Kansas City's Bike Week wraps up--participation doubled in 2008

Bike Week Photos

MoBikeFed Board Member Eric Rogers played a key role in developing the web site for and promoting Kansas City's Bike Week 2008. The Liberty Tribune covered Bike Week 2008, which included over 60 events across the metro area and doubled participation in this year's Car Free Challenge:

Hundreds of residents from across the Kansas City area left their automobiles in the driveway last week, opting instead to put on their walking shoes, grease up their bike chains and locate the nearest bus stop as part of the Missouri Bicycle Federation’s annual Car-Free Challenge.

Eric Rogers of the Missouri Bicycle Federation said the event set an all-time high for the number of registered participants, more than doubling last year’s turnout from 400 to about 900. The challenge was to log as many miles as possible during the week-long competition, from work commutes to routine errands, using non-vehicular modes of transportation. Rogers said the simple fact that more people signed up for the competition this year was a sign that other transportation options were being more widely considered.

“In general, there is a much higher interest in alternative forms of transportation,” Rogers said. “As you get closer to $4 a gallon for gas, I think people are at a point where they’re more willing to start considering other options.”

Rogers said the Missouri Bicycle Federation partnered with the city of Kansas City and the Mid-America Regional Council to host the event, which awarded an array of prizes to the winning participants. For many who got involved with the challenge, however, the true reward was being part of the greater effort to alleviate gas expenditures and benefit the environment.

Photos of from the week are online, including the Kansas City, MO, Bicycle Friendly Community press conference with Mayor Funkhouser, the Kansas City Ride of Silence, the "Grand Closing" of the Cliff Drive Car Free Weekend program, Kansas City's wrapped "Bike There-Walk There" bus, the Bike Week Wrap Party, and more.