Ninety-five organizations and over 1,250 people participated in the 2005 Bicycle Commuter Challenge making it the largest ever in Chicagoland. Organizations throughout Northeastern Illinois competed to see who could get the highest percentage of employees to ride their bicycle for at least part of their work commute during the week of June 11-17. Four of the nine category winners are new to the top spot for 2005.

With a 27% increase in organizational participation over 2004, the Bicycle Commuter Challenge continues to grow at a rapid pace, up from 28 organizations in 2001. First time category winners for 2005 include the American Bar Association and NetworkChicago. Returning to the leader board after a one-year hiatus are The Village of Oak Park and Chicago Athlete Magazine. Repeat winners from 2004 include US Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago Area Transportation Study, Center for Neighborhood Technology, the Pepper Group and SRAM.

The University of Illinois at Chicago achieved the highest number of participants with 94 while the Pepper Group and Chicago Athlete Magazine each achieved a 100% level of participation. The tightest competition was in the Business/Non-profit 100-499 employee group where NetworkChicago's 10.5% participation level was just half of one percent ahead of Perkins + Will who was less than .5% ahead of three time defending champion University of Chicago Press.

The second annual Bicycle Commuter Challenge Awards Luncheon presented by SRAM (www.sram.com), Chicago's hometown bicycle component manufacturer and the Fairmont Chicago, one of Chicago's finest hotels will be held July 29 at the Fairmont Chicago. Team leaders from all participating organizations, sponsors and media are invited to attend this Luncheon that will honor all participants while giving special recognition to the category winners.

Prizes will also be awarded to individuals from sponsors including: SRAM, The Fairmont Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Planet Bike, Clif Bar, CTA and Eli's Cheesecake.

For complete results see www.biketraffic.org.

2005 Category Winners:
Public Agency
500+ US Environmental Protection Agency
100-499 Village of Oak Park
25-99 Chicago Area Transportation Study

Business/Non-profit
500+ American Bar Association
100-499 NetworkChicago - 98.7 WFMT & WTTW 11
25-99 Center for Neighborhood Technology
5-24 The Pepper Group

Bicycle Related Business
24-99 SRAM
5-24 Chicago Athlete Magazine