On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Governor Sanders signed HCR1012, to proclaim the month of May as Bike Month in the State of Arkansas.
WHEREAS, the State of Arkansas has not designated a state sport in the law; and
WHEREAS, bicycling is a sport that all Arkansas citizens may enjoy regardless of age or ability level; and
WHEREAS, Arkansas has numerous bicycling trails and routes across the state totaling over two thousand seven hundred (2,700) miles; and
WHEREAS, the USA Cycling announced that the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team will be based in Bentonville in a lead-up to the 2028 Olympics; and
WHEREAS, the League of American Bicyclists has designated Fayetteville, Arkansas a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community, the first in Arkansas and there is one (1) Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community and six (6) Bronze- level Bicycle Friendly Communities in Arkansas; and
WHEREAS, the Adventure Cycling Association designated a one hundred seventy-seven and a half-mile bicycle route from Memphis to Little Rock, as an official United States Bicycle Route (USBR 80) and this path takes cyclists from the Mississippi River in West Memphis to the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock through rural areas and historical downtowns of the Arkansas Delta; and
WHEREAS, the third grade class at Evening Star Elementary School in Bentonville, Arkansas, have worked to get legislation drafted making cycling the state sport and this is the first step in their endeavor,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN:
THAT the House of Representatives, proclaim the month of May as Bike Month in Arkansas.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption, an appropriate copy of this resolution shall be provided to Mr. Carter Coriell, third grade teacher at Evening Star Elementary School, by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives.