More Than 130 Cyclists And Thousands Of Supporters Take The Message Of A New Energy Future On The Road

Online, May 10, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The 4th annual Brita Climate Ride NYC-DC 2011, to be held May 13-17, will see more than 130 cyclists pedal from New York City to Washington DC. The 5-day, 300 mile cycling adventure is designed to raise funds for sustainable solutions and hard-working environmental organizations. The ride features some of the best and brightest minds working in the areas of sustainability, renewable energy and bicycle advocacy. Climate Ride is known as the 'green conference on wheels' because participants pedal 60-70 miles during each day, and then attend speaking events each evening along the route.

"We are so proud of the people who signed up to participate", said Caeli Quinn, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Climate Ride. "We are facing very serious long-term environmental issues and they are on the frontlines of helping tackle these problems. We are very impressed by the strong support everyone has generated in their communities. Now it's time for them to pedal 300 miles to Capitol Hill to demand action be taken to secure our energy future. I'm thrilled the ride is ready to roll - every year it's the most inspiring 5-day cycling event in the world."

Climate Ride is garnering more and more attention each year including an award in 2011 for 'Best in Green Travel' from leading green news outlet TreeHugger. "Climate Ride is a truly unique charitable cycling event because of our nightly speaker series, our focus on 'treading lightly' as we travel down the East Coast, and our innovative support of a collection on nonprofit environmental and bike advocacy organizations," said Geraldine Carter, Co-Founder of Climate Ride. "Climate Ride is the first to take the charitable bicycling event model and apply it to support green causes on a national scale."

The ride begins at 9:30 am on Friday, May 13, at DCTV (87 Lafayette St) in New York City, the start of a 300 mile journey that will culminate with an en masse ride up Constitution Avenue to Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Hundreds of cyclists are expected to join the Climate Riders for the final 3 miles to the Capitol. Brita Climate Ride NYC-DC 2011 benefits a collection of eight hardworking environmental and bicycle-related nonprofits including: Green America, 350.org, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Climate Counts, 1% For the Planet, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and Transportation Alternatives.

Brita Climate Ride features world-class cycling and a diverse speaker series each evening (open to the public). Speakers include famed environmentalist and founder of 350.org Bill Mckibben; Michael Lemonick, former science writer at TIME with over 50 cover stories; author and environmental journalist Eugene Linden; and renewable energy expert and Center for American Progress senior fellow Bracken Hendricks. See the complete speaker series at: http://www.climateride.org/rides/expert-speaker-series/. Climate Ride will also shine the light on bike advocacy. Leaders in bike issues from nationally recognized organizations like Transportation Alternatives (NYC), Washington Area Bicycle Association (DC), and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy will discuss the crucial role bicycles play in helping the U.S. decrease its energy independence.

Full carbon offsets for the participants, hybrid support vehicles, and low-waste catering are a few of the innovative measures that Climate Ride has successfully implemented. Thanks to Brita, once again the title sponsor, the riders are supplied with Brita filtered water and limited-edition FilterForGood Nalgene bottles ensuring there are no disposable bottled water containers along the route.

Registration for the upcoming Climate Ride California 2011 (Eureka to San Francisco - Oct 2-6, 2011) is now open at www.climateride.org. Registration for the 2012 Climate Ride NYC-DC will open in June. Registration includes a personal fundraising web page, training support and access to a nationwide network of Climate Riders and eco-heroes. The ride includes a cycling jersey, accommodations, luggage transfer, road support, meals, bike mechanics, expert guides and the nightly expert speaker series. Each participant pays a registration fee of $75 and then raises at least $2,400 to participate in either ride.

About Climate Ride

Climate Ride was founded to inspire and empower citizens to work toward a new energy future. Climate Ride events raise money for a collection of eight innovative organizations including Green America, 350.org, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Climate Counts, 1% For the Planet, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and Transportation Alternatives. For more information, please visit www.climateride.org or call 406.871.5477. Videos, photos and blogs can be viewed at www.climateride.org/rides/experience-the-ride/.

About Brita FilterForGood

Each year, Americans purchase billions of plastic water bottles. Aside from the environmental impact of all that waste, Americans are spending a great deal on bottled water. In 2007, Brita launched the FilterForGood campaign, which encourages people to reduce their bottled water waste by switching to reusable bottles filled with filtered water. Since 2007, more than 212,000 people have taken the pledge to reduce their bottled water waste, keeping an estimated 220 million disposable bottles out of landfills. Visit filterforgood.com to learn how you can make a difference.

Contact: Caeli Quinn, Co-Founder and Director, Climate Ride, 406.871.5477, [email protected] or
Tim O'Bayley, O'Bayley Communications, 760.778.3525, [email protected]

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