Riders Travel More Than 11,000 Miles and Burn More Than 300,000 Calories During the Two Weeks of the Games
It wasn’t just the athletes getting exercise at this year’s National Senior Games in Palo Alto, Calif. Over the 15 days of the games, Humana’s Freewheelin bicycle-sharing program recorded more than 2,400 rides in excess of 11,000 miles. Humana, a leading health benefits company and the presenting sponsor of the Senior Games, teamed with the city of Palo Alto to provide 120 bikes for use during the games.
Throughout the two weeks of the Senior Games, Freewheelin riders accumulated these amazing numbers:
More than 40 percent of Freewheelin users were repeat riders. The average distance per rider was 4.6 miles, which made for a good workout and an environmentally friendly transportation alternative. But the enthusiasm for Freewheelin goes beyond the statistics. Here’s what we heard from Marcia Pearson from San Diego, Calif., a women’s basketball player, about Freewheelin:
“I just wanted to let someone know what a wonderful program Humana provided at the Senior Games in Palo Alto,” she said. “I thoroughly enjoyed riding a bike around the Stanford campus for three days. … Now that I am about to retire, I want to get that kind of bike (auto shifter) for sure.”
“The success of the Freewheelin program in Palo Alto for the games shows just how much potential there is for bike sharing in the United States,” said David A. Jones Jr., Humana’s chairman and a bronze medalist in his age group in the triathlon at this year’s games. “We exceeded our mileage goal by more than 3,000 miles so that tells me that plenty of people were excited by the chance to get out and about on two wheels. Freewheelin has been a hit everywhere we’ve taken it so it’s gratifying to see so many people engaged in an active lifestyle.”
During the Senior Games, Humana provided 75 bicycles and the City of Palo Alto provided 45 bikes. Helmets, bike locks and the bicycles were all provided free of charge during the games.
“Freewheelin was a tremendous success at the games,” said Phil Godfrey, National Senior Games Association president and CEO. “There were many occasions where every bike was checked out. I saw groups of attendees biking miles from the Stanford University campus and enjoying the sites. Thanks to our partners at Humana for bringing this innovative and fun program to the games.”
Freewheelin’s Road to Success
In 2008, Humana and the bicycle-advocacy group Bikes Belong took 1,000 bicycles to each of the national political conventions. Over eight days, riders in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul took more than 7,500 rides, pedaled nearly 42,000 miles, burned 1.3 million calories and reduced their carbon footprint by 14.6 metric tons. It was such a success that Humana decided to keep the Freewheelin program rolling … later taking it to other events, and bringing it to the National Senior Games.
Bike-sharing is the international social movement where bikes are situated at designated stations throughout cities for individuals to use for a specified amount of time. It is a viable transportation alternative for those who prefer an environmentally friendly, cost-effective and healthy means of traveling, especially for short trips. Freewheelin is one of a number of initiatives Humana is developing to encourage people to have fun and get active, including everything from rewards for walking to video games that promote exercise.
Humana pioneered the bike-sharing program in 2007 in Louisville for its nearly 10,000 Louisville associates. The initiative focuses on fun as well as health by encouraging people to get on a bike and ride with friends. Twenty-one percent of those riding at Humana were not previously involved in exercise activity.
Source: Business Wire