LMB recently delivered a petition with over 2500 signatures and 350 public comments from the cycling community to Thomas C. Carper, Chairman of the Board of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), urging them to allow bicycles on board Michigan passenger trains. The petition was delivered on March 22 during the Grand Rapids stop of the Michigan Transportation Odyssey, a three-day journey from Detroit to Traverse City hosted by our partners at Trans4M to highlight the challenges and opportunities of Michigan's passenger transportation system.

LMB is urging Amtrak to establish roll-on bicycle service on Michigan's three service lines as they have implemented on other routes across the country. The petition was launched in February after the Michigan Department of Transportation finalized the Michigan State Rail Plan which states "special accommodations need to be made both to the train equipment and to stations to make rail service more accessible to people who are traveling with bicycles." The plan goes on to say, "When appropriate and feasible, older rail cars should be retrofitted and new rail cars should be built to accommodate bicycles through on board bike racks. Provisions for both short and long-term bike parking should be made at passenger rail stations across the state."

"We're committed—in new equipment purchases there will be space for bicycles," Carper said as he gave the keynote address at The Rapid's Central Station in Grand Rapids. "How we retrofit old equipment that's going to be phased out over the next two, three, four, five years—some of the equipment is older than I am. So there's a balance, a cost balance in there. How we retrofit, there's some engineering things that need to be taken into consideration."

LMB is extremely pleased at Mr. Carper's reception to the petition and are confident he will bring the concerns of the Michigan cycling community back to Washington DC with him.

While we are encouraged by Amtrak's commitment to installing bike racks on their new rolling stock, we are still asking the railroad to find short-term solutions to allow bicycles on board before this year's riding season really takes off. Bikes on trains will help support multi-modal commuting options, allowing people to cycle to over 20 Michigan Amtrak stations, ride the train, and then cycle to their final destinations. In addition, with over 300 organized cycling events throughout the state, bikes on trains could help facilitate an increase in cyclo-tourism from cyclists living along the routes stretching from Detroit to Chicago.

The Change.org online petition continues to grow in names by the day. If you have not yet added your name and comment, you can do so at: www.LMB.org/bikesontrains.

LMB is very pleased to welcome our new Associate Director, Jenny Jensen!

Jenny joins us after working for the Michigan Department of the Attorney General. She graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelors in theatre and from Ferris State University with an associates in general business. Outside of her love of cycling, Jenny enjoys reading, running, community theatre and many other varied pursuits.

Jenny has been cycling for many years and is thrilled to be joining the LMB team. Last summer marked a cycling milestone for her - training for and riding her first century. She currently lives in Lansing with her husband and their recently adopted dog, Tesla (who isn't so enamored with cycling as she tries to bite her bike whenever she sees it).

As the Associate Director, Jenny will work on LMB communications, including social media, as well as helping to organize volunteers and fundraising efforts. 

She looks forward to meeting all of you very soon. We are extremely excited to have her join the team, and hope that you will take a moment to say hello to her out on the tours this summer. Feel free to contact her anytime at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .