2 MILE CHALLENGE BLOGYour Tuesday Dose of Encouragement
I’m trying to figure out how to give more than two thumbs up… This kid just earned his “all-time” cool stripes for breaking down life to its essence: believe in yourself, ride your bike … and, of course, give props to rock ‘n roll. (via our friends at DailyMile) Music and Bikes: like PB & J.
I’m frequently blown away at the creativity that comes from the biking lifestylists among us. One of the best examples of this is a guy I’ve come to personally admire over the last few years for his sheer dedication to music, grassroots activism and the bicycle; he is Musician and all-around Renaissance Man, Ben Sollee. I first saw Ben about three years ago in Manchester, Tennessee at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. He was on stage with his band, making good time bluesy tunes with the best of them that weekend. What struck me was the cool tone of his voice and percussive sound that blared across that dusty farm pasture. When I looked closer, I saw his musical weapon of choice: the cello. Yup, you read me right, the cello. It was a killer set – and during his set breaks, I heard the kicker that sealed my future Ben Sollee fandom. The dude rode his bike to Bonnaroo from his home in Kentucky, band and cello in tow on his Xtracycle! That is what I’m screaming. 2MC: A Bike Love Story photo credit: Jesssloss Happy *National* Bike to Work Week! I woke up this morning thinking that it might be good just to back you up a few clicks on why we’re here. No, not in a universal/metaphysical sense … but rather, why 2MC? CLIF Bar is a company with a focus on three things: organic nutrition (obviously), athletic adventure (also obviously?) and environmental activism. The way that last part manifests itself is through our passion for protecting the places where we play. We’ve seen climate change as one of the biggest threats to those outdoor places – and, one day a few years ago (I believe it was a Tuesday), a group of us were chatting about how our own personal behaviors can at times be… inefficient, I suppose is the word. There was a report out from the League of American Bicyclists that said: in the U.S., 40% of travel happens within 2 miles. Wow, really?! It’s not that hard to fathom in this era of fast-paced life, I guess. Cars are easy going … get in, start it up, and you’re quickly where you need to be. For me personally, it was a case of realizing that I was prone to using the same tool for every job. Going to the coffee shop around the corner or a roadtrip to Tahoe to ski with friends — all by car. Holla back, girls. credit: Timothy J on flickr. Not sure I’m buying this claim from Treehugger: Men Vastly Outbike Women and Kids. What say you? Aaaannd…we’re off!
Bienvenidos, amigos! It’s been a long 2MC off-season for us too; but we’re super excited to get things rolling again. It’s time to get out there on your bike and help avoid 100,000 car trips. Lofty goal? Yep! But we like a good challenge, you know? Starting today, May 12th, the point competition is back to your 2 Mile Challenge. At the core of the 2MC is our annual grant giving effort – and you’re once again in the driver seat to help us determine how we give away $100,000 to support bicycle advocacy and the greater movement in the fight against climate change. 2010 2MC Recap – Trips for Kids
Hello world! Welcome to the new 2MC blog. We’ll be dropping by frequently to share a few thoughts from time to time as the 2 Mile Challenge moves on into its FIFTH YEAR! Can you dig it? In this inaugural post, we thought it’d be fun to kickoff an editorial series on our past and present 2MC beneficiary nonprofits: who they are, what they’re up to – and why you might care about what they’re doing? After all, it’s these groups out there on the front-lines, fighting the good fight when it comes to climate change and working towards a more bicycle-friendly world. |
