LEAGUE RECOGNIZES BICYCLE FRIENDLY LEADERS
Photo by Allan Crawford
By Bill Nesper
T
he Bicycle Friendly America (BFA) program is a team effort. To make a community, business or university better for biking takes input, effort and cooperation from a variety of different stakeholders. And, over the past decade, we’ve been inspired by incredible leaders across the nation who have taken the BFA program to new heights. To recognize and celebrate those leaders, we launched our new Bicycle Friendly America Leadership Award program in September. This awards program will highlight and honor the individuals who are using the tools of the BFA program in new and effective ways to build a bicycle-friendly America from the ground up. Our first recipient, Mayor Bob Foster of Long Beach, Calif., has worked to expand the city’s bicycling network and more than double the number of bicycle commuters over the past four years alone. By combining vision and action, Foster is helping to transform an industrial city into a cycling destination. Our second recipient was the catalyst and champion of the National Bike Challenge: Rob Gusky of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Thanks to Rob, what started as a corporate program moved to a statewide initiative and then a national effort that inspired 30,000 Americans to log more than 12 million miles this summer. Read more about the award winners and learn more about the program at bikeleague.org/bfa.
Mayor Bob Foster
Rob Gusky
American Bicyclist 5