The I Bike Fresno 2012 Campaign kicks off its 3rd Annual Million Mile Challenge on this Sunday, April 29th ahead of  National Bike Month which begins this Tuesday, May first.

The Million Mile Challenge encourages people that work, play and live in Fresno County to work together to log miles in an effort to ride a collective one million miles, while reminding them that riding a bike is not just good for personal health and the environment, but it is also fun. 

“Bicycles are something that have really been relegated to just a recreational item. People don’t realize that bikes can be a great tool for transportation,” said Byron Watkins, President of the Bike Happy Foundation. “We hope through efforts like the Million Mile Challenge and our other bike month events, we can start to change peoples’ behaviors and show them that bicycles aren’t just for kids. We want people to fall in love with their bicycles again.”

BIG READ KICKS OFF MARCH 15 WITH CELEBRITY READ-A-THON

The Fresno County Public Library kicks off its sixth Big Read, which this year features Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, with a celebrity read-a-thon at the Valley Animal Center on March 15 from 10 am to 3 pm.  Celebrities include local media personalities and community leaders.

The public is invited to bring copies of The Call of the Wild to read along with the celebrity readers.

The Library was awarded a $17,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for The Call of the Wild.  The Big Read gives communities the opportunity to come together to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 31 selected books from U.S.