76 Bicycle Friendly Businesses Awarded During Bike to Work Week

In celebration of National Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists welcomes 76 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFB℠) to the Bicycle Friendly America program today. Nearly 1,200 visionary businesses from across the country have earned this status. Now there are BFBs in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

 List of Spring 2016 awardees |  List of all current BFB awardees

“We are excited to welcome these new and returning Bicycle Friendly Businesses during Bike to Work Week.” said Amelia Neptune, League Bicycle Friendly Business Program Manager. “This week is an especially appropriate time to recognize the business community’s investment in bicycling and how small and large businesses make their communities and the country better places to live and to work. We offer our National Bike Month kudos to these businesses for taking the lead in creating a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.”

As a new Bronze BFB, The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, GA, has joined the ranks of over 30 Fortune 500 companies who have received Bicycle Friendly Business designations. One percent of Coca-Cola’s 5,000 employees currently bike to work and 10% say they would like to; with 550 employees living within three miles of the Coca-Cola Headquarters, there’s great potential for the company to increase the number of employees commuting by bike. “I’m looking forward to seeing their progress in the coming years,” says Neptune, “with a full-time Transportation Manager on staff, new end-of-trip facilities for bike commuters, and corporate support for better bicycling infrastructure in Atlanta, Coca-Cola has the potential to not only increase employee ridership but to be a great role model for bicycle-friendly corporate headquarters everywhere.”

This spring’s awards feature not one but two women-owned bakeries that have earned new BFB statuses. Bronze-level Karen’s Bakery and Cafe in Folsom, CA, supported “Diva Night,” an annual celebration for women of all things bicycling, which was put on for nearly 10 years by a bike shop in the same building as the bakery.

Silver-level Pattycake Bakery (P-cake All-Stars Cooperative) in Columbus, OH, has been a sponsor of the local women’s cycling team Lady Gnar Shredders since it formed. They have also supported the Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit from the beginning. “We have sponsored the women’s ride, ‘Two Wheels and Heels’ with treats and hosted them at the bakery. We want to encourage everyone to bike!”

Several bike shops joined the ranks of Bicycle Friendly Businesses this round. Mack Cycle in Miami, FL, a new Gold BFB, stood out for a number of reasons. They form teams for charity rides like BikeMS, Dolphins Cancer Challenge, Tour de Cure and Best Buddies, offering team members discounted or free event registrations, store credit and store discounts. They also organize women-only rides of varying levels and offer free, quarterly Women’s Clinics featuring performance, nutrition, and bicycle maintenance information.

The owners of new Gold BFB Bicycle Pedaler, in Wichita, KS, have a great story about how they started and how they continue to support cycling in their community. “We opened the Bicycle Pedaler after bike touring to California from Kansas on our honeymoon in 1980. We learned so much about bicycling on that journey that we decided to switch careers from nursing to owning a bicycle shop. We continue to be passionate about the health and wellness improvements that can be made by bicycling and incorporate health and wellness into our activities and daily lifestyle. We believe in creating a community of people passionate about bicycles, and do our best to live this out daily. We feel very fortunate to have spent 36 years helping transform lives by getting people on bicycles!”

Itasca County Family YMCA in Grand Rapids, MI, a new Bronze BFB, stands out for their creativity in promoting biking. They periodically do a “Rack Attack.” Random days are picked throughout the year, and on these days, bikes parked in their bike racks receive prizes and recognition for choosing to bike that day rather than drive.

Videon Central, in State College, PA, moved up from Bronze to Silver BFB status this round. The company encourages biking from the top down. “Our CEO and COO often lead rides over the lunch hour or after work — road rides and mountain bike rides — for beginners as well as advanced riders. These are opportunities to instill confidence in new riders, teach safe riding skills as well as provide suggestions to improve riding abilities and stamina.”

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

About the Bicycle Friendly America℠ Program

The Bicycle Friendly Community℠, Bicycle Friendly State℠, Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly University℠ programs are generously supported by program partner Trek Bicycle Corp and Silver-level BFA Sponsor Planet Bike. To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, visit www.bikeleague.org/BFA.

The League of American Bicyclists is leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. As leaders, our commitment is to listen and learn, define standards and share best practices to engage diverse communities and build a powerful, unified voice for change.