At a hastily arranged fund raiser organized by Bikes Belong in Chicago, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) pledge to increase funding to promote cycling, according to a report by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
The presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee told an audience of about 160 people at the June 12 fundraiser that “he seldom makes promises on what he would do if elected president, but that this was a promise he would keep,” BRAIN reported.
Among those in attendance were Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong; Stan Day, president of SRAM; Greg and Kathryn Lemond and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, (D-OR). 
Obama met for 20 minutes with the Bikes Belong board of directors, BRAIN reported.
Bikes Belong formed in 1999 to lobby for federal funding for projects that promoted cycling. For a break down of the funding it helped secure in 2005, click here.
Interestingly, Obama was not listed among the Congressional candidates the group's political action committee BikesPAC has supported. BikesPAC has, however, contributed to the campaigns of both Blumenauer and Sen. Hillary Clinton among other members of Congress.
