When the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team “turned green,” its website, The Paceline, did also. It was a pleasure to edit and publish this bicycling advocacy presentation, originally a speech presented by Trek president John Burke.

Trek’s John Burke: Advocacy Is the Future

The world keeps spinning and with it obesity is on the rise, traffic congestion keeps getting worse and the number of megacities (population 10 million or more) has exploded.

Trek Bicycle Corporation’s president John Burke believes the bicycle is the solution—if leaders in his industry are willing to shift their focus toward advocacy.

In April [2007], John told industry leaders attending a Taiwan conference that the bike truly can be a solution for these vexing issues, as well as pollution and rising energy costs.

Among John’s major points:

• The world is getting fatter. The 1960 average weight of an American child between ages 6 and 11 was 63 pounds; today it’s 74 pounds. Over the same span, both US men and women’s averages have gained the same amount: 24 pounds.
• Traffic: This global scourge continues to dump fuel, pollute our skies and cut productivity. In 2003, traffic congestion delayed people world wide for 7 billion hours and wasted 5 billion gallons of fuel.
• Urbanization: For the first time in human history, more people are living in cities than in the rural areas, and the rate of urbanization is increasing. In 1950, the world had just 2 “megacities” with populations in excess of 10 million. Today, there are at least 20. There are over 200 cities in China with a population over one million. The United Nations estimates that about 180,000 people are added to the urban population every day. By 2050, an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas.

The bicycle can contribute – and in places like the Netherlands, London, Boulder, Colo. and Portland, Ore., already is serving — to solving these problems.

• Fitness/Health: Calories burned per hour: Bicycling = 500-700; Driving = 5-20.
• Environment: Percent share of urban air pollution: The car =60-70; The bicycle = 0
• Congestion: Half of all car trips taken are less than 2 miles long; commuting by bike in a major city like London can drop travel time by nearly 50 percent

While a bike-friendly environment exists in the aforementioned markets (and others), the US lags behind much of the world in bicycle commuter percentage.

John Burke views this as his industry greatest opportunity. His message to his peers: It’s our responsibility to promote these important issues – a long-term effort requiring planning and resources. Success-story examples are out there and countless urban programs are already underway in small towns and major megacities.

Creating a bicycle friendly world, John believes, is within everyone’s grasp. But we must all do more.