The League announced our third annual Bicycle Friendly State (BFS) rankings last week to coincide with Bike to Work Week. At the top of the list are: 1. Washington 2. Wisconsin 3. Maine 4. Minnesota 5. Oregon. This marks the third year in a row that Washington has finished first in the ranking, and the second year Alabama has come in last. The lowest scoring states ranked 46 through 50 are: 46. New Mexico 47. West Virginia 48. Montana 49. North Dakota 50. Alabama. Learn more about the BFS rankings.

The League, along with its partners in the America Bikes Coalition, would like to thank Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Lieberman (I-CT) on the introduction of the American Power Act. We are excited that they have included policy necessary to lay the foundation to make significant advances in addressing the impact of transportation on our climate, energy dependence and mobility. Read more.

America Bikes, Safe Routes to School, and Transportation for America will bike over to thank Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood for his public support for bicyclists on Friday, May 28th at 1:30 p.m. We will be handing over a thank you sign, complete with signatures of local cyclists. If you are in the area and would like to ride over with us, please contact Caron Whitaker at America Bikes.

The First Lady's childhood obesity task force released their report today and it includes a recommendation for including complete streets in the transportation reauthorization! Read the report here. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood also covered the story on the FastLane, and reiterated the USDOT's support for complete streets.

Check out the nationwide success of Bike to Work Week and Day events. All over the country, regular automobile commuters parked their cars and rode their bikes to work, proving that biking to work is easy and fun. Read our blog to get a peek at Bike to Work Day from east to west coast.

The League's National Rally is this June 3-6! We are teaming up with the Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico and will ride to honor Gail Ryba, founder of the Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico. Join cyclists from across the country for three days of riding through the colorful and historic New Mexican terrain. This is a great chance to ride with League members and bicycle enthusiasts. Find out more.

Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2010, held September 13-16 in Chattanooga, Tenn., will provide a learning experience for advocates and professionals working on policy and programs in every kind of community, at every level of government and with non-government organizations. Registration is available at bikewalk.org. Act now, discounted early bird registration ends on May 31, 2010.

The 10th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities Conference, will be February 3-5, 2011 in Charlotte, N.C. Join leaders from across the U.S. and learn from hundreds of speakers who cross disciplines to share insights, and valuable tools and strategies for making smart growth a success in your community. Visit www.NewPartners.org to get more details.

While much of the Leaque's support comes from specialty retailers and brands, we're encouraged to see that the world's largest retailer is making something of Bike Month. WalMart (yes, Walmart) is promoting Bike Month offers in its stores and online. When we can get major corporations to help spread the good word about biking, that's important progress. ~Thanks to Mark Graff from smartetailing.com for providing this news article.