After a long winter here in Colorado marked by black, icy backroads, thoughts of an extra hour of sunshine-infused riding time are pretty appealing. My four-mile bike trip home will benefit. Our weekend bicycling window will expand, too.

Yes, I’m pretty excited about the coming of spring, but it’s mostly about the big picture. This should be a sensational season of progress for bicycling throughout in America.

The upcoming launches of bike-sharing systems in New York (5,500 bikes) and Chicago (4,000) should be amazing. Both of these cities have been working hard (and fast) to make bike riding safer and easier by building better bikeways. In a few months, many thousands will experience these improvements for the first time when they try bike sharing. (By the way, systems are now operating in more than two dozen U.S. cities).

Our Green Lane Project will continue to thrive. The actual number of U.S. green lanes, which are separated and (often) protected spaces for bike riding in cities, doubled from 50 to 100 during the last 12 months. In 2013, the total could very well double again.

This is the year we push toward (and hopefully beyond) our goal of one million supporters for PeopleforBikes.org. Seems like yesterday that PFB was a just an ambitious idea—a way to unite and activate more Americans who love bicycling. Building political clout is still a key goal as we move into phase II. (Please stay tuned.)

During the last five years, the federal government has invested nearly $4 billion in more than 14,000 projects that make bicycling and walking safer. Cities and states have contributed even more. It’s no wonder that during this stretch the number of trips made by bicycle has doubled (or close) in so many U.S. cities. Chances are better this spring that you’ll find networks of safe and appealing trails, paths and lanes close to where you live.

I’m all for the adventure and quiet of cold-weather (even in-the-snow and in-the-dark) riding. But I am so ready for March 19. It’s time to spring forward.

The repercussions of this adventure are still emerging. We ate so much sugar on the ride, I just had three cavities filled— and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look at a pain au chocolat again. I have permanent tan lines on my thighs and, weeks after I returned home, I still had hundreds of unread e-mails in my inbox (sorry Mom!).

But, far more importantly, the positive effects of this epic ride continue to emerge. I’m still getting tweets, e-mails, and posts from women (and men) who say the Rêve Tour inspired them to start riding or ride more often. I’ve started to see what happens when I don’t box myself in with preconceived expectations. 

I never thought I could bicycle 120 miles every day for three weeks. But I did. That’s the magic of the Rêve Tour.

You can read the full story online here.

Also, if you donated $50 or more to the Rêve Tour, you should have already received the first issue (including Heidi Swift's feature piece on the ride!) of your free yearly subscription to peloton magazine—one of the tour's main sponsors. If you haven't received your issues yet, email me and I'll get you set up.

As a special gift, peloton is offering free digital subscriptions to Bikes Belong supporters. To receive your subscription, visit this page or click below.

Don’t get me wrong; I love Denver—the Broncos, the Nuggets, Rockies, Avalanche, the great restaurants, music scene, museums, Bcycle bike-sharing system, and ever-improving bikeway network. But we’ve got amazing riding up north, west, and east....

On Sunday, we had a good reason to head south. About 40 of us set off at 10 a.m. to pedal down to the final stage time trial of the USA Pro Challenge—the international week-long Colorado race that featured six of the top 13 finishers from this year’s Tour de France.

All of us had watched Saturday’s stage in Boulder—a spectacle that will likely be remembered as the greatest day of bike racing here in more than 20 years. Just about everything went right: the weather was hot and sunny, the crowds were huge and enthusiastic, the settings were magnificent, and the finish was dramatic. 

But we were all ready for more, especially the novelty of riding to Denver. Our route blended smooth bike paths, dirt roads, paved public roads with striped bike lanes, and even a little bit of singletrack that is generally ridden on mountain bikes.

Most of us were on road bikes or cyclocross bikes (road bikes with fatter tires), but we managed just fine. I counted maybe two flat tires total, For 40 people and 40 miles, that’s pretty good. 

A few more quick observations:

--The drive between Boulder and Denver is basically a 30-minute blur. The bike ride, with all of its twists and turns, is a fascinating three-hour blend of parkland, open space, riverside trails, riparian areas, suburban strip malls, office parks, and industrial zones.

--We saw very few directional signs. If you didn’t know the route, you’d have little chance of getting to Denver before sundown. This needs to improve. Thank goodness we were following my old friend Pete Webber (PeteWebber.com), who had ridden the exact route earlier in the week, and cyclocross legend Tim Johnson, who entertained the whole way by playing and jumping and laughing through every corner.

--This has been the hottest summer ever in Colorado. I drained five or six tall bottles of water and energy drink en route but never felt hydrated. I applied plenty of sunscreen but still burned. Early September snowstorm: where are you?

--When roads are crowded or closed (as they were in downtown Denver for the race), the bike is the only way to get around. We had no problem pedaling to within 100 yards of the starting line.

--I was happy the group took a bus home. After a full day in the sun, I was ready for a shower and some shade. I bet my bike felt the same. 

The ride began with a long section of dirt and singletrack trail. Cross bikes were perfect here.

Our first glimpse of the Denver skyline.

“We are seeing an explosion of interest in making bicycling stress-free on busy city streets,” said Martha Roskowski, Green Lane Project director. “The selected cities have ambitious goals and a vision for bicycling supported by their elected officials and communities. They are poised to get projects on the ground quickly and will serve as excellent examples for other interested cities.”

Green lanes are dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway, protected by curbs, planters, posts or parked cars. The goal of the Green Lane Project is to support the selected cities in their efforts to develop and install these kinds of facilities. Recent studies have demonstrated their benefits nationwide. In Washington, D.C., bicycle volume tripled after protected lanes were installed. In Portland, Ore., more than 70 percent of survey respondents said bicycling is easier and safer with these dedicated lanes, while motorists said the facilities did not make driving any slower or less convenient.

“Green lanes benefit everyone who uses city streets, not just people on bicycles,” continued Roskowski. “With these facilities, people in cars and on foot know where to expect bicycles. More people on bikes eases congestion. When people ride bikes, they are healthier, and they save money.”

Green Lane Project plan highlights for the six focus cities:

Austin, Texas, celebrated the opening of a green lane in April, and has several more projects under development. The city is tackling major connections in a revitalizing downtown area. The presence of the state capitol, a major university and a thriving music scene make it a diverse and dynamic city that sees bicycling as a way to attract top-tier businesses and ease congestion.

Chicago is leading the way with a bold commitment by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to build 100 miles of new green lanes during his four-year term. These projects will significantly transform city streets and provide a model for rapid implementation. Work on several new projects began in May and will continue through the summer.

Memphis, Tenn., installed 35 miles of bike lanes in the last two years and is planning two new significant green lane projects in the upcoming year, connecting a popular rail-trail with the city's central park and helping to revitalize businesses on the corridor. Mayor A.C. Wharton catalyzed this turnaround after Memphis was named one of the worst cities for riding by Bicycling magazine in 2008.

Portland, Ore., leads the nation in the development of neighborhood greenways and other innovative street designs. Its attention to detail for bicycle operations at intersections and other transition points is unmatched in the U.S.

San Francisco is quickly catching up after a three-year injunction stalled most bicycle-related improvements from 2007-2010. A new green lane in Golden Gate Park was recently completed and plans are underway for green lanes in a number of other corridors.

Washington, D.C., is a national showcase, with a steady stream of influential visitors. The city is now planning new projects near Union Station and in other areas. The red bikes of the Capital Bikeshare system are being used at least 6,000 times a day, building significant support for better places to ride.

The Project will provide updates on the progress in the six cities, best practices as they are developed, and links to other resources on this website. Other interested cities are invited to use the website to share their plans and progress on building green lanes.

Advisors to the Green Lane Project include the New York City Department of Transportation, the League of American Bicyclists and the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Funding partners include the SRAM Cycling Fund, Volkswagen of America, Inc, Interbike, Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association and the Bikes Belong Coalition.

• Austin, Texas
• Chicago, Illinois
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco, California
• Washington, D.C.

The Green Lane Project is leading the effort to catalyze the installation of world-class bicycling facilities in the U.S. “We are seeing an explosion of interest in making bicycling stress-free on busy city streets, ” said Tim Blumenthal, Bikes Belong president. “The selected cities have ambitious goals and a vision for bicycling supported by their elected officials and communities. They are poised to get projects on the ground quickly and will serve as excellent examples for other interested cities,”

Project director Martha Roskowski said, “We are delighted to be working with these forward-thinking cities. They are a range of sizes, spread across the country, and at various stages in terms of developing networks for bicycles. What they share is a strong commitment to rethinking how city streets are used and making room for bicycles.”

The six cities were chosen from a pool of 42 city applications. “The response we received shows that not only established leaders such as Minneapolis and Boulder understand the role of bicycling in next-generation city transportation, but also places like Wichita, Miami, and Pittsburgh,” said Roskowski.

Green Lanes are dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway. They are protected from motor vehicles by curbs, planters, posts, or parked cars. Also called cycle tracks or protected bikeways, the lanes are carefully engineered with rigorous attention to safety, efficiency, and ease of travel for all street users. The Green Lane Project will provide resources and technical assistance to help the six focus cities accomplish their goals of creating this type of protected space for people on bikes.

During the next two months, the Green Lane Project will work with elected officials, staff, and community groups in each city to finalize details, solidify the vision, and identify the unique story each city can tell. Details will be released at a national kickoff in late May in Chicago. The Green Lane website, greenlaneproject.org, will act as a hub where all U.S. cities working to install these types of facilities can share and learn from each other.

Based on decades of experience in Europe and a growing number of U.S. examples, cities are embracing new designs as cost-effective and quick ways to accommodate the demand for safer places to ride. Last year’s publication of a design guide produced by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) provides a toolbox for designers and engineers, showing how widely accepted road standards can be combined to transform city streets.

The Green Lane Project is an initiative of the Bikes Belong Foundation. Major partners include Volkswagen of America, Inc., the SRAM Cycling Fund, Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association, and NACTO. New York City’s Department of Transportation is a senior advisor to the program, based on their groundbreaking work in creating new public spaces on city streets.

The Green Lane Project is a relaunch and expansion of the Bikes Belong Foundation’s Bicycling Design Best Practices Program, which for the last two years has been dedicated to hosting workshops and taking city officials and engineers on study tours to leading U.S. and European cities to showcase the best in bicycling facility design. These workshops and study tours will now be a part of the Green Lane Project, in addition to the new programming and resources offered by the Project.

To learn more about the Green Lane Project, visit greenlaneproject.org, or contact Martha Roskowski.

In April 2012, The Bicycling Design Best Practice Program was expanded and relaunched as the Green Lane Project. All of our work to inspire, catalyze, and support U.S. cities working to realize world-class bicycle transportation continued under the new name.

I’m thrilled to be a part of the Green Lane Project team. Here are a few reasons why:

• Our work will be more focused and comprehensive. In addition to the inspiration and ideas offered by study tours and workshops, we’ll provide resources to help six focus cities get state-of-the-art bike infrastructure on the ground in the next two years.
• It’s still a timely, important idea. We need more and better models for world-class bicycling in American cities and the Green Lane Project will help us identify best practices and spread good ideas more quickly, more intelligently, and more efficiently.
• Martha Roskowski is heading the Project. Martha’s leadership helped make Boulder, Colorado one of the most successful bicycling cities in North America. She’ll provide indispensable guidance that will make our work better.
• Green Lane Project is a smarter, shorter, less wonky name than Bicycling Design Best Practices Program.

In the two and half years since we began, it’s amazing how much the conversation has shifted. We’re no longer debating whether or not common international best practices like cycle tracks belong in American cities; we’re now talking about how to design and fund entire networks of them. We now have a robust design manual for bicycling in urban conditions, providing transportation professionals with the tools and guidance needed to build world-class bicycle infrastructure. We’ve found willing partners in cities, state, and national government agencies, including the Embassy of the Netherlands and the U.S. Department of Transportation. We’ve built a powerful network of alumni of our study tours and workshops, whose cities are part of a growing movement to make bicycling mainstream.

All of this momentum, and more, will be carried into the Green Lane Project. Join us at greenlaneproject.org and #greenlaneproject.

Wow. The interest in the Green Lane Project from cities across the country is really exciting. I’ve been having a lot of great conversations in recent days, and wanted to share the 3 questions and my responses.

1. Will the Green Lane Project cover travel costs to the Chicago kick-off and the study tours?

This one is easy. The answer is yes. We’ll make that more clear on our website.

2. What kind of cities will be selected?

This one is more complicated. I’m guessing that at least 50 cities will apply, and we will choose only six to be focus cities. We’re looking for a mix in size and geography. We’re also looking for another kind of mix.

A dozen or so U.S. cities are clear and acknowledged leaders in accommodating people on bikes. They have been out in front for years, and will continue to break new ground and figure things out. They have weathered ups and downs of support and continue to make progress. They have a clear vision on what they can accomplish in the next two years and the determination to make it happen. These cities are moving toward a tipping point where a robust network serves enough destinations and makes people feel comfortable enough that they will see a dramatic rise in bicycling in coming years. A jump in gas prices or other external force may be all that is needed. We want to work with some of these cities, as they show everyone else what can be accomplished.

There’s another kind of city that we want to work with too. It’s the “gosh, if that city can do it, we can too.” These cities are likely not widely known as leaders in accommodating bikes and may not have a robust network on the ground, but are ready to step up and make change. Leaders in these cities have decided that these projects are important enough to identify resources (both people and project funding) to make them happen. They will have plans to get projects on the ground in the next two years, and are willing to share their journey with the rest of us. It’s places where the visionaries have been working steadily and determinedly to reframe their city’s transportation approach and have succeeded. These cities can help show that providing space for people on bikes makes sense and is possible in all types of places.

3. My city is interested, but may not fit either of those definitions particularly well. Should I still apply?

I say yes, for four reasons:
1. First, the obvious. We’re very interested in learning what your city is working on as it’s possible you’ll be selected as one of the six Green Lane Project focus cities that will be part of an exciting, supportive partnership to provide U.S. models for installing innovative facilities.
2. Simply catalyzing the conversation within city leadership can be powerful. Identifying what can be accomplished and the resources to do it can provide momentum to the projects, even if the city isn’t selected as a focus city. The timeframe of the Green Lane Project can help move projects from being “on the list” to having a schedule for implementation.
3. The Green Lane Project applications will serve as a broad survey of the breadth and depth of interest in cycletracks. The number and diversity of cities working on these facilities will show that this country is embracing new solutions for our transportation challenges. This level of interest could translate into wider acceptance of the designs, help accelerate research projects, and might help rebut the assumption in the current House transportation bill that transportation really should just be about roads for cars.
4. You’ll be part of the club. All cities that apply will be considered “engaged” in the Green Lane Project. While the bulk of our resources are focused on helping our focus cities succeed and sharing their stories widely, we will provide a robust website for information and collaboration for our engaged cities. And the Green Lane Project will use the compelling plans of the engaged cities as the basis for foundation funding requests, as we’d love to find a way to further support the engaged cities.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know of other questions, and I’ll either answer directly or address them in future web posts. We’re setting up a Twitter account at @greenlaneproj so consider following us. We’re fleshing out other elements like the grants and research elements, so stay tuned.

It’s a huge honor to work on this project and share in the great momentum for building better cities with all of you.

Thanks for being part of it,

-m
Martha Roskowski
Director, Green Lane Project

From left to right: Professor Haixiao Pan, University of Tongji, Shanghai, China; me, Tim Blumenthal, President of Bikes Belong; Phillip Darnton, Chairman of Cycling England; and Mark Cridland, Assoc. Director General, Queensland Dept. of Transport and Main Roads.

View the full set of photos from the Sustainable Cities dinner here.

This year, in conjunction with their annual Family Night Celebration, the Packers invited Bikes Belong's Peopleforbikes.org to connect with this pre-season ritual.

On August 5-6, we staffed a booth outside the stadium, collected more than 1,000 pledges for our unifying campaign, and talked with thousands of Packers fans about bicycling.

On Friday night, Packers players walked up a ramp from the locker room and greeted an enthusiastic swarm of local children, all ready with their bikes.

Each player pointed to a kid, grabbed their bike, and rolled off with the kid on the back or alongside.

We're not sure that any of these bikes were built with 250-pound linebackers or massive 350-pound linemen in mind. But the rides unfolded beautifully with big smiles all around. Football stars are great "roll models" for young bike riders.

Thanks to long-time Bikes Belong member Saris Cycling and president Chris Fortune for making this event happen. Thanks, too, to the Packers and team president Mark Murphy for their enthusiastic support.