Freewheelin Underway (and the Convention part over)

“Congressmen Announce the Arrival of Freewheelin, a bike sharing initiative sponsored by Humana and Bikes Belong, at this year’s Democratic and Republican National Conventions.”  (L to R:  Rep. Thomas Petri; Rep. Zach Wamp; Rep. Earl Blumenauer; Tim Blumenthal, Bikes Belong; and Heidi Margulis, Humana). Photo by Lauren Victoria Burke

Power to the Pedal!  Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (second from right) joins with Minneapolis, MN Mayor R.T. Rybak, Republican National Convention host (first from right); Tim Blumenthal, Executive Director of advocacy group Bikes Belong (second from left) and Nate Kvamme, Humana (first from left) to kick off Freewheelin, the nation’s largest bike sharing program.  1,000 bikes will be available free at the Democratic National Convention, and will also be available in Minneapolis/St. Paul for the Republican National Convention.  Organizers are attempting to secure 10,000 bike rides and accumulate 25,000 miles to illustrate the benefit of bicycling for personal and environmental health.  Photo by Barry Staver

I've written about "Freewheelin'" the bike sharing program at the Democratic and Republican conventions before here and here and here. Since then, the program has gone live in both Denver and St. Paul.

The Fix put the bikes at the top of his top 5 things to love about Denver

Free bikes.  Yes, you read that right. Free bike stations are dotted around the city in a program called "Freewheelin'" (how awesome is that!).

The Post's Dana Milbank also gave them a try even if he didn't get that this was not a purely Democratic activity.

the party sought the harmonizing force of nature: It turned the convention into a display of politically correct exercises in planet saving...[convention-goers] were offered free loaner bicycles and "carbon-free parking" for their two wheels.

A short ride from the convention center on a carbon-free loaner bike...

Watch the video for more. Trail Blazer had some on-site coverage

Ann-Marie Luciano, an Obama delegate for Maryland's 6th District, doesn't normally cycle but says she'll saddle up in Denver. "The hotel I'm staying at is 20 minutes from the convention. ... It would be perfect." For Virginia House Delegate Jeff Frederick, it's a tad more complicated. As chairman of the state's Republican Party, he's provided a car, yet he's also an avid cyclist. "I've got events coming out of my ears," he admits. "I wouldn't mind if I had an opportunity to go do whatever I wanted to do. It would be great to take a bike and cruise around a little bit."

Here are some numbers from Denver via the Bike-sharing blog.

"riders took 5,552 Freewheelin rides this week, logging 26,493 miles ridden in and around downtown Denver. That equals 821,304 calories burned and a carbon-footprint reduction of 9.3 metric tones. The rides/miles goal for the DNC and RNC combined is 10,000 rides and 25,000 miles; riders in Denver have already eclipsed the miles goal."

So way more miles per ride than maybe they'd planned.

I can't help but think those numbers would be better if the hours stretched longer than from 7am to 7pm, but I guess the bikes don't have lights.

I have a friend volunteering at one of the booths in St. Paul and Here's his overall assessment:

- The check-in process was slow, and they needed an ID and a credit card.  I don't see how bike sharing can work unless it's as simple as swiping your credit card and clicking yes to the waiver on a screen. The waiver part was easy as they had a touch screen laptop, but the whole thing with the ID and punching in the driver's license number took too long.
- The bike selection was pretty good.  They had the Trek Limes, a single speed Schwinn that I'd never seen, and another single speed with disc brakes.  I tried the latter, and it was zippy and stopped on a dime.
- They didn't have the widest selection of sizes.  I couldn't find a 21" for the bike I rode.  It seemed that there were 3 or 4 different sizes of bikes.
- Each bike had a handlebar bag, which was big enough to be functional. It could also hold the cable lock that they provided.  Naturally, they also provided helmets, which they sprayed a Lysol equivalent into when riders checked in.

All in all, it seemed to be working.  They also had a real demonstration rack of an actual sharing program, and that was exciting.

Check out the cool drive train

And the nice map

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by tgsample