On May 23, Memphis' Explore Bike Share made its official debut. Less than three weeks later, the organization had seen riders burn more than 900,000 calories.

As of 8 a.m. Monday, June 11, Explore Bike Share reported:

• 455 members

• Nearly 2,500 individual users

• 5,118 rides

• 23,333 miles collectively ridden

• 225,032 total minutes ridden

• 929,785 calories burned

With 455 members, Explore Bike Share has reached over 40 percent of its annualized projection before its first month.

Since the "Big Roll-Out," a station has been installed at Union Avenue and Main Street. Stations are also in the works for Mississippi River Park and the BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS) of Tennessee headquarters on Danny Thomas Boulevard. BCBS is a $375,000, five-year sponsor of Explore Bike Share.

And, new organizations and other groups have signed on to bike share, as well. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center offers membership discounts to students and faculty and SouthernSun Asset Management has purchased a corporate membership as the organization prepares to move its offices into the system's initial service area.

As far as a viral video circulating on social media that reportedly shows Explore Bike Share bikes being stolen, Trey Moore, the organization's director, provided the following statement:

“As with any bike share system launch, users are actively learning for the first time how to properly rent and return bikes to and from Explore Bike Share stations," Moore said. "There have been a handful of cases of bikes not being returned to a station within its allotted period but with active GPS on every bike, we’re able to manage our fleet appropriately. In the meantime, we are working daily with community members to ensure there is consistent education and engagement across our service area and city.”

That community engagement portion includes daily education and encouragement of bike share usage for Memphians in the service area.

For example, on Wednesday, June 13, Explore Bike Share will host a "South City Neighborhood Party" at the St. Paul/South City station with free bike rides, food and beverages, and a hands-on tutorial of how to properly check out and return bikes to the station.