Louisville is Named a 2005 Biketown by Bicycling Magazine - The Prize is 50 Free Bicycles to Louisvillians

By Barbara Day

What happens when you give someone a free bike? The people of Louisville and the readers of Bicycling magazine will soon find out. The editors of Bicycling have selected Louisville as one of their 20 BikeTown USA markets for 2005, and in the coming months will give away 50 free bikes to anyone interested in participating in the program. Twenty-five of these bikes will be earmarked for use by commuters as part of a new Bike To Work initiative, sponsored by bike component manufacturer Shimano (a supporting sponsor of BikeTown).

Bicycling began the BikeTown USA program in Portland , Maine in 2003 and expanded to five cities - Irvine , CA ; Chicago , IL ; Racine , WI ; Chatham/Madison, NJ; and the Microsoft corporate campus in Redmond , WA - in 2004. The magazine gives away 50 bikes in each market to see how a bicycle can change someone's life and perhaps their community.

CYCLING FOR THE HEALTH OF IT!

In 2004, one-third of the 250 BikeTown participants lost noticeable weight - some more than 30 pounds over a three-month tracking period. On average, participants rode 10 miles per week, mostly for pleasure or exercise. But more than two in five rode for transportation purposes, happily trading their car for a bike or - for some - gaining the freedom to travel alone for the first time.

And, according to Bicycling' s findings , the further they rode, the happier BikeTown participants were. Riders who pedaled more than ten miles a week reported greater happiness, confidence, self-esteem, weight loss and job satisfaction than those who rode less than ten. The results of the 2004 BikeTown USA program are featured in the March issue of Bicycling .

LOUISVILLE - GET YOUR LETTERS IN FOR A FREE BIKE

Beginning in mid-March, any Louisville resident interested in taking part in BikeTown can visit www.bicycling.com/biketown and submit a short essay (50 words or less) on what they would do with a free bike. The editors will select winning entries, and all winners will be asked to keep a journal for three months to chronicle their experiences. Results may be featured in the magazine following the three-month period.

"After we learned how bikes could change lives in Portland , Maine (in 2003), we wanted to see how bikes could transform communities this past year," says Steve Madden, editor in chief of Bicycling . "So, we asked people in our chosen cities to tell us what they'd do with a bike. 1,800 people responded. We evaluated the responses and picked the 250 most compelling stories. We gave each of those folks a bike (a GT Nomad or a Giant Sedona), then, for three months, we simply watched.

"We saw and heard some amazing stories of lives transformed. And perhaps more importantly - because we'd already learned how bikes can change individual lives - we saw communities created and cities changed."

For instance, in Racine - where 80-year-old Nel Gedemer rode 20-mile stretches collecting discarded soda cans, raising $1,000 for children's charities; and where Eric Haney, 33, logged 300 miles as a result of his daily 8-mile work commute and founded an e-mail list for bike commuters - there are now 100 new bike racks scattered throughout the city. Sustainable Racine , a nonprofit foundation dedicated to strengthening the city's neighborhoods, noticed the increased ridership and purchased the bike racks, along with 30 free bikes for local kids.

In Irvine , CA , a city of well-planned bike paths in a year-round cycling climate, community bicycling has been slower to catch on, but BikeTown contributed to increased awareness of the facilities available. The "Biker Babes of Irvine," a group of five women led by 50-year-old Diane Shindler, complete 10-15-mile rides through town four days a week, losing weight (more than 300 pounds combined!) and gaining the attention of neighbors and even wannabes in the process. And Karen Kimball, 39-year-old mother of five, pedals along with four of her kids (Stephen, 14; Kathy, 11; Cameron, 8; and Rebecca, 5) on a daily ride home from school, saving $50 a month on gasoline, getting exercise for all of them and sparing the family an unpleasant cram into the car.

In Chicago , where Mayor Richard Daley, Jr. is already a big fan of cycling, the infrastructure features loads of free bike parking spots, bike paths and urban bike lanes. To the individuals who participated in BikeTown, the bikes brought freedom, escape, improved health and forged relationships. For the McCarthy family of suburban Naperville, the bike they won for a stranger in need - who has now put close to 2,000 miles on his new bike - perhaps even made their city a slightly better place to live, the magazine says.

Female participation in BikeTown was 54 percent, and overwhelmingly enthusiastic. In New Jersey , Christine Berkson, the mother of 2-year-old twins, used her bike to shed 30 pounds. Attorney and single mom Linda Sisk didn't even let the lack of a babysitter stop her from riding; she knocked off 10-mile rides by circling her block 33 times, stopping each lap to check on her two boys, ages 8 and 11.

Even harried, workaholic Microsoft employees in Redmond, WA , benefited from BikeTown, using the bikes for working out, commuting and getting some "alone" time.

Jidesh Veeramachaneni, a Microsoft software engineer, traced his route home via GPS and calculated his timesavings over driving to be five minutes - plus the gym time he no longer needed. Other Microsoft participants calculated their progress with Excel spreadsheets or full-color graphs; Xueling Han ate most of her breakfasts at a blackberry patch on her bike route to work, finding a calm she hadn't felt since leaving China .

In addition to bicycles, all participants received Kryptonite bike locks, Pearl Izumi bike shorts and Bell Metro helmets. The BikeTown project ran from July through September 2004.

For more information on BikeTown USA and Bike to Work, please visit www.bicycling.com/biketown.

Barbara Day, M.S., R.D., C.N., a nutritionist with a master's degree in clinical nutrition is also a registered dietitian and has over 30 years of experience in promoting healthy, active lifestyles to consumers. She is also publisher and nutrition editor of KHF and a runner, cyclist and hiker.