Blog
Two years ago, Arkansas came dead last in the Bicycle Friendly State (BFS) ranking. There was no state advocacy group and Arkansas is one of two states where the state highway agency doesn’t even pretend it is anything other than that (Nebraska Dept. of Roads, meet the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Dept.); frankly, we wondered if anyone would care about the last place score. Or notice.
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It’s one of our favorite days of the year: National Bike To Work Day! Earlier this week, we looked a bit more deeply at the data surrounding bike commuting with the U.S. Census Bureau, which just last week released a new report on the subject. Bottom line: Bike commuting has grown 61% over the past decade. And, today, we’re so excited to see all the faces behind that number.
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We all have reasons why we ride. Some of us ride for transportation. Others ride for health. Many ride for multiple reasons. But here at the National Bike Challenge, there’s a bonus reason why we ride… Prizes.
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The Bicycle Friendly States ranking is now in its 7th year. Launched in 2008, it has undergone several iterations as we continue to strive to capture what makes a state bicycle friendly. The last major revision to our process was in 2012, when the survey for our Bicycle Friendly State ranking was merged with the survey used for the Alliance for Biking and Walking’s Benchmarking Report. Due to this major revision, this blog only looks at data from the past two years.
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In 2013, Jen Charrette suffered a loss that would shatter any parent — the tragic death of her two-year-old son. A longtime bicyclist, the Colorado mother found solace in cycling, pedaling through her grief and finding moments of peace in the saddle. As we mark National Women’s Health Week with posts about the wellness benefits of bicycling, Charrette shares how her bike has helped her heal.
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The Infrastructure & Funding category has long been one of the lower scoring categories that make up our Bicycle Friendly State rankings. In this category we ask tough questions about the infrastructure that is actually on the ground, the money from state and federal programs actually committed to bicycling and walking, and state goals and policies that affect funding and building decisions. When looking at long-term average spending on bicycling and walking as a percentage of all federal transportation funds, we see that less than 2% has been spent on bicycling and walking projects. It is not particularly surprising then that states tend to score low in this category.
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As we continue to celebrate National Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists today announced its latest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC). With nearly 40 million Americans bicycling in 2012 and U.S. bike commuting increasing more than 61% from 2000 to 2012, there’s growing consensus that making biking better is a key component of a healthy, livable community.
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For Kennetta Gunns, bicycling was a dual pathway to better health. Returning from military deployment in 2007, the veteran faced both physical and mental challenges — and pedaled her way beyond those barriers thanks to a little help from cycling friends and Ride to Recovery. This year, Bike to Work Week coincides with National Women’s Health Week. As we’ve showcased in the past, bicycling is a powerful tool to advance health and this week we’re sharing diverse stories from women who have tapped into biking as an avenue to wellness.
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Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and her leadership colleagues on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee published their eagerly anticipated proposal for the next transportation bill — and the proposal gets a solid B+ rating from the League, offering the certainty of long term-funding that transportation agencies need to make much-needed infrastructure investments while making some small but important changes to make the programs run more efficiently and with greater transparency.
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When Sheclismo adventure racer Crystal Day signed up for the National Bike Challenge, her enthusiasm must’ve been contagious. Her daughters, Baylie and Kiara, asked if they could help out Sheclismo in logging miles. Crystal posted this to Sheclismo’s Facebook group, and in short order, Sheena Christiansen’s daughters Ren and Nevaeh had signed up, too. “I feel like no one can judge my when I’m on my bike. I feel unstoppable!” says Ren, 12. Nevaeh, who is 10, says “I love riding my bike really fast down big hills!”
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