On yer bike to fight climate change!

Just last week I stumbled upon a pretty awesome website about a new initiative called the 2 mile challenge. It’s sponsored by CLIF bar, makers of some yummy organic energy bars.

I was really happy to discover this, as I have to admit since I’ve arrived back in the US there has been little in the way of climate change related activism to get me really excited. Living in London for six years it was virtually impossible to go a day without seeing or hearing about another creative way to get people to wake up to the realities of climate change.

What’s this 2-mile challenge about then? Well if you haven’t already, stop reading this and check out the website yourself: www.2milechallenge.com

Or if you’d rather keep reading for now, here’s a little summary from yours truly along with some rather startling statistics that I found on the site.

In short, this challenge is all about encouraging folks to give up the car now and then and jump on a bike instead. You simply register online, join a virtual team (riding for one of three wonderful causes) and log your miles. The winning virtual team gets a $25,000 grant for their charity. I’m riding for the alliance for climate education.

So why should you do it? Well it’s better for you and the planet of course!

Alarmingly, in the US 40% of all trips are 2 miles or less. What’s worse is that a whopping 90% of those trips are made by car (grrrrr).

Something else I learned? That the US has more bike owners per capita then most countries, but it is near the bottom of the list for using them.

That statistic in particular makes me rather sad for several reasons.

On my first visit to Kenya I remember quite vividly walking along a dusty road with a group I was working with when suddenly a boy appeared on a beautiful old bicycle. The sheer excitement the sight of a bicycle brought to many in our group was incredible. There were plenty of smiles and laughter as we took it in turns to ride the bike.



In places like Kenya and many other African countries, bicycles are often the only means of transportation for health workers and teachers to travel huge distances to reach out to some of the most needy people in their communities.

The image of thousands (perhaps millions?) of bikes sitting in dusty old garages across America really breaks my heart. There’s something lovely about getting on a bike that many Americans are missing out on. A gentle breeze across your face or a reminder of a time when things were much simpler. I could go on…

If I chose to, I could certainly afford to own a car. Some still show a little smirk when I try to explain why I don’t. This week however I’ve been reminded of what a gift it is to simply own a bike, let alone ride it! And I’m reminded once again of what an incredible gift our planet is. Okay, riding in the heat this last week has not been fun but knowing I’m doing what I can to curb my carbon emissions is worth it.

So if you’re one of those Americans (or insert your own nationality here) who have had a bike sitting in the garage for a while, I urge you to dust her off and take her for a ride this week.

Or if not, donate it here: www.bicycles-for-humanity.org and send it to someone who can really use it.

Happy travels.