6th Annual Pgh to DC Canal Ride Needs Riders

When Nick Hein stepped forward to offer his services as a rider/scout last week, our plan to use this year to keep our focus only on our 22 Mayors' Ride cities changed. This is so because Nick has led rides for us before and since this will be the fourth time he will have done this ride, he knows exactly what we need from him with little or no input from us. He knows when and where to take photos, how to get them to us in the most expedient way and he always keeps us abreast of his maneuverings with timely reports.

So, if you want to learn from an old pro and have 360 miles in your legs, do consider taking part in this years Mayors' Ride relay which makes use of back roads and the historic C&O Canal Trail to get you from Pittsburgh City Hall to Washington DC City Hall. A fully self contained cycle camping journey., every year that we have done this ride, the stories and the photo galleries have all been epic.

Here for example are slide shows for all but the first year:
http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/slideshow.php?set_albumName=DC-Pgh2006
http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/slideshow.php?set_albumName=DC-Pittsburgh2005
http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/Pittsburgh2004
http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/2003Mayors

From the Pittsburgh Mayor's send off on July 7th to the Washington DC Mayor's reception a week later on June 14, this will easily be one of the most memorable bike rides you will have ever done!!

Nick will be out of email contact next week, but he can be reached by cell at 304-276-0213

If U wan to do this ride contact me at NBG@bikeroute.com so we con coordinate with you as well as put your name at our schedule/scorecard at http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2008

THX 4 all of U!!

Cincinnati Mayor to Honor Burgeoning Bike Movement

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory will be at City Hall on Tuesday May 1 at 1:30 to issue a proclamation to local cyclists and leaders in the bike movement who have helped his city earn the distinction of being made a stop on the National Bicycle Greenway's route from San Francisco to Boston. As testimony to his commitment to making Cincinnati a green leader, in addition to the 218 page Green Action plan that he and his staff published on June 19, he will soon go on record with the following words:

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Whereas, the City of Cincinnati recognizes that increased bicycle ridership has significant positive impacts in increasing the livability of a city because bicycling produces no air or noise pollution, decreases traffic congestion, saves energy, and moves people toward self sufficient, sustainable personal practices that have city-wide consequences; and

Whereas, bicycle transportation routes reduce taxpayer burden by using land and road space more efficiently while also alleviating parking demands; and

Whereas, the bicycle is a serious mode of transportation and bicycles offer low cost transportation to the non-driving public, including the young; and

Whereas, bicycling increases mobility, saves individual's money, improves personal health and sense of well being, teaches responsibility to our youth; and

Whereas, OKI, the Cincinnati Cycle Club, Ohio Bike Federation, MOBO Bike Collective, Bio Wheels, Reser Bicycle Outfitters, Campus Cyclery and the Bike/PAC have all played a part in making cycling an important part of the Cincinnati transportation mix; and

Whereas, the Purple People Bridge travels 2.670 feet across the Ohio River to make it the longest bike/ped bridge in the United States as it also connect Cincinnati cyclists with another city and another state; and

Whereas: The city of Cincinnati has been chosen as one of the main stopping off points on the National Bicycle Greenway's (NBG) proposed bike way from Boston to San Francisco.
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With this year as a prologue to NBG director Martin Krieg's 2009 Author Tour from the Golden Gate city to Beantown, his organization will be using this year to show how far Cincinnati has come since Krieg's 1986 ride across America for the National Head Injury Foundation came through here.

As the Queen City Bike Month has shown, the Queen City of the West has come a long way down the two wheel road over the last 22 years. From the MOBO Bike Collective to the Bike/PAC and Purple People Bridge, etc , many developments that favor the cyclist have come about during that time. This as organizations that help bike riders such as OKI, the Cincinnati Cycle Club, and the Ohio Bike Federation have all grown in size and influence.

And many of these organizations will be represented when Mayor Mallory issues his resolution in support of the National Bicycle Greenway's goal of first joining San Francisco and Boston with a bike way before it then inter-connects, the rest of America with a network of bikeable roads and paths.

See the 6th annual 2008 national Mayors' Ride at http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2008