During the National Bike Summit, Bike Belong announced a new initiative to engage more bicyclists at the grassroots level. Their goals is to “…gather a million names of support, to speak with one, powerful voice to make bicycling safer, more convenient and appealing for everyone.”

Every day, millions of Americans ride for their health, for the environment, for their communities, and for the pure joy of bicycling. But until now, only a fraction of riders have stood up to help improve bicycling in America.

Peopleforbikes.org is going to change all that. We’ll build on the expert work of existing bike advocacy groups — our partners — to develop a powerful movement with the clout and influence to get things done. That means promoting bike-riding on an individual level, but also sending a unified message to our elected leaders, the media, and the public that bicycling should have their full support.

You can help them reach their goal by making the pledge on the People for Bikes web site.

Bikes Belong, the bike industry advocacy group certainly seems to be making some smart political moves right now.

Their latest is a partnership with Humana to provide 1,000 free bike rentals at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The program is called Freewheelin’ and so far it’s been a huge success in Denver.

Just one day into the Democratic National Convention, more than 1,400 convention delegates, visitors and Denver residents are ready to vote yes … for Freewheelin. The innovative bike-sharing program from Humana and Bikes Belong recorded 1,429 rides, 2,937 miles ridden, 92,000 calories burned and a carbon-footprint reduction of just more than one metric ton.

“If the first day of the DNC is any indication, bike-sharing has tremendous potential in the U.S.,” said Jonathan Lord, M.D., Humana’s chief innovation officer. “Riding a bike is great for your body, great for the environment, and a lot of fun. So many people are returning their bikes with big smiles on their faces, reminded of all the fun they had riding bikes as kids.”

Here’s a video showing the program in action.

There are additional details on the Bikes Belong web site.

Sue Moretto and Harriet Saperstein ride in Detroit

It certainly seems like there are more people riding bikes recently. Now Bikes Belong has surveyed bike shops around the U.S. These shops are seeing a significant increase in sales.

Here are the highlights:

The majority of retailers who responded said their sales of transportation-related bicycles, accessories, and service have increased in 2008 compared to 2007:

• 73% said they are selling more bikes.
• 84% said they are selling more accessories.
• 88% said they are selling more service.

Is this increase in sales because of high gas prices? Most retailers who we surveyed think so:

• 95% of shops said customers cited high gas prices as a reason for their transportation-related purchases.
• 80% of retailers said gas prices were helping them sell more bikes for transportation.
• 86% thought accessory sales were getting a boost.
• 89% said they were selling more service because of high gas prices.

Many new customers are dusting off old bikes and bringing them in for repair. There appears to be a surge of interest in riding bicycles for short trips, errands, and commuting.

Bikes Belong grant awards were recently announced.

Congratulations Flint!

This is a well-deserved nod for the regional bike efforts to make biking easier and safer in Flint. (And we’re jealous of you having sharrows — perhaps a first in Michigan.)

Five designated and aspiring Bicycle Friendly Communities will receive funds to help them make bicycling more safe, convenient and appealing places to ride.

These grants, designed to pinpoint specific needs outlined by each community in their Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) application, help pay for bike plans, technical assistance, pilot projects and innovative cycling initiatives.

Flint, Michigan
The Safe and Active Flint Coalition will receive $5,000 to improve bike safety and awareness through a Sharrow program. Flint received honorable mention in the last BFC round. They identified Sharrows—pavement markings encouraging cars and bicycles to share the road—as key to marking the first designated bike routes in the city.

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One of the biggest problems facing bike advocacy in Metro Detroit is the lack of organization. There are many groups and clubs, but not a single voice that can inform and mobilize grassroots cycling advocacy.

We’ve met and discussed this dilemma with the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, League of Michigan Bicyclists, Michigan Fitness Foundation, and American Cycle and Fitness. We looked at one example of a successful regional advocacy group in Flint.

Of course, one big issue is funding.

Since the National Safe Routes to School Conference was in Dearborn at the end of 2007, we set up a meeting with Tim Blumenthal of BikesBelong. As he mentioned ahead of time, he didn’t bring his checkbook, but he still gave us ideas of where else this situation has been resolved throughout the U.S. Unfortunately there aren’t many examples.

Still, this idea is moving forward though with a more limited regional perspective. We’ll should be posting more updates in the near future.