“Drive Less, Bike More” Rides 1 Million Miles!

During Cycle September, the final month in the National Bike Challenge hosted by the League and Love to Ride, we launched a campaign to encourage Americans to rack up 1 million miles in bike trips that would have been car trips by the end of 2021. Through “Drive Less, Bike More” we have seen just how far we can go by bike and are pleased to announce that thanks to the help of thousands across the nation driving less and biking more we have officially reached over 1 million miles of bike trips.

That’s 1 million miles of impact — for the environment and for our health. By taking transportation trips by bike and biking 1,000,000 miles, we reduced CO2 emissions by 291,430kgs. To put it into perspective, that amount of CO2 is equivalent to 63 cars being driven for one year! Put another way, by riding 1,000,000 miles instead of driving, you reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to recycling 99,126 tons of waste that was heading to a landfill.

That’s a lot of climate-saving action in just four months! By swapping car keys for a bike handlebar, “Drive Less, Bike More” participants have shown that individuals taking action can have a collective impact on the climate crisis. A trip as small as under three miles can make a big change. Just converting one or two short car trips per week to bike trips is good for your health, your family’s health and the environment.

You may have seen COP26 in the news: world leaders are gathering for a UN conference to address the immediate and long-term effects of climate change. It’s a global challenge and countries are being asked to set ambitious targets to reduce emissions by 2030. Since we believe that bicycling is one of the key solutions to building a cleaner, more sustainable future for our planet, we are extending our “Drive Less, Bike More” campaign to keep getting as many more people choosing to bike as possible.

Learn more about #BikeSummit22 »

Discussions presented at the 2022 National Bike Summit: Choosing Our Future will challenge people to think about how we even more closely relate bicycling to climate change and strategize how we’ll implement major investment opportunities in building better infrastructure that makes biking easier and incentives to encourage individuals to bike, like an e-bike tax credit, that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

For now, we’re asking you to keep going there by bike so we can get even more people changing the planet one bike ride at a time. Keep pedaling and let’s see how many more miles we can do and show the world how life is better for everyone when more people are on bikes!

WAYS TO WORK WITH US TO GET MORE PEOPLE ON BIKES IN 2022:

• Educate Within Your Community. Become a League Cycling Instructor so you can teach your neighbors, colleagues, and peers how to safely and confidently ride.
• Be Welcoming To Bicyclists. Whether it’s secure bike parking or an equitable bike-share program, people tend to bike more in places that are welcoming to bicyclists. Talk to your community, business or university about joining our Bicycle Friendly America program and receive feedback on being better for those who bike.
• Share Why You Drive Less, Bike More. Comment on our Facebook page and tell us why you bike or take a picture on your next trip and tag it with #DriveLessBikeMore and @bikeleague. 
• Join the League. Together we can build safer, more connected streets that make it easier for more people to choose to bike. 
• BONUS: Log 26 miles of transportation trips on Love to Ride between November 1st and November 12th and earn a COP26 badge.

We hope to see many more new and existing riders join our Drive Less, Bike More mission!