Clif Bar challenges people to ride bycicles to fight global warming

LAS VEGAS Clif Bar has issued a public “2 Mile Challenge,” imploring people to leave their cars behind and instead ride bicycles for trips of less than two miles, and is taking that challenge on tour to more than 10 college campuses during October and November in a biodiesel bus 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,” stated Gary Erickson, Clif Bar co-founder. “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.”

In addition to bike gear for campuses, Clif Bar is donating $5,000 to WorldBike, 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.

The campuses include Arizona State University, Gonzaga University, Northern Arizona University, Santa Clara University, San Diego State University, University of Idaho, University of Utah, University of Oregon, University of Reno, Nevada, University of Washington, Utah State University and Washington State University.