A “Ride on Washington” by more than 100 bicyclists raised nearly $100,000 for the Bikes Belong Foundation, which advocates for awareness around the health and environmental benefits of bicycling.
“As Tim's Ride on Washington grows, we are generating more public support for bicycling and making a bigger impression on local and national legislators,” said Bruno Maier, vice president of Bikes Belong. “Our mission is to put more people on bikes, and we do that by improving access to safe and stress-free bicycling facilities. We thank Tim for his enthusiasm and relentless commitment to our mission, and we look forward to helping him grow the Ride on Washington in 2013.”
During the event, bicyclists maintained an average speed of 17 mph, gained 21,500 feet in elevation and encountered challenging conditions from 38 degrees of wind and rain in Boston to 73 degrees in Washington, D.C. In addition to Tim Johnson, U.S. cyclocross champion, registered riders included Jonathan Browning, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America; Keith Hartstein, CEO of John Hancock Funds, LLC; and top-ranked U.S. Cyclocross Champion Jeremy Powers.
“This ride was truly amazing and an eye-opening experience for me,” said Johnson. “Not only did we achieve our goal for fundraising and for bike advocacy awareness, but we also rode as a large group through the most congested urban corridor in America with only positive encounters along the way. We are definitely making progress in educating Americans about the importance of bike pathways, but there is still a great deal of work to be done.”
Johnson created his Ride on Washington after first attending the National Bike Summit in 2010. This year’s final leg into Washington and to the National Bike Summit was open to all riders, including bicyclists as young as 8 years old. Of the more than 100 riders that joined the core group, many utilized the multiple Capital Bike Share stations along the route.
Additional sponsors of the ride include Bicycling, Breezer, Cannondale, CatEye, Ciclismo Classico, Firefly Bicycles, Harpoon Brewery, Mad Alchemy, Mavic, Primal Wear, Red Bull, Skratch Labs and Smith Optics. Pledges to support Tim Johnson’s Ride on Washington can still be made at www.rideonwashington.org.
The Bikes Belong Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization focused on improving bicycle safety and enhancing children's bike programs. It administers the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, supports the Bicycling Design Best Practices Project, and directs the Peopleforbikes.org campaign.
