Bike Month

WHEREAS, the bicycle plays an important role in the lives of great numbers of Alabamians by providing a mechanism for travel to work and school and is an increasingly popular form of recreation; and

WHEREAS, AlaBike, Alabama’s bicycling advocacy association, joins the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) to declare the month of May as National Bike Month; May has been designated by LAB as National Bike Month for over fifty years to promote safety of bicyclists; and

WHEREAS, May has been designated as National Bike Month by national, state, and local governments in order to promote greater public awareness of bicycle operations and safety education in an effort to reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities; and

WHEREAS, in addition to walking, bicycling is promoted by schools across Alabama for K-8 students as they bike and walk to school through the Alabama Safe Routes to School program; and

WHEREAS, Alabamians are increasingly using bicycling as a component of an active physically active lifestyle to stay fit, combat obesity and reduce medical conditions and expense resulting from inactivity; and

WHEREAS, Alabama is blessed with beautiful vistas and great roads for cyclists, highly rated trails throughout the state and favorable weather for year-round activity; cycling is good for Alabama’s heath, tourism, economy and environment:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of the State of Alabama, do hereby proclaim May 2014, as

Bike Month

in the state of the Alabama.