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WTTW National Productions and APT are pleased to announce the May 5, 2012 release of Pedal America. The seven-part series of half-hours is being released just in time for May's National Bicycle Month.
Bicycles are everywhere on our streets today. And we share our roads and recreational areas with bicyclists in bright attire who sometimes fascinate and inspire us to try out what they're doing. This, the very first and only series on bicycling on public television, is long overdue as interest in green living increases and riders, drivers and pedestrians alike have much to learn about safety, repair, bikeways and sharing the road. Pedal America's host, Ira David Levy, and co-host, Kati Lightholder, are just the fun-&-bike-loving experts to take us on this journey.
Part travel and part how-to, Pedal America visits beautiful places around the U.S., locales that take pride in being bicycle-friendly. Each 30-minute episode emphasizes wellness, bicycle safety and reducing climate change as it highlights bicycling's culture. In the first season, viewers see bicycle-friendly Austin, TX; Raystown Lake, PA; Savannah, GA; Napa Valley, CA; Chicago, IL; Sedona, AZ and Tampa & St. Petersburg, FL.
Pedal America educates, inspires and encourages riders of all ages to rediscover the basic joys of cycling through national parks and in urban areas. The series showcases the best and safest routes, the development of bike trails, bicycle repair and maintenance, ways to make cycling less intimidating, and personal stories about how bicycling has transformed lives.
Here are the program descriptions for Pedal America:
#101 - "Let's Keep It Weird" - Austin,Texas
Austinites don't just party, they celebrate with bicycles to give added value to the city's motto "Let's Keep It Weird." Ira David hails Austin as a bicycle-friendly city when he visits a bicycle zoo and pedals in a bicycle parade. Journey along the Lance Armstrong Bikeway and Trail at Lady Bird Lake. A visit to Austin's Yellow Bike Project teaches the role bicycles can play in giving back to the community.
#102 - "In Search of the Raystown Ray" - Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania
Learn the story of The Allegrippis Trail System at Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania as Ira David introduces mountain biking to beginners while hoping to catch a glimpse of this town's version of the Loch Ness Monster.
#103 - "Y'all Pedal and Eat Now!" -Savannah, Georgia
Ira David tours southern Americana in historic Savannah, Georgia. Pedal around the city's architectural squares and visit The Wormsloe Historic Site, Bonaventure Cemetery, and Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for authentic southern fare; plus, a look at the city's initiatives that helped to earn itself "bicycle-friendly" status from the League of American Bicyclists.
#104 - "Bike the Vine" -Napa Valley,California
Come for the wine, but stay for the cycling. From Calistoga to the city of Napa, Ira David pedals his way along wineries and art museums to showcase Napa Valley as a family-friendly bicycling destination.
#105 - "From Liquor Bottle to Water Bottle" - Chicago, Illinois
Ira David pedals along The Windy City's magnificent lakefront and downtown neighborhoods to show why Chicago is consistently ranked among the top five bicycling towns in North America. Stops include Museum Campus, Soldier Field, and the Lookingglass Theatre Company. Also, meet one Chicago resident, a former chain smoker and alcoholic, who traded in his liquor bottles for water bottles when he discovered the benefits of bicycling.
#106 - "Women of Red Rock" - Sedona, Arizona
It took 230 million years for Sedona, Arizona to surface from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, but its receding waters left behind a spectacular field of red rock vortexes that many claim heal and cleanse the body. Ira David pedals his road and mountain bike through the Bellrock Pathway and Mystic Trail to learn why women who visit Sedona choose never to leave and the role the vortexes and cycling have played in their newly-found lifestyles. Learn about gear and apparel unique to women who bike.
#107 - "Living in Harmony" - Tampa & St. Petersburg, Florida
Ira David addresses the more serious issue of why this now "bicycle-friendlier" city was plagued with bicycle fatalities in 2009 and how the city responded to create a dramatic increase in tolerance and understanding between cyclists and motor vehicle operators.
Pedal America is produced by Out-Write Media in association with Luminair and presented by WTTW National Productions. The series is distributed by APT (Exchange). It is underwritten by Subaru, Hillshire Farm/Jimmy Dean and Better Oats Cereal. Local underwriting is permissible.
Please contact me if you have questions. I'll be in touch with you about your carriage plans during the next months. Or, when you know them, please zap them over to me. A fact sheet follows.
Very truly yours,
Regina
Regina Eisenberg
R Eisenberg Presents
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