Trek announces major new support for bicycle advocacy

John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle Corporation, this past Monday announced an ambitious new advocacy program during Trek World, its dealer event held at the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin.

Burke asked retailers to participate in the One World, Two Wheels program that will directly fund the efforts of the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) and the Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) program of the League of American Bicyclists.

Trek will donate to IMBA $10 for every full-suspension bike sold, for a minimum of $600,000 over the next three years. Trek also will donate $1 per helmet to BFC, for a minimum of $1 million over the next three years. Burke said Trek will also provide ads, brochures, T-shirts, billboards and signage in support of the projects.

Burke urged bicycle dealers to help achieve the goal of increasing trips in the US from one percent to five percent in the next 10 years (by Trek World 2017).

"[This announcement] follows on from John Burke's presentations at the National Bike Summit and Taipei bike show, where he challenged the industry to spend more of their marketing dollars on advocacy," said Andy Clarke, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. "Rather than waiting for the industry to do this collectively, he decided Trek should take a leadership role and get on with it. Hopefully others will follow suit."

Clarke noted that the $1.6 million contribution to the BFC and IMBA programs (over three years) isn't being tacked on to the price of the bikes and helmets to dealers or consumers. "Trek described it as a tax on themselves," Clarke said.

You can read more about the One World Two Wheels program here.