Democrats Out-bike Republicans at Political Conventions

According to The Denver Post, "Nearly three times as many riders took advantage of the [Freewheelin'] bike-sharing program during the Democratic National Convention [(DNC)] in Denver than during the Republican counterpart in St. Paul, Minnesota, last week, according to program officials. About 5,550 riders pedaled 26,583 miles during the DNC, while 1,973 rode about 15,141 miles during the [Republican National Convention], the group Freewheelin reported Monday."

If this is the first you're reading on this, I posted about Freewheelin' earlier.

To be fair, it's worth pointing out that the first day of the Republican National Convention was substantially trimmed due to Hurricane Hanna. However, there is interestingly a gap between the ridership of the two parties at the conventions. Bicycling is not an issue to be politicized though. I'll follow that up with: as the Green Party says, "Neither left nor right, but ahead." Bicycling is an issue which helps societies move ahead.

Bicycling is a health issue. It's a mobility issue. An environmental issue. It's just fun. With Presidential elections in the U.S. just about 80 days away, it's time that bicycling gets the priority and funding it needs with the next person in the White House so that it becomes a respectable and safe mode of transportation for a lot of us United States-ers.

Pre-registration Now Available for Political Conventions' Bike-sharing

Pre-registration for the bike-sharing programs at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul-Minneapolis is available at http://www.freewheelinwaytogo.com. For those who plan to be in these cities during the conventions, this is the first step of a streamlined process to introduce people to shared bike systems that are to be showcased to policy makers, guests, and citizens. Pre-registration is quick and easy and makes completion of the registration process at each event simple. Use of the systems will be free with a photo ID, and a valid credit card is required for collateral. The temporary bike-sharing systems in both cities have been facilitated by generous contributions and support from Bikes Belong, Humana, numerous bicycle manufacturers, as well as dedicated city governments, advocacy organizations, and citizens of each locale.

Democrats and Republicans to Have Bike-sharing at Conventions

Bike-sharing will be "bike-partisan" at both of this year's Democratic and Republican National Conventions, showing that bicycling is "neither left, nor right, but ahead" to quote the Green Party's motto. Both Conventions will use the Freewheelin program developed by Humana with technology from QI Systems. Humana and Bikes Belong will bring 1,000 bikes to Denver during the Democratic National Convention in August and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September. The bikes can be used for free by anyone looking for an alternative to automobiles during the convention.

According to a press release from the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee for the Democratic Party:

"Amid the buzz of national Bike to Work Week, the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, Humana Inc. and Bikes Belong took steps with - or better yet, pedaled - a new initiative today to encourage bike use as an alternative mode of transportation during the Democratic National Convention.

"Denver Host Committee President Elbra Wedgeworth and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper unveiled plans for a bike-sharing program called Freewheelin, part of Denver's efforts to support healthy living and environmental sustainability during the Democratic National Convention."

According to Pioneer Press regarding the Republican National Convention:

"Just in time for $4-a-gallon gasoline, that's the latest welcoming perk lined up on the red carpet for the Republican National Convention scheduled to hit St. Paul from Sept. 1-4.

"St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak announced Friday that 1,000 bikes will be stationed in the Twin Cities for use by visitors and anyone else looking for a free alternative to cars to get around during the convention.

"The effort is sponsored by the Humana Inc. health insurance company in conjunction with the Bikes Belong cycling advocacy group, which also plans to take 1,000 free bikes to Denver for the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 25-28.

"After convention-goers go home, the program, called Freewheelin, will leave 70 bikes in the Twin Cities, along with about 10 special bike racks as a seed for a permanent bike-sharing program in the community."

Way to go Humana and Bikes Belong. This is an outstanding idea to spread the concept of bike-sharing to individuals from around the U.S. With more bike-sharing proponents around the U.S., the greater the idea will spread and quicker the environment and public health will benefit.


image credit: Churchill County