WATERLOO, WI (BRAIN)—Trek Bicycle Corporation has become the first national sponsor for Freiker, Inc., a bike to school program based in Boulder, Colorado.
Through its 1 World 2 Wheels initiative, Trek has made a major grant to Freiker— short for frequent biker—, which will be used to expand its program to communities and school systems to help get more kids riding bikes to school.
“With Trek’s support, we’ll be able to expand into more communities across the country resulting in more riding, fewer car trips, and healthier kids,” said Zach Noffsinger, Freiker’s executive director. “Trek is to be commended for making a no?strings?attached gift. They share our vision and we’re grateful for their support.”
“This is exactly the sort of program 1 World 2 Wheels is proud to support,” said Rebecca Anderson, Trek’s director of advocacy. “It gets kids riding, provides measurable results, and energizes the school community. I’ve seen it work, and it’s terrific.”
Freiker is a technology?enabled program that has been operating for the past four years at several schools in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado, with participating students making more than 27,000 round trips to school in 2008.
This year, Freiker has added programs in Madison, Wisconsin and Eugene, Oregon.
Freiker provides an automated and reliable method of counting each ride, tracking results and distributing incentive awards to riders.
The Freiker technology consists of the Freikometer (a solar?powered radio frequency identification reader mounted on a post at the school yard), chips attached to each rider’s bike helmet and the freiker.org website. A rider cruises under the Freikometer, which identifies the student and wirelessly uploads data to the Freiker website, where participants can track progress toward their riding goals.
Freiker has also earned funding through the national Safe Routes to School program.
