Transportation Secretary Ray LaHaood's remarkable streak of promoting bicycling and walking continues today in anticipation of mass car and plane travel this Fourth of July holiday weekend. The Secretary writes on his blog about the U.S. Bicycle Route System, which our friends at the Adventure Cycling Association have been working on with the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) since 2005. The planned nationwide network of routes and trails will connect communities all over the country, creating alternatives to car travel and countless recreational opportunities. Read more here.

Copenhagen, the host of Velo-City Global last week, more than lives up to its self-proclaimed title as the City of Cyclists. Almost four out of ten trips in the Danish capital are made by bicycle. To understand the vast amounts of cyclists and the city's ingeniously simple infrastructure, experiencing is believing. Velo-City Global was a varied arrangement of inspirations from the speakers, the location, the case studies, to the examples. The League is charged from the conference and excited to make a national 37 percent mode share for bicyclists in the U.S. a reality. Read our Velo-City blogs here. Check out our pictures from the conference on our Flickr site.

The new Florida Bicycle and Pedestrian Partnership Council, the first official statewide advisory council in Florida since the 1980's, was established this April and is working with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to establish a statewide initiative on bicycle and pedestrian mobility. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Partnership Council will make policy recommendations to FDOT and transportation partners throughout Florida on the state's walking, bicycling and trail facilities. Their mission is to assemble the many different partners needed to make statewide improvements in safety and facilities integration. Florida is currently ranked 12 in the League's Bicycle Friendly State program. Read more about the council here.

The CapCrit, scheduled for Sunday, July 11, is the fifth stop of the nine-race USA CRITS series of professional cycling criteriums. The CapCrit is being staged in support of Washington, D.C.'s bid to host two stages of the 2012 Giro d'Italia. It was the 2008 CapCrit that first attracted the attention of RCS Sports (the owners of the Giro) to consider Washington, D.C. as a potential site for staging the historic start of the Giro outside of Europe.

Dayton, Ohio, a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community, is now the proud city of Ohio's first bicycle hub. The new bike hub includes secure bike storage, showers and lockers. Centrally located for downtown commuters, it also will serve recreational riders. Dayton joins a small list of communities that have bike hub/stations for bicyclists. Washington, D.C. opened a Bike Station last year outside of Union Station. Bike hubs are particularly useful for multi-modal transportation purposes, i.e. biking a portion of your commute to your train or bus stop. Watch Dayton's downtown plan here.

If you are interested in serving on the League Board of Directors, or if you know someone who would be a good representative for cyclists, the League Governance Committee is soliciting recommendations for candidates for the 2011 Board elections.

The Board of Directors govern and set broad policy and direction for the League. Board members serve three-year terms. Starting this year, seven are elected nationally by all League. The Board selects the remaining five seats. Four member-elected and one Board-appointed positions are open for this election. As of press time, three of these elected members, Harry Brull, Jeffrey Lynne, and Hans van Naerssen have decided to run again, and the fourth, Bill Hoffman, is undecided. In addition, the League's Bylaws allow the Board the option to create up to five additional Board seats for a total that may range from the current 12 up to 17.

Learn more about the qualifications to be a League board member and how to apply.

The League is re-launching our Facebook Fan page. Along with the page's updates, we've posted our Ride Better Contest there. Visit our Fan page, "Like" the League, and register to win a Free Trek Allant. Contest Closes on July 12.

Is your business or community bicycle-friendly? Friday, July 16th is the deadline for the next round of BFC and BFB applications. Get it in now to be considered for a September designation.

Apply to be a BFC here.
Apply to be a BFB here.

Yet another great reason to bike commute. A study published this week by the Archives of Internal Medicine reports that "biking, like brisk walking (3+ miles per hour), is associated with less weight gain in women as they approach and enter middle age. And the effects were strongest for women who started out overweight or obese." Source MinnPost.com.

Alta Planning and Design's Portland office is seeking a Senior Planning Manager to manage the Portland Planning Team. Get details about the job here. 

PEDS, a non-profit advocacy group, is looking for a new Pedestrian Safety Program Manager. Details available here.

Smart Growth America is looking for candidates for several job openings. See jobs and details here.

Georgia Bikes! is currently seeking applicants for the position of Executive Director. Click here for details and to apply.

The New Orleans Metro Bicycle Coalition (MBC), a young and growing organization, is seeking its first Executive Director to help improve cycling conditions in the New Orleans area. Details here.