were 111 cities with one million people. Today there are over 300 cities with one million people or more. Imagine as you are driving your car your car’s emissions are the equivalent of  throwing out the door one bag of trash, except for the people driving SUV’s (I am one of them) who are throwing out two bags of trash. Last year I really got on the program. I live 22 miles away from work and made 20 round trips. In town, I try to ride my bike instead of using the car whenever I can.   The bicycle is a zero emission vehicle that exists today!!

3. Because bikes are a real value. In a city it costs roughly $40 million for every mile of two lane highway. Just outside the city of Madison they are looking at putting in a new interchange. Total price tag $130 million dollars for one interchange. In comparison, the total cost of 24 major bicycle projects designed to make Madison a very bicycle friendly city is $40 million. You tell me which one is the better value.

2. It can be done. In Denmark 35% of trips are taken by bike. A trip is going to work, school, a friends house, out to eat, the ball park, etc. In the United States that number is just over 1%. I view that as an incredible opportunity.

1. We are making progress! Federal spending on bike projects over the past 10 years has gone from $200 million to over $1.2 billion.  There are thousands of new bicycle trails that are being built around the country. The reason they are being built is because they make good sense and because people see the benefits. We just need to pick up the pace.

If you want to show up and make a difference, a great way to do that is to find your local advocate. Contact them. Meet with the advocate. Buy them a cookie and a beverage and use the four magic words - HOW MAY I HELP. Lastly, don’t sell yourself short. Everyone has something to offer.

Jb.