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The "Green Bike" is off.
Members of a five-person bicycle team from Iowa have launched their "solar bob" from
Amsterdam to begin the "Green Bike Tour," a three-week tour of renewable-energy facilities and communities in northern Europe.
Former State Representative David Osterberg, who organized the group, said he is "excited" about the trip, which will include stops in Holland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The "Green Bike" is a solar-powered bicycle -- a bicycle that uses a solar panel to charge a battery that powers an electric motor, and pushes the rider up hills at the flip of a switch. The panel is attached to a "bob" -- or small trailer -- that serves as a third wheel on the back of a standard bicycle that has been equipped with the electric motor and battery.
"We are traveling this way to draw attention to ourselves as we visit sustainable development and renewable power developments in northern Europe," said Osterberg, of Mount Vernon.
After preparing their equipment for the tour upon their weekend arrival, Green Bike Team members set their sights on Monday's full day of touring in the Amsterdam area. They will head for Appeldorn on Tuesday.
Osterberg has been telling Iowans, including middle-school classes in the Quad-Cities, Mount Vernon and Des Moines, that Iowans already are seeing some use of renewable energy sources -- particularly wind -- but that Europeans use more. The Iowa projects already in place have demonstrated economic potential for farmers and for local communities. The bicyclists will interview people in Europe to better understand how renewable energy works for them.
The trip also will give riders a first-hand comparison of energy policies in areas that encourage renewable, non-polluting energy sources with policies in Iowa.
"Publicity about what is going on in Europe should help that process," Osterberg said.
Besides Osterberg, the Green Bike Team includes State Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City, Linn County conservation educator Gail Barels, energy consultant Edward Woolsey and Jim Cooper, who has led two organizations that work with the farm community to produce new products from farmland. Four members arrived Saturday, with the fifth planning to join the group in the coming days.
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