Biking buddies: A prince, an NBA All-Star, 2 congressmen push healthier habits, better commute

Biking buddies: A Prince, NBA star, 2 congressmen

WASHINGTON — Caron Butler rested on his bicycle, hovering a helmet above about a dozen other cyclists stopped on Pennsylvania Avenue. To his right wasn’t a teammate, but a prince and a couple of congressmen.

The group of unusual suspects — Butler, a two-time NBA All-Star forward for the Dallas Mavericks; Reps. Tom Petri, R-Wis. and James Oberstar, D-Minn.; and Crown Prince of Denmark Frederik Andre Henrik Christian — biked from Capitol Hill and around the National Mall to promote alternative transportation.

On a busy, Monday morning, a stream of cars and buses surrounded the new bicycle lanes near 1300 Pennsylvania Ave.

Amid dwindling rush-hour traffic, cars honked and sped past the gaggle of cyclists, photographers and reporters. Before the group biked off toward the White House, one woman rolled down her car window to point out that the bicycle event was holding up heavy weekday traffic.

Earlier this year, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood extended the Obama administration’s push for promoting walking and biking as transportation alternatives.

The League of American Bicyclists worked with Butler, who said he hopes to “bring awareness to inner-city youth about riding and staying fit.” In 2005, he started Caron Butler’s Annual Bike Brigade, a program that has handed out thousands of bicycles to kids in Racine, Wis. and Washington.

Oberstar said bicycles are ideal for trips three miles and shorter. The prince stressed that every walk up the stairs and every bike ride is important.

“You should move as much as you can in your day time,” the prince said.

A third of Denmark’s population bikes to work. Denmark hopes to inspire the U.S. to limit global warming, and to instill healthy habits in a country where obesity is increasingly an issue, said Torsten Stiig Jansen, minister counselor for the Royal Danish Embassy.

Jansen admits he owns a motorcycle and a car. But, he said, bicycling should be considered a serious alternative.

Cycling buddies Oberstar and Petri agree. They hoped those driving by would consider bikes.

“They’ll look and say, ‘Oh, isn’t that nice,’” said Oberstar, a cyclist for 20 years.

“‘Don’t they look like like they’re having fun,’” Petri added.