Bikes Belong

(I like to highlight the work of good folks doing good things for cycling. The photo above is the Bikes Belong board from the BB website.)

Bikes Belong's motto: "Connecting communities, one bike project at a time"

The Bikes Belong organization's grant program's goal is to put more people on bicycles more often by funding important and influential projects that leverage federal funding and build momentum for bicycling in communities across the U.S.

Funded projects include bike paths and rail trails, as well as mountain bike trails, bike parks, BMX facilities, and large-scale bicycle advocacy initiatives. Current grants are displayed on their map.

Since 1999, Bikes Belong has awarded over 200 grants to municipalities and grassroots groups in 46 states and the District of Columbia, investing nearly $2 million in community bicycling projects and leveraging federal, state, and private funding. Bikes Belong is a CO-based organization sponsored by the U.S. bicycle industry with nearly 400 members who are bicycle suppliers and retailers.

3,200 mile mission

A group of med students are planning a 3,200 mile cross-the-US bike tour to raise funds for Heal Africa and World Bicycle Relief.

World Bicycle Relief was founded in 2005 in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami and provides bicycles to villagers to make it easier for children to get to school, help adults carry more goods to market, and provide an easier method for health-care workers to travel to villages where they educate the people on disease prevention, such as HIV/AIDS.

Ride for World Health (R4WH) is a national, nonprofit organization which advocates for improvements in the quality and accessibility of global healthcare. Each year, by utilizing a cross-country bike ride as a vehicle of communication, R4WH addresses this issue through political advocacy, fundraising and its unique Coast-to-Coast Lecture Series.