Former Redskin Loves Cycling
Lorenzo Alexander, a Pro Bowl starter for the Arizona Cardinals, and former special teams star for the Washington Redskins, credits riding a bicycle regularly for his strong performance in the fourth quarter of a football game.
“Bicycling is definitely a part of my training. I try to get out there as much as I can,” the 255-pound, 30-year-old Alexander told SPOKES. “Riding my bike helps me build up a tolerance to lactic acid buildup. When your legs ultimately go in the heat of a game, in the heat of battle, that’s what causes you to fail physically. You train so hard to perform at the highest level.
“I like to ride for a while and then push through the initial lactic acid threshold – you know, when your legs start to burn and they feel like they are about to fall off. If you can push through that it’s definitely something I gain by riding my bike. It enables me to be stronger in the fourth quarter of a game, as efficient as I was in the first quarter. I can definitely tell the difference because I ride.”
Lorenzo, “Zo” to his friends and teammates, also one named “one man gang” because of his ability to play numerous football positions well, founded a popular charity ride five years ago called the Ride to Provide. The ride, which begins and ends on the W&OD Trail in Reston, Va., will be held April 19 (www.ridetoprovide.org).
The idea for a charity bike ride came to Alexander after he and friend, Redskin lineman Kedric Golson (who still plays for the Redskins) participated in an American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure ride.
Alexander, who doesn’t hide that he and members of his family suffer from varying levels of diabetes, suggested that they conduct a fundraiser ride for his ACES Foundation, which provides funds for wounded members of the military and youth with needs.
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World Bank Invests in Cycling
By Charles Pekow
The World Bank, based in Washington, D.C., has been incorporating bicycling into its strategies for boosting economies, improving transportation, protecting environments, empowering women and alleviating poverty around the world.
“Bicycles are vital assets to many households who otherwise have to spend up to a third of their incomes on transit fares and other transport costs. Bicycles can also be directly used for income-generating purposes, so that even very poor families then have the capacity to repay loans,” reads a World Bank paper on promoting bicycles in transportation systems in developing countries.
But this international financial institution also sees the need to start right here in Washington at its own 9,000-person Foggy Bottom headquarters to achieve these goals at home.
“Our office tries to do what we want others to do: look at how our efforts can maintain sustainability,” said Adam Rubinfield, corporate sustainability coordinator of the World Bank's Environmental Department Corporate Responsibility Program. “Cycling has been part of our culture for a long time. We encourage staff to join our cycling culture,” he said at the Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) in March.
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