Three wonderful organizations, REI, Bikes Belong, and League of American Bicyclists (LAB), have joined forces to help promote bicycle friendly communities throughout the country by giving thousands of dollars in grant money to organizations dedicated to creating bike friendly communities. Bike friendly communities are defined by the LAB as displaying “the 5 E’s”:

Engineering – what has been built to promote cycling in the community

Education – teaching cyclists of all ages how to ride safely in any area for multi-use paths to congested city streets as well as teaching motorists how to share the road safely with cyclists

Encouragment – how the community promotes and encourages bicycling

Enforcement – measure the connections between the cycling and law enforcement

Evaluation and Planning – the systems that they have in place to evaluate current programs and plan for the future

So far, money has been given to organizations in Chicago (Chicagoland Bicycle Federation) and New York (Transportation Alternatives)to promote cycling within these major metropolises. For more information on the REI/Bicycle Friendly Communities Grant Program click here.