SACRAMENTO - Beginning May 1 residents of the Sacramento Region can log their bicycling miles for the Million-Mile Month Challenge. Local residents and organizations in the Sacramento Region have joined together to collectively ride one million miles in the month of May. So far over 1,300 people have registered and have pledged over 230,000 miles.

Commute miles, recreation miles, training miles, errands all count towards the goal, and can be easily tracked at www.bikecommuteweek.com. Local celebrities including elected officials, business and civic leaders, and media personalities, such as Melissa Crowley, news anchor KXTV-10 and Matt Mahood, President and CEO of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, have signed up to participate in the challenge and their individual results can be viewed on the website. Anyone who registers and pledges to ride at least 50 miles in May receives a free t-shirt.

Terry Tamminen, Cabinet Secretary for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, originated the idea for the Million-Mile Month Challenge. "In addition to being fun and healthy activity, bicycling is a tremendous force in addressing air quality and traffic congestion woes faced in the Sacramento region and throughout the State of California," he said.

The Million-Mile Month Challenge is one of the many regional activities taking place in conjunction with the Sacramento Region Bike Commute Week, May 16-22.

"Bicycling is a healthy exercise that helps us maintain our physical and mental fitness," said Tamminen. "I invite all of you to join me commuting by bicycle during 'Bike Commute Week."

A key promotional tool for these regional activities is a user-friendly web site, www.bikecommuteweek.com. This website informs the public about local bike events and the benefits of using bicycling as an alternative mode of transportation and is where cyclists can log their miles.

"Million Mile Month is really an event for everyone, and promotes alternative transportation for healthier living, decreased traffic congestion, and improved air quality," said Ted Gaines, Chair of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Board of Directors. Gaines and Rusty Dupray, SACOG Board Director and El Dorado County Supervisor, are co-chairs of the Sacramento Region Bike Commute Week campaign.

"Joint efforts such as Bike Commute Week unite us as a region in our goal for providing and promoting convenient and accessible alternative transportation routes," said Dupray.

The Sacramento Region Bike Commute Week and the Million-Mile Month Challenge are sponsored in part by Sacramento Region 511, Applebee's, UC Davis Transportation and Parking Services, UC Davis Health Systems, Bicycles Plus, and the Regional Rideshare Partnership.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments is the transportation planning and funding agency for the six-county Sacramento region. SACOG provides a dynamic forum for regional transportation planning and collaboration in the greater Sacramento region.

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