Freewheelin

Humana’s Guidance Center in Tamarac, Fla., welcomed a fleet of 18 Freewheelin bikes and one bike station on November 5, 2009. Bicycles will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Riders must present a credit card and a photo ID to check out a bike, but the card won’t be charged, provided that the bike is returned to the Guidance Center by 5 p.m. In order to ensure that our Freewheelers are prepared to ride safely and confidently, all prospective riders must attend a bicycle-safety information session and be fitted for their free helmets and bikes before they embark on their Freewheelin rides.


The Henderson, Nev., Guidance Center received its Freewheelin bike station and 18 bikes on October 27, 2009. Anyone 18 or older can check out a Freewheelin bicycle between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at no cost to them by presenting a valid photo ID and credit card. Freewheelers do not need to be Humana members to check out bikes; helmets are provided for free and locks are available for free usage during the ride. Freewheelers can join in one of the group rides or ride on their own after safety information session.

The Humana Guidance Center in Mesa, Ariz., a community resource that enables Humana to meet people in the community where they live, welcomed their 18-bike Freewheelin station on October 26. In addition to having access to free bikes and riding information, Freewheelers can participate in a variety of scheduled bike rides. Each of the planned bike rides departs from the Humana Guidance Centers, but rides will vary from an easy and scenic route to a longer and more rigorous ride.


In August 2009, the streets of Stanford were filled with bikes…Freewheelin bikes! As the sponsor of the Senior Games, Humana brought 120 Freewheelin bikes and two bike stations to the Palo Alto-based Games for people ages 18 and above to enjoy, free of charge. Over the 15 days of the games, Freewheelers in Palo Alto embarked on more than 2,400 rides and racked up 11,000 miles! Click here to see pictures of the riders, events and bike stations in sunny Palo Alto. Since it was the Senior Games, the bulk of our users were over the age of 60, with many riders in their 80s and 90s!
Listening to riders like Nancy taught us how grateful and appreciative the riders were to have an efficient, easy-to-use way to get around. Fast, free and fun are the words that best describe our seniors’ Freewheelin experiences; proof that age is irrelevant when it comes to truly enjoying and appreciating the Freewheelin experience.

The original bike-sharing pilot, Louisville has been outfitted with upgraded bike stations and newer bike models in early 2009. Instead of the Trek Lime bikes of the original system, Humana has changed it up and surprised its associates with Trek 7100 bikes outfitted with lights and baskets. The stations themselves are extremely user-friendly. The three stations will provide all of Humana’s downtown Louisville-based associates with a chance to enjoy a lunchtime ride or go for a quick spin during a break.

Washington, D.C.’s National Park Service ushered in 2009 with Freewheelin’s B-cycle bikes. The three bike stations, conveniently located near NPS facilities along the Washington Mall, will allow all NPS employees in D.C. to use the bikes to get to meetings, go on a ride to lunch, or simply just ride around for a few minutes while on a break. A quick, free and healthy alternative to D.C. traffic? Sounds like a great way to go!

Freewheelin brought B-cycle to Denver City employees in December of 2008. With two stations, 16 bikes and a reported 300 days of sunshine, we’re sure the bikes will be in high demand. These two stations are located at the E. Webb Building, a convenient location for all City employees. Denver City employees can also monitor their biking stats, as well as see how they, along with their fellow bikers, are helping Denver become a greener and healthier place to live.


Freewheelin rolled into the streets of Louisville at the end of September for Ideafest, a four-day long celebration of creativity and innovation. Ideafest attendees, as well as the Louisville general public, got into the Freewheelin spirit and explored downtown Louisville and its surrounding areas on 250 Freewheelin bikes. Humana’s own Kirk Kandle led many organized Freewheelin rides, and Ideafest Freewheelers of all ages and abilities enjoyed breakfast rides, lunch rides and even a ride across the bridge to Indiana. Humana’s Chairman of the Board, David A. Jones, Jr. challenged riders to take at least 1,000 rides and pedal at least 3,000 miles this week. Did they rise to the challenge?
When all the statistics were gathered, Louisville residents and visitors pedaled over 3,000 miles, burning 93,000 calories in the process. But the ride’s not over. Freewheelin will continue to ride into cities and towns across America, bringing bike-sharing, environmental awareness and healthy living with it. We’ve had so much fun sharing the Freewheelin experience across the country, and we hope you check us out!


	After a fantastic ride in Denver, the bike program traveled to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the Republican National Convention. Minneapolis is a very bike-friendly city, and we discovered that people loved to check out our bikes to take long, leisurely rides. These long, leisurely rides resulted in an impressive 15,141.4 miles ridden. In an act of social awareness and concern for the victims of Hurricane Gustav, Freewheelin, along with the Humana Foundation and Bikes Belong, donated to the American Red Cross $10 for every mile ridden during the RNC, and the 15,414.4 miles ridden allowed us to donate $151,414 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief fund. Seven Freewheelin stations were scattered across Minneapolis and St. Paul in both scenic and urban locations. But beware: the two cities are larger than you think. One of our Freewheelin volunteers learned this the hard way when he tried to pedal from one St. Paul station to another, resulting in nearly an hour-long ride! The Freewheelin word spread quickly, and before we knew it, we had everyone from people
dressed as political mascots to the broadcaster Tom Brokaw checking out our bikes. And that’s not all! Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback lived up to his reputation as “America’s Fittest Mayor” and enjoyed several Freewheelin rides and helped us promote our bikes by organizing a mini-triathlon which showcased our bikes. To experience the Freewheelin spirit from the RNC, click here.


As a result of the partnership between Humana and Bikes Belong,1,000 Freewheelin bikes rolled in to Denver for the Democratic National Convention between August 24 and August 28, and Freewheelers from all parts of the globe amassed some very impressive stats: • Rides: 5,552 • Miles: 26,416 • Calories Burned: 818,899 • Carbon Offset: 9.2 metric tons
Freewheelin volunteers from Humana, Bikes Belong and the City of Denver worked from 7am until 7pm at seven bike stations throughout downtown Denver. In the true spirit of bike-partisanship, people of all political party affiliations were encouraged to ride our bikes, as long as they were 18 or older. Our tireless workers did an excellent job promoting Freewheelin and enjoyed meeting a wide range of new Freewheelers, from well-heeled politicians to a couple dressed as an angel and a devil. Our station at 14th and Wynkoop was memorialized by Boston Globe cartoonist Ward Sutton, who highlighted the program and a Humana volunteer. Clearly, there was never a dull moment in Denver! To see photos of Freewheelin’s week in Denver, click here.