Ride for Economy

• According to the Surgeon General, approximately 300,000 U.S. deaths a year currently are associated with being obese or overweight. This compares to 400,000 deaths a year associated with cigarette smoking. In 2002, obesity-related medical care spending accounted for 11.6 percent of all private health care spending, compared to just 2 percent in 1987, concludes Health Affairs.
• Bicycles cost far less than automobiles to purchase and maintain, and do not require a continual intake of increasingly expensive gasoline. Between six and twenty bicycles can be parked in the space a motor vehicle requires for parking. Bicycles also cause little, if any, wear and tear on roadways.
• According to the National Sporting Goods Association, consumers bought 18.5 million bicycles in 2003.

Constituency:

• Americans of all ages and backgrounds enjoy bicycling. Some 42.5 million Americans ride bicycles, according to the National Sporting Goods Association’s 2000 study. This is more than the numbers that participate in other leading sports (29.4 million basketball players, 27.5 million golfers, 22.5 million runners, 13.2 million soccer players, 11.2 million tennis players, and 7.7 million downhill skiers).
• Some 300,000 Americans are members of bicycling clubs and organizations affiliated with the League of American Bicyclists.
• Bicycling magazine, the world’s largest cycling publication, has a total audience of 2.6 million readers (2005 Spring MRI) and average total circulation of 400,000.
• Bicycle Retailer and Industry News estimates that in 2004 18.3 million bicycles were sold in the United States. They also estimate that there are approximately 4,900 bicycle retailers in the United States.

Source: Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center