Tim Johnson’s
RIDE ON WASHINGTON
Nine States; Five Capitals; Five Days; One Cause
A bike ride to support more bike rides.
Overview
This winter, six-time national champion and cyclo-cross superstar Tim
Johnson will throw his leg over his bike for a hard week of training.
But he’s not riding to improve his cycling; he’s riding to improve your
cycling.
Tim Johnson will ride to raise funds and awareness for the Bikes
Belong Foundation as he pedals almost 500 miles from Boston to
Washington DC, the site of the National Bike Summit, in five days.
Starting Friday, March 4, Tim will be joined by long time cycling
journalist, advocate, promoter and announcer Richard Fries, and a
handful of other leaders of American bike culture. Leaving from Boston,
they will ride every day, hitting Providence, Hartford, New York City,
Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore, until they reach
Washington DC on Tuesday, March 8, for the start of the National Bike
Summit.
“We want to engage governors, mayors, bloggers, reporters, schools,
and most of all other cyclists along the way,” said Johnson, who is
already building support from the bike industry for this mission.
Tim Johnson hopes to see this event raise funds and awareness for Bikes
Belong and the National Bike Summit. Your support will be critical to
make that happen.
The Itinerary
Friday, March 4, 2011, Boston-Providence-Hartford, 130 miles
Saturday, March 5, 2011, Hartford-Bethel-New York, 90 miles
Sunday, March 6, 2011, New York-Trenton-Philadelphia, 100 miles
Monday, March 7, 2011, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Baltimore, 110 miles
Tuesday, March 8, 2011, Baltimore-Washington, 40 miles
Tim Johnson hopes to see this event raise funds and awareness for Bikes Belong and the National Bike Summit. Your support will be critical to make it happen. There are several different ways you can support their efforts to improve cycling throughout America:
Donate
Any amount is greatly appreciated. The goal of this ride is to raise $100,000. If we could raise that amount, Bikes Belong could leverage that into $180 million in government funding for bike paths, bike lanes, bike facilities and bike programs. No other donation you make could make such a huge impact for America’s health, environment, and quality of life.
Support
The logistics of this ride will be impressive. Your club or your business could provide support in the form of lodging, schools, dining, and rest stops along the way. We are also seeking out appropriate venues to host evening receptions along the way where we can discuss our cause, tell tales about the ride, and hopefully enlist more supporters as we go.
Ride
You can ride with us for five minutes, five miles, or all five days. We’ll post our route to enable other cyclists to hop on our wheels and escort us in and out of the host cities. Visit BikeReg to register to ride with us.
Write
Funding for American bicycling facilities is on the chopping block as Congress debates the passage of a new Transportation Bill. This critically important bill has been stalled for more than a year. Contact your congressional leaders and urge them to not only support passage of a new Transportation Bill, but also a bill that maintains support for bicycling in America. One letter, one call, one e-mail from a constituent is often enough to sway a vote.
Sign the Pledge
Go on to www.peopleforbikes.org and sign the pledge. Add your name to the list of more than 100,000 Americans who have signed the pledge stating they support cycling in America. The goal of Bikes Belong is to secure 1 million names on that list to simply demonstrate just how strong the cycling vote, the cycling market, and the cycling movement truly is in America.
Attend
Every night during the ride, Tim Johnson and company will host a reception at a restaurant in each of the start-finish cities. Your attendance there could make a huge difference. These riders hope to foster the development of new advocates and supporters wherever they travel. You’ll learn about more ways you can help to improve cycling facilities in your home town, your state and your country. Visit the event’s Facebook page to find out more details. Each night there will be great auction items and speakers on cycling at the local and national level. Venues will be announced in the weeks leading up to the departure from Boston on March 4.
Pass it On
We want this to be more than just a ride. We want this to be a powerful movement of people who support all types of bicycling. We need your help to spread the word, raise funds, gather support, and join this cause. Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, blogs, and phone calls really can help this ride - and this movement - roll into Washington DC with substantial power. Everything helps.
Imagine that… actually doing a charity bike ride to support bike rides!
About The National Bike Summit
The 11th Annual National Bike Summit will be held March 8-10, 2011 in Washington D.C. Organized by the League of American Bicyclist with the support of the Bikes Belong Foundation, the summit draws together the leaders of the bike industry and bike advocacy. After seminars and panel discussions on several elements of improving cycling in America, attendees take to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers in all 50 states to support legislation written to improve cycling facilities and practices.
The first summit drew just 100 advocates who pushed for the passage of transportation legislation that funded hundreds of cycling projects nationwide. By 2010 that number had grown close to 1,000 attendees. Visit www.bikeleague.org for more information.
About Bikes Belong
Founded in 1999 as a trade organization for the bicycle industry, the Bikes Belong Foundation was created primarily to lobby Congress to support funding for bicycling facilities in America. Coming off enormous success as a trade organization, Bikes Belong created the Bikes Belong Foundation as a 501c3 non-profit to enable organizations from outside the bike business to make contributions. One of the most effective non-profits in America, Bikes Belong manages to convert every dollar it receives into $1,800 in government funding for bike paths, bike lanes, bike programs and bike facilities. Visit www.bikesbelong.org for more information.
Sponsors
At present, this event is receiving support from the Bikes Belong Foundation, Red Bull, BikeReg.com, Strava.com, SRAM, Cannondale, Thule and others.
Spread the word on Facebook.
For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact [email protected].