Meet Eric Bjorling, also known as “Hootie” to all his colleagues and friends. Bjorling, 25, is a promotional wizard, all around team player and he was the mastermind behind “Project M,” also known as the launch of One World, Two Wheels.

It was August 2007 in Madison, Wisconsin and all Trek staff were anticipating John Burke’s first presentation of the One World, Two Wheels program. No one more so than Hootie who was given the task of assembling, storing and transporting 1,000 Lime bikes for the dealer show. Mille is Latin for thousand, thus “Project M.”

The presentation was a hit — it ended with a standing ovation at the news of Trek’s pledge of $1,000,000 to the Bicycle Friendly Community program and $600,000 to International Mountain Bike Association. At the end of the presentation, Burke surprised the 1,000 dealers in attendance by telling them they could opt to ride a bike to the off site dinner location. All 1,000 dealers took to the streets of Madison led by Burke himself. It was a school of cyclists, moving in a long, winding line down East Washington stretching at least a kilometer long.

When asked how he felt upon taking on Project M, Hootie had this to say: “The first thing I thought was ‘I’m going to need a whole lot of aspirin.’ The second thought was of who I was going to have to get to help me complete the tasks. You can do anything if you have the right team.”

There were a few hitches along the way but Bjorling is a problem solver. Building, storing and moving 1,000 bikes and helmets brought a few challenges but an even bigger one was getting the permit for the ride. True to form, Bjorling found good partners.

“I cannot send enough love to the Madison Police Department, said Bjorling. The route we took was revised because the Midwest Shriners were having a parade nearby at the same time. I had these horrible visions of a mini-car/camel/bicycle pile up but in the end, the camels were the least of our worries. The Police were patient with our riders and riding at night with a police escort through the city was something I’ll never forget. Everybody we worked with at the city offfices was great.”

The entire Trek company of dealers and employees could not have been prouder at the accomplishment of Bjorling which made the launch of One World, Two Wheels one of a kind. Thanks, Hootie.

To read about the launch of the One World, Two Wheels program from a Trek staffer who blogged about the launch, click here: http://bicycledesign.blogspot.com/2007/08/1000-limes.html

If you’d like to follow Hootie’s adventures, click on his blog”Life in the Bike Lane.” Check it out here: http://trekbikes.typepad.com/rec_and_fitness/2008/02/tag-backs.html

James Oberstar, a member of the U.S. Congress, has been the driving force behind legislation that created Rails-to-Trails and Safe Routes to Schools, initiatives that are now growing in communities across America.

Oberstar keeps a bike in his Washington apartment to use when he’s at his D.C. office and he has several at his Minnesota home. Most weekends he can be found at charity rides talking and mixing with his constituents and encouraging them on the ride.

Oberstar has led an evolution of thinking among his congressional colleagues in Washington; thinking that includes bicycles in transportation bills, bikes in city street planning and safe routes to schools.

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Say Louisville and immediately the Kentucky Derby comes to mind. The city is known world wide for hosting the “most exciting two minutes in sports.” While the Derby and Louisville are well over a century old, the city has stayed fresh by welcoming new ideas and no one personifies that more than the city’s mayor, Jerry Abrahamson.

Two years ago, Abrahamson set a goal of making Louisville a Bicycle Friendly Community, the designation given by the League of American Bicyclists. Louisville applied and earned the designation of a “Bronze” community.

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David Enigenberg, owner of the Trek Store of Schereville, Indiana, got some great news in November.

After three years of building support for a bike path to connect Schereville to the neighboring town of Crown Point the Indiana DOT announced that Crown Point and Schererville would receive a combined $1.5 million from the Indiana Department of Transportation for multi-use trails. The project also includes signage, landscaping, a gateway shelter and parking.

Enigenberg was on cloud nine when he got the news. “I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to give up.” His persistence in showing up and speaking up for the trail at meetings and lobbying for the trail paid off. The trail will run near schools, shopping and business so kids and adults will be able to ride or walk the trail to get to work or school.

Enigenberg isn’t stopping at this trail and plans to continue to advocate for cycling whenever he can.