Reid Wegley |
Dean Mayer |
Wed, September 26 2007 - Clif® Bar Issues “2 Mile Challenge”™ to Put The Brakes on Climate Change
Energy Bar Born on a Bike Offers Simple Solutions Encouraging People to Trade Their Cars for Bicycles on Short Trips
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 26, 2007—Clif Bar & Co. owner and founder Gary Erickson, whose epiphany during a 175-mile bike ride started the energy bar company, today urged people of all ages to take the “2 Mile Challenge,” leaving their cars behind and using their natural energy instead to ride bicycles for trips two miles or less.
Clif Bar will take the 2 Mile Challenge on tour to about 15 stops this fall in a biodiesel bus loaded with interactive exhibits, videos, commuter bicycles and accessories. All displays are designed to showcase the benefits and ease of selecting bikes over cars for short trips to help in the fight against global warming. Clif Bar will also donate $25,000 worth of bike gear and other cycling accessories to campuses and communities to help jump start the 2 Mile Challenge among students and the general public.
“Forty percent of urban trips in the United States are two miles or less, but people use their cars nearly 90 percent of the time for those short jaunts,” Erickson explained. “If we simply rode bikes for those two-mile trips, we’d get in shape, unclog our roads and spare the planet from millions of tons of car-belching carbon emissions, the leading cause of global climate change.”
An avid cyclist and outdoor athlete, Erickson said, “Climate change is the greatest threat to the places where we play.” Biking is one small change, but he noted that Clif Bar’s use of organic ingredients is similarly designed to reduce climate change. “In addition to protecting the health of people and the planet, organic farming uses less energy than conventional agriculture practices, which contribute greatly to climate change,” Erickson said.
The Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge kicks off here today with an unveiling of the biodiesel bus at Interbike, North America’s largest bicycle trade show. The 35-foot bus begins its trek tomorrow to college
campuses, farmers’ markets and outdoor environments where students will be able to walk through it and:
- Build a customized Google map to identify local shops, restaurants and other hotspots within a 2 mile radius of their homes
- See the latest commuter bikes available
- Pledge to take their own 2 Mile Challenge—everything from simply getting a bike to becoming an advocate for more safe bike routes in their community
In addition to bike gear for campuses, Clif Bar is donating $5,000 to WorldBike (http://www.worldbike.org), an international network of bicycle designers and industry leaders working together to provide transportation solutions and income-generating opportunities for the world’s developing countries. “Clif Bar is one of the few companies that understand the power of the bicycle as a practical solution to help slow global warming,” said WorldBike founder Kipchoge Spencer, who will take part in the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge. “The 2 Mile Challenge will hopefully inspire more people to create bike-friendly lifestyles and communities, which will benefit our planet and every one of us in the long run.”
The Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge is slated to visit the following campuses (schools and dates subject to change; visit http://www.2milechallenge.com for up-to-date information):
October 2: Northern Arizona University
October 3: Arizona State University
October 5: San Diego State University
October 6: Santa Monica Pier
October 9: Santa Clara University
October 13: Davis Farmers Market
October 15: University of Reno, Nevada
October 18: Utah State University
October 19: University of Utah
October 20: REI, Salt Lake City
October 23: University of Idaho
October 24: Gonzaga University
October 26: Washington State University
October 30: University of Washington
November 2: REI, Seattle
November 3: University of Oregon
Like-minded companies supporting this tour include Dahon Bicycles, Electra and Xtracycle, all of which will be showcasing their bikes at each stop. The 2 Mile Challenge tour staff will be clothed by environmentally conscious sportswear designer Prana, and guests of the tour will be entertained with performances by eco-friendly musicians the Ginger Ninjas and Fossil Fool.
About Clif Bar’s Natural Energy Tour Series
The Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge is part of the ongoing Clif Bar Natural Energy Tour, designed to inform and inspire people about using their natural energy to create simple changes to fight climate change and protect the places where we play. Previous Clif Bar Natural Energy Tour efforts included: the ‘Save Our Snow Tour’ with Alison Gannett, which stressed the impact of climate change on skiing and other outdoor winter activities and the first biodiesel Natural Energy Tour during the summer of 2005.
http://www.2milechallenge.com
About Clif Bar & Co.
Clif Bar & Co. (http://www.clifbar.com) is a leading maker of all-natural and organic energy and nutrition foods and drinks, including the CLIF® BAR energy bar and LUNA®, The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women. Focused on great food and sustainability, Clif Bar & Co. works diligently to reduce its footprint on the planet from the field to the final product.
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