One of the first things I do when I get to work is log my miles for the National Bike Challenge. My commute’s not far (4.5 miles round trip), but seeing those short rides add up in terms of points and mileage has been so exciting. I will finish the Challenge having ridden 416 miles and with 1838 points, getting me up to the Platinum level.
But even more fun than logging my miles (as if there were to be such a thing!) was getting to meet all of you. The community that has developed over this Challenge has been unprecedented. Going over the Challenge’s homepage, looking for daily inspirations to put on the Facebook page, has been such a rewarding experience. I never would have to look too far to find someone sharing a great piece of advice (“My diet has included, eggs, coffee, bananas, beans, rice, chicken, and orange juice,” from Miguel Lopez on eating while training) or personal victory (“While this is my third year commuting from work on a bike, this contest inspired me to push myself beyond my commute – and I have,” Karen Mitchell shared).
In hosting the Challenge’s Facebook and Twitter presences, I tried to stay out of it as much as I could to let people tell their own stories; there were so many great ones out there! But when I hit Platinum, I was too excited to keep it to myself. I posted it on the Facebook page, and the response I got was amazing! It was so nice to feel like a real part of the Challenge’s community, with the double-Platinumers welcoming me to their ranks, and others sharing their own stories of first reaching Platinum. “I achieved Platinum just shy of six weeks into the challenge (12 June). Glad you could join us!” said Herman May.
When we started the National Bike Challenge, we knew that we’d have a lot of people participating across the country. But what we didn’t know was that all these people would come together to form a warm and welcoming group of bike riders to cheer each other on. So thank you!
Thank you to everyone who signed up, logged miles, and contributed to the conversations on the homepage, Facebook, and Twitter. You all really made this Challenge an inspiring experience. We’ll see you again in 2013!
Katie Omberg Events and Outreach Manager
Katie joined the League in April of 2010. For the two years prior, she worked at the Corcoran College of Art + Design as a programs coordinator. Katie has a BA in Religion from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. She enjoys biking to work.
Rocking their identical, hot-pink sweatshirts, the young women explained how and why they created a group just for girls. Meeting on a weekly basis, they discussed why they loved riding and how they might get more young women interested and engaged in biking. They called themselves the Girls Bike Club and, in just a matter of months, they became a visible presence in the community.
They went on rides together. They planned a fashion show. They talked up the club to their high school peers and proudly wore their Girls Bike Club shirts to get the word out. They even wrapped Christmas presents for donations at a local REI shop to earn the cash to get to NYC to present their important work at the Youth Bike Summit.
I was inspired. Everyone was inspired. And the Girls Bike Club is just one example of young women taking a leadership role in the bicycle movement.
Learn about other youth initiatives and hear from young leaders at the National Women’s Bicycling Summit on September 13 in Long Beach. Read more about the “Young Women Who Ride” workshop below and register for the event today (less than 30 tickets left!).
(Clockwise from top left) Westmoreland, Rodriguez, Pierson, Azzarello
Young Women Who Ride
Part presentation, part interactive workshop, Young Women Who Ride will explore existing models of youth engagement and share the tools to engage youth, girls, and young women effectively. Led by a dynamic team of adult and youth presenters from Recycle-A-Bicycle, Multnomah County Youth Commission, and Washington Area Bicyclist Association, this session will explore a range of creative, innovative approaches to bike education and advocacy while considering community-specific resources, challenges and best practices. Young Women Who Ride will highlight how bike advocacy is enriched when its young leaders are encouraged and supported to envision safer, healthier, and more livable communities and are taught the tools to help build them.
Panelists:
Pasqualina Azzarello is the executive director of Recycle-A-Bicycle, a community-based bike shop and non-profit organization in NYC. Through her work as an educator, community advocate, and public muralist, Pasqualina has engaged local communities in meaningful ways for the past fifteen years. Pasqualina has worked as a freelance artist and educator at Recycle-A-Bicycle since 2001 and became the director in 2009. She has continued to cultivate partnerships and create new opportunities for communities to work together in creative and innovative ways. In the past year, Pasqualina has led workshops and presentations about youth and community engagement at the Safe Routes to School National Partnership conference, the American Planning Association’s national conference, and the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Summit. As director of Recycle-A-Bicycle and co-founder of the Youth Bike Summit, Pasqualina is committed to engaging youth voices and visions in the national bicycle advocacy movement.
As Events Coordinator for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Nelle Pierson creates a range of events to unite and celebrate residents who bike for transportation throughout the D.C. region. In addition to speaking on the National Women Cycling Forum, Nelle has helped develop WABA’s WomenBike Program — a product of the Local Women’s Forum and Women on Bikes Campaign — and recently banded together with the Capital Spokeswomen, a lively group of gals who get together and get more gals on bikes. Nelle believes in the boundless benefits of the bicycle, and, in order to get more people on bikes and normalize bicycling in the United States, women need to work on making bicycling more normal.
Lisa Rodriguez is a bike mechanic, instructor, and ride leader at Recycle-A-Bicycle in NYC. Introduced to Recycle-A-Bicycle as a junior in high school, Lisa has since repaired thousands of bicycles and has led bike rides for hundreds of kids. Lisa’s bike advocacy efforts have led her to lobbying electeds on the steps of Capitol Hill, leading workshops at the Youth Bike Summit, and to numerous community meetings as part of Local Spokes, the bike coalition of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. She is 21 years old and is a student at John Jay College in New York, NY.
Katherine Westmoreland is a 2011 David Douglas High School graduate and 4-year member of the Multnomah Youth Commission. The volunteer-based Youth Commission serves as the official youth advisory board for the City of Portland and Multnomah County. During her time on the commission, Katherine was heavily involved in the organization of the YouthPass program, which now provides free public transportation to over 13,000 high school students in the Portland area. Katherine served as co-chair of the YouthPass Committee from its creation in 2008 until 2010. She is currently a sophomore at Brigham Young University, studying Political Science with an emphasis on local government and youth engagement.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
The advocates in Illinois wasted no time. President Obama hadn’t even signed the new federal transportation law (MAP-21) yet — and the League of Illinois Bicyclists and Active Transportation Alliance had already written a letter to the secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation about the future of bicycle funding.
They asked for a meeting — and got it.
They asked the DOT to fully utilize funding for biking and walking under the new Transportation Alternatives program — and signs are good that Illinois will do just that.
Facilitated by Darren Flusche, League Policy Director, this webinar will delve into the Transportation Alternatives programs — a key aspect of the new transportation law for bike/ped funding. To shed some light on early successes and lessons learned by leading advocates, we’ll be joined by Ron Burke, Executive Director of the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago, and Tim Young, League Board Member, in Wyoming.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
In cities across the country, long-standing stereotypes of the American bicyclist are falling away. As more women and people of color start riding in their diverse communities, MAMILs — middle-aged men in Lycra — are becoming just one face in the growing crowd.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2001, caucasians accounted for 83 percent of bicycle trips. By 2009, that number had dropped to 77 percent. Last year, in a study about the bicycling renaissance in North America, Rutger’s researcher John Pucher emphasized that “cycling rates are rising fastest among African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans.”
From Los Angeles to New York City, from Minneapolis to Philadelphia, women are leading the way in this transformation of the bicycle movement — and several inspiring women will share their stories and best practices at the National Women’s Bicycling Summit on September 13 in Long Beach, Calif. Read more below and get your ticket today — there’s fewer than 50 spots remaining!
(Clockwise from top left) Stoscheck, Ovarian Psycos, Mannos, Gavin (right)
Beyond Spandex, Toward Social Justice: Women Redefining the Movement
Diversity and equity are quickly becoming buzz words in bicycle advocacy, as organizations seek to address the homogeneity of “the movement.” There’s tremendous leadership, action and innovation occurring both within and beyond the model of traditional bike coalitions. Working with and within disadvantaged and marginalized communities, women from diverse backgrounds are erasing stereotypes about bicyclists and consciously directing efforts to incorporate social justice. This session will provide insight and examples from bicycle programs that are inspiring, empowering and being led by women who are expanding and redefining the future of the movement.
Moderator:
Caroline Samponaro is the Director of Bicycle Advocacy at Transportation Alternatives, an 8,000-member pro-bicycling non-profit founded in 1973. Caroline is one of the nation’s foremost advocates for cycling and has spearheaded New York City’s rapid transformation into a bicycle-friendly city. She has directed campaigns that address all areas of bicycling, from developing new neighborhood bike lane networks, to educating cyclists about their responsibilities on the road, to leading national roundtables of experts on public bike share systems. Caroline is frequently quoted in the New York Times, Bicycling Magazine and New York Magazine, and she is a sought-out speaker on urban bicycling culture, the growth of cycling among women, and the history of bicycling in America. Caroline holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University.
Panelists:
After guiding bicycle tours in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest for 4 years, Kristin Gavin moved to Philadelphia in 2007 to pursue a Master’s in Exercise and Sport Psychology at Temple University with a specific interest in physical activity promotion as an effective tool for combating anxiety and depression among women. While working on her degree, Kristin worked as a research fellow for the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, worked miscellaneous jobs with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and started a fitness program for residents at a drug and alcohol recovery home for women in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. In May 2009, Gavin founded Gearing Up, a nonprofit bicycle program providing women in transition from abuse, addiction and incarceration with the opportunity to safely ride a bicycle for exercise, transportation, and personal growth. Gearing Up partners with residential and outpatient women’s recovery and re-entry programs as well as the Philadelphia County Women’s Prison to help women in recovery and re-entry use the bicycle as a tool for emotional, social and physical health. She is an elite mountain and cyclocross team member of TeamCycstic Fibrosis.
Allison Mannos has worked for LAANE as a communications specialist on the Construction Careers and Grocery Retail projects since Fall 2011. She is interested in finding multidisciplinary, policy-oriented solutions to alleviate urban poverty and environmental problems in communities of color. Allison previously worked for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition as their urban strategy director on City of Los Angeles-related campaigns, policy and communications. In 2008, she co-founded and was the program manager for the award-winning City of Lights Program, which advocates, organizes, and educates Latina/o, low-income cyclists in Central, South and East Los Angeles She continues to serve on that program’s board. Allison also was a co-founding member of CicLAvia.
Ovarian Psycos is an all-womyn bicycle brigade, cycling for the purpose of healing communities physically, emotionally, and spiritually by addressing pertinent issues through cycling. Through group rides such as the all-womyn Luna ride, transgressive art/iconography and programming centered around issues of womyn of color, we have begun that process while gaining international attention. Las Ovas will celebrate its two-year anniversary this summer by bringing LA its first ever Clitoral Mass on the blue moon, August 31. We are also working to open a community bike space in Boyle Heights next year.
Claire Stoscheck is an organizer, cyclist, and activist who is the Director of the Community Partners Bike Library — one of the three co-Directors of Cycles for Change — a non-profit in the Twin Cities, MN. Claire has worked extensively in bike advocacy and social justice in the United States and in Quito, Ecuador, with a particular focus on bike feminism and transportation justice. She also organizes in immigrant rights movements, local food justice movements, and anti-resource extraction movements. She holds a B.A. in Community Organizing for Sustainable Living from Macalester College.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
There’s a reason hundreds of bicycle advocates flock to Washington, D.C., each year for the National Bike Summit. Regardless of political persuasion, we all recognize that we need bicycle-friendly leaders to build a bicycle-friendly America.
Still, there’s often the misconception that, as members or leaders of bicycle clubs and nonprofits, advocates are limited in how they can get engaged in local, state and federal elections. Yes, there are rules to follow, but there are many effective ways bicyclists can educate and engage candidates on important transportation issues.
The latest report from Advocacy Advance — a partnership of the League and Alliance for Biking & Walking — uses clear explanations and real-world examples to highlight best practices for 501(c)(3) nonprofits, 501(c)4 organizations and even individual bicyclists.
“Elections matter,” Flusche writes. “During the election cycle, campaigns give bicycling and walking advocacy organizations the opportunity to educate candidates on bicycling issues, increase the focus on bicycling and walking issues in campaigns, and ultimately build a more bicycle‐friendly America.”
“These activities make a difference,” he continues. “For instance, Bike Delaware used a candidate survey to gauge support for a funding initiative that resulted in $20 million in state funds for a statewide bicycling and walking network. This guide includes insight and examples from Bike Delaware’s survey — and much more.”
To provide clarity and inspiration for bicycle advocates, the report provides:
Guidelines for what 501(c)(3) nonprofits can and cannot do
Explanation of 501(c)(4)s and their activities
Bike/ped examples of
Candidate surveys
Candidate forums
Legislative scorecards
Show Me Events, and more
Making cycling safe and comfortable in your community starts with educating and engaging candidates running for office at all levels of government. Whether you’re a nonprofit leader or individual cyclist read this report and get involved during this important election season.
Questions about the election guide? Contact Darren at darren@bikeleague.org.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
It’s a common frustration among cyclists: Elected officials and agency staff often give short shrift to cyclists and more priority to motorists when making decisions about transportation.
In many communities, funding choices are made without public input or scrutiny; streets are repaved without a thought of adding bicycle lanes; and school properties are purchased miles and miles away from the neighborhood children they serve.
What can we do to make cyclists and pedestrians an integral, normal part of the transportation conversation? A new report from Advocacy Advance — a partnership of the League and Alliance for Biking & Walking — highlights the benefits of establishing a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) to make sure active transportation has a dedicated seat at the decision-making table.
Click here to downloadMaking Bicycling and Walking a Norm in Transportation Agencies: Best Practices in Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committees.
Written by Matt Wempe, the League’s State and Local Advocacy Coordinator, the report includes:
The definition and structure of a BPAC
Benefits and challenges of a BPAC
Making the case for a BPAC
Establishing a BPAC
Recommendations for an effective BPAC
And more…
Just one example showcased in the report comes from Nashville, Tenn. In 2008, the city invited 23 individuals — including bike/ped advocates, public works staff, police, and private citizens — to assist the Metropolitan Planning Organization with a regional bike/ped study. That “working group” quickly evolved into a strong, standing BPAC and has gone on to boost bicycling across the region.
For instance, the BPAC helped develop scoring criteria that boosted the number of funded road projects that include bicycle and pedestrian elements by an impressive 70 percent. The BPAC also advocated for policies to establish a 15 percent set aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the MPO’s transportation improvement program. Talk about changing the conversation!
Learn more about establishing and improving your local BPAC; read the entire report at www.advocacyadvance.org/resources.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Earlier this month, we hit our goal of 10 million miles in the National Bike Challenge… but the online competition isn’t over just yet. There’s one week remaining and there are some tight races in plenty of categories, as individuals, communities and workplaces pedal for pride and prizes.
It sure looks like Michael Lemuel has locked the first place title among individuals, but there’s plenty of action in the top five. Will Challenge star Leonard Wright, from Sebring, Fla., pick it up to pass Eric Nordgren, who’s pedaling for one of the leading teams in Topeka, Kansas? Will Jamie from Cedar Rapids challenge Mike from Columbus for the #4 slot? No matter who finishes on top, one thing is for sure: With more than 11 million miles traveled, every single participant has contributed to an incredible national feat!
There’s intrigue on the community, level, too. Burlington continues its reign at #1, but it’s a razor-close race in Wisconsin, with Appleton, Madison and Oshkosh-Neenah all within a few points of each other. But, watch out Badgers; Lincoln is aiming for the top, too!
There’s also a clash of corporate titans in the Colossal Business (100,000+ employees) category, with IBM, UPS, Hewlett Packard and AT&T trying to ring out the competition by delivering a win…
… and some serious competition at the other end of the spectrum, with the dedicated staff members at the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota and nature-education group Explayration vie for the top slot among micro-businesses (<5 employees)!
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
The new federal transportation law (MAP-21) presents plenty of challenges, but here’s some good news: The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) could turn out to be one of the brighter spots for bicycling.
The program is used to address a wide variety of safety concerns, like seat belt use, drunk driving, and high-collision locations (often fixing bad roadway design). Safety was such a central theme in the federal transportation debate that Congress allocated $2.4 billion annually to HSIP — an increase from $1 billion under the previous law. And that’s not all: There will be improvements in data collection and cost-effectiveness analysis of safety projects that will benefit bicycles, too.
We’ve already blogged and written reports about the importance of including bicycle safety in the state Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). Based on the 2012 Bicycle Friendly States survey, 29 states currently include bicycle safety in their SHSP. Now that’s more important than ever, what can advocates do if your state isn’t on this list?
Under MAP-21 states have to consult with a “non-motorized” representative when writing the SHSP. The language isn’t clear whether this means a state employee (bicycle and pedestrian coordinators would be a good fit) or an advocate. Senator Udall from New Mexico, who offered the amendment, intends for the representative to be an advocate. The MAP-21 guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to provide an answer.
Fortunately, there is plenty of precedent for bicycle advocates helping to craft the state SHSP and increase HSIP bike safety spending. These examples are especially important if your state Department of Transportation is hesitant or resistant to adding a bicycle safety advocate. The League reviewed the 29 SHSPs that currently include bicycle safety as an emphasis area. The majority consult with state and local advocates. Several states to highlight include:
Click here for the full listing of bicycle safety stakeholders in SHSPs
Having advocates actively involved in the program will help improve the abysmal track record of HSIP spending on bicycle safety. In California, bicycle advocates made sure to have representatives on each of the topic area committees drafting the state SHSP. This directly resulted in the state beginning to prioritize and spend HSIP funds on bicycle safety.
Check out the Advocacy Advance Highway Safety Improvement Program report to learn how to get involved and create safer streets for bicycles.
Matt Wempe League State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Mr. Wempe joined the League in September 2011. For the three years prior, he worked as a transportation planner and Safe Routes to School Coordinator in Fort Collins, Colo. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The new federal transportation law, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), poses plenty of challenges for bicycling and walking. For the past four years, Advocacy Advance has been working to demystify the federal funding process and help advocates and agency staff maximize funding opportunities. So it only made sense that, with the launch of the Navigating MAP-21 campaign, we expanded our popular Action 2020 workshops to help agency staff and advocates understand and utilize MAP-21.
The Advocacy Advance team with officials from Warsaw, MO (Photo by Brent Hugh)
Last week, we held the first of the MAP-21 Action 2020 workshops in Concordia and Jefferson City, Missouri. More than 100 advocates, agency staff, and elected officials met to learn more about the opportunities and challenges of MAP-21, funding sources and best practices, how to make bicycles and pedestrians a priority, and network with other professionals. The workshops were hosted by the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation and the Missouri Association of Councils of Government (MACOG). Here are some highlights from the week:
First MAP-21 Action 2020 workshops: The new information about MAP-21 stirred some excellent discussions at both workshops. Advocates spoke highly of the progress the Missouri Department of Transportation has made towards accommodating bicycles and pedestrians. Luckily, Missouri is already a model for sub-allocating its STP and CMAQ funds — which will make it easier to direct dollars to bicycling and walking projects through the new Transportation Alternatives state grant process. We look forward to great things coming out of MAP-21 in Missouri.
Rural communities walk and bike, too: The workshops were also unique because the Advocacy Advance team spent a week in the state. This allowed us the time to host two workshops, as well as visit some of the smaller rural communities in central Missouri. We visited Warsaw (population 2,100) to ride the mountain, road and water trails. Mac Vorce and Randy Pogue, both with the city of Warsaw, were gracious hosts and very proud of their community’s efforts to increase walking and bicycling. Check out the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation blog for a picture tour of the day. The League is looking forward to a Bicycle Friendly Community application any day now!
Riding in Warsaw (Photo by Brent Hugh)
Train the trainers: We also used the extra time to “train the trainers” during the workshops. Approximately half of Missouri’s population lives outside the major cities (Kansas City and St. Louis, both bronze-level BFCs) in small communities and rural areas. It’s often challenging for these communities to apply for federal funds, due to a lack of resources or knowledge about the opportunities. Our host organizations had the great idea to train agency staff and advocates on the MAP-21 Action 2020 curriculum so they can share it with rural and small communities. Regional planning commission staff and advocates learned how to run a successful workshop and had time to practice speaking about funding in front of the group. If you’re interested in a future workshop in Missouri, contact Brent Hugh with the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation.
The Advocacy Advance team was really impressed with the progress Missouri is making already. After a whirlwind week of traveling throughout the state, we left energized and positive that we’ll be shortly sharing best practices from Missouri.
MAP-21 Action 2020 Workshops are part of the Advocacy Advance program – a partnership of the League of American Bicyclists and Alliance for Biking and Walking. The workshops are designed to ensure advocates, agency staff, and elected officials have the knowledge, skills, and resources to maximize the new Transportation Alternatives program and access untapped and under-utilized federal funding sources for bicycles and pedestrians. To learn more, visit www.advocacyadvance.org.
Matt Wempe League State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Mr. Wempe joined the League in September 2011. For the three years prior, he worked as a transportation planner and Safe Routes to School Coordinator in Fort Collins, Colo. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
In late June, I was captivated by Emily Finch’s story. In an interview and ride with Jonathan Maus of BikePortland.org, she shared her transportation transformation. Just three years ago, she was shuttling her family around Williamsport, Pa., in a nine-passenger Suburban. Now, she travels exclusively by bike — with her six children.
“Watching Finch pedal her bakfiets cargo bike with four kids in the front, another one in a child seat behind her, and another one on a bike attached to hers via the rear rack, is a sight that not only inspires — it forces you to re-think what’s possible,” Maus wrote.
Well, we’re rethinking what’s possible next month at the National Women’s Bicycling Summit and Finch will join us to share her inspiring story. Read more about the Family Biking and Car Light Living session below and click here to register for the Summit. (Seats are going fast!)
(Clockwise from top left) Finch, Kilgore, Hodge and Aboelata
Family Biking and Car Light Living
Cars, climate, clothes and cargo/kids — these “4Cs” are some of the big concerns we encounter when promoting the low car, high bike lifestyle. The last is often the hardest to address. Skeptics predict: “Just wait until you start a family. Then you’ll buy a car.” And yet, car-free and car-light living is neither radical nor all that unusual. Many families can’t afford to own and operate a car, and instead rely on walking and transit. For them, incorporating cycling can provide enormous health, financial and mobility benefits. In this session, we will tap into the expertise of the presenters and participants to share tips for 1) raising a car free or car light family 2) navigating the ages and stages of biking with kids, and 3) spreading the message about the benefits of a multi-modal lifestyle. Whether a family bikes by choice or by need, it’s one of the most powerful acts of advocacy–not just for cycling, but for the health and well-being of our children and communities.
Moderator:
Gin Kilgore is a Chicago-based transportation advocate who was raised on a diet of walking, biking, transiting and cabbing in a car-free family, and is raising her son the same way. She has been a leader in many grassroots efforts that promote cycling and reduce car usage, such as Bike Winter, which helps keep cyclists in the saddle year round through workshops, events, giveaways and old-fashioned boosterism. She is also involved in Kidical Mass, which is a free, monthly family bike ride that builds community and shows passersby the many ways to ride with children. Her professional fields are education and transportation planning/advocacy, with jobs ranging from being a lead literacy teacher at a Chicago public elementary school, and serving as the first transportation planner focused on bike/ped issues at the Chicago area’s MPO. She currently works at the League of Illinois Bicyclists and Alta Planning + Design.
Panelists:
Manal Aboelata is Managing Director at Prevention Institute, a national non-profit dedicated to achieving equitable health and safety outcomes through primary prevention. Manal’s work emphasizes policy and community-based approaches to improve access to healthy foods, prevent injuries and increase opportunities for safe physical activity. Manal coordinates The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Eating and Activity Environments, a statewide network of advocates working to bring healthy food and physical activity opportunities within reach of all Californians. Manal chairs the Joint Use Statewide Taskforce (JUST) which is working to increase community access to playgrounds through the policy and practice of joint use agreements between school districts and local governments. She serves on the Steering Committee for LA County’s Joint Use Moving People to Play Collaborative and is the Chairperson for the Safe Routes to School Action Team on School Siting and Joint Use. She is principle author of The Built Environment and Health: 11 Profiles of Neighborhood Transformation and authored the chapter, Community Engagement in Design and Planning in the text Making Healthy Places.
Emily Finch is a car-free mother of six children, ranging from 2 to 11 years old. Two years ago, while pregnant and living in Pennsylvania, she made a decision that changed her life dramatically: She traded in her nine-passenger Suburban for a seven-passenger Bakfiets cargo bike. She lives in Portland, OR.
Kit Hodge is the Deputy Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, leading our team of advocates and program staff. Ms. Hodge joined the staff in April 2009 as Great Streets Project Director and became Deputy Director in April 2011. She has a long and successful history of leading campaigns for more livable streets. She helped launch the much-lauded NYC Streets Renaissance Campaign while working at NYC’s Transportation Alternatives, where she also served as Campaigns Director and Events and Membership Director. She then did similar work at the Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago; this included, among other things, managing a coalition called Business Leaders for Transportation and helping to launch a large-scale placemaking initiative. She served as a member of the Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Council in Chicago. Before joining our team, she directed a nonprofit focused on grassroots neighborhood improvement. Kit also has a background in strategic marketing. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Out on the streets, we can all tell the number of bicyclists is growing. But, to gain the recognition we deserve, that rise needs to be backed by hard data.
That’s why Alta Planning + Design developed the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project. According to Alta: “Without accurate and consistent demand and usage figures, it is difficult to measure the positive benefits of investments in these modes, especially when compared to the other transportation modes such as the private automobile… This nationwide effort provides consistent model of data collection and ongoing data for use by planners, governments, and bicycle and pedestrian professionals.”
By creating the resources and tools to conduct counts, the Project is making it easier for advocates and professionals to gather data to make the case for current and future bike paths, lanes and other facilities for bicycles and pedestrians. By collecting that data from communities nationwide, the Project also hopes to illuminate differences in overall trends in biking and walking based on regions’ demography, geography, and land use. The end result: A rich resource for planners and researchers alike that showcases the community benefits and rising popularity of biking and walking.
But the Project needs you! The official dates for the next nationwide count are coming up, September 11-13.
Alta has created everything you need – from instructions to surveys to volunteer training presentations – to contribute to this exciting national initiative. Learn more and get involved at www.bikepeddocumentation.org.
A new study published in April put a simmering question on the front burner. Cathy DeLuca’s report — “An Examination of Women’s Representation and Participation in Bicycle Advisory Committees in California” — clearly indicated what many of us see in our own communities: not nearly enough women are at the table when decisions about bike/ped planning take place.
DeLuca will be among the panelists when we dig into this discussion at the National Women’s Bicycling Summit on September 13 in Long Beach, Calif. Read more about this break-out session below and check out the full Summit program and speakers list here.
(Clockwise from top left) Williams, Lantz, DeLuca, Sahli-Wells
Making Our Communities Work For Us; Women and the Political Process
Twenty-four percent of all bike trips in the U.S. in 2009 were made by women, yet women make up 50 percent of the U.S. population. To increase the number of women riders, we must make sure our communities are designed to work for women. Confirmed time and again at the local, state and federal level, women’s interests are best served when women are engaged as civic leaders and lawmakers. However, women continue to be underrepresented in political office and on civic committees. In 2011, only 24 percent of members on California bicycle and/or pedestrian advisory committees were women. In 2012, only 12 percent of governors, 24 percent of U.S. state legislators, and 17 percent of U.S. Congressional members were women. Through engaging presentations, our panelists will share how they became involved in civic committees and elected office. We will discuss the latest research on women’s involvement in bicycle and pedestrian committees and explore how to encourage more women who bicycle to become involved in civic committees and elected office.
Facilitator:
Alexis Lantz is a policy analyst with the Policies for Livable, Active Communities and Environments (PLACE) Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Previously, she was the Planning & Policy Director at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC). During her tenure at LACBC she conducted the first ever citywide bicycle and pedestrian count for the City of Los Angeles and had a hand in shaping policies in the city and county of Los Angeles to increase infrastructure for bicycling as well as the amount and diversity of people bicycling for everyday transportation. She also worked to expand countywide advocacy capacity for bikeways and complete streets through LACBC’s Regional Partnership program. Alexis holds an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA. While at UCLA, she initiated a student-led course on bicycle and pedestrian planning that continues today and authored the report “Cycling in Los Angeles” as a Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative fellow. She is on the Board of the California Bicycle Coalition and steering committee of Los Angeles Walks.
Panelists:
Cathy DeLuca fell in love with non-automobile transportation many years ago, and she recently decided to make it the focus of her career. In December 2011, she completed a master’s degree in urban planning from San Jose State University, with a specialization in transportation planning. During school, she worked with bicycle planners in Santa Cruz and San Jose. For her master’s thesis, Cathy studied women’s participation in bicycle advisory committees in California — a topic that combined her interests in bicycle planning, politics, and gender equality. The Mineta Transportation Institute published her study in the spring of 2012. Most recently, Cathy has worked on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Team at the Alameda County Transportation Commission.
Meghan Sahli-Wells is a community organizer and Culver City Councilmember. Inspired by her nine years living car-free in Paris, Sahli-Wells helped to craft Culver City’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, then co-founded the Culver City Bicycle Coalition. She was elected to the Council in April 2012 and is only the 5th woman to be elected to the Culver City Council in the city’s 95 year history. Meghan is CEO of the non-profit Culver City Downtown Neighborhood Association, whose goal is to enhance community livability by providing education and advocacy for sustainable development, ecology, healthy transportation, and civic engagement. She also organizes for Transition Culver City, part of the international Transition Town movement that seeks to create resilient communities capable of moving beyond fossil-fuel dependency and into a sustainable future. With two sons attending elementary school, Sahli-Wells is an active member of the school’s Green Team and Safe Routes to School committee. Recipient of the 2010 Democrat of the Year Award by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (47th AD), Sahli-Wells is a National Women’s Political Caucus L.A. Westside 2012 Remarkable Woman honoree.
Felicia Williams commutes by bike 50-75 miles per week and is on the Board of the Los Angeles non-profit C.I.C.L.E. that promotes the bicycle as a healthy and sustainable mode of transportation. Ms. Williams is also an appointed official in the City of Pasadena on the Board of the Pasadena Center Operating Company that operates the civic auditorium, convention center, and Convention and Visitors Bureau. Her previous appointments include the Environmental and Transportation Advisory Commissions. Her professional background is in finance with experience in the energy, investment banking, and real estate industries. Ms. Williams has a B.A. from Stanford University in Urban Studies, an M.A. from UCLA in Urban Planning, and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
After months of steady dialogue and face-to-face meetings, the leaders of the Alliance for Biking & Walking, Bikes Belong and League of American Bicyclists have decided not to pursue full unification at this time. The three groups continue to operate independently, in close collaboration, to make bicycling safer and more enjoyable for all Americans.
These unprecedented unification discussions were marked by goodwill and an open exchange of ideas. They helped U.S. bike advocacy leaders agree on a shared vision, goals and strategies that will advance the movement and improve bicycling coast to coast.
The three groups continue to work together and have committed to achieving the following benchmark goals by 2020:
The nationwide percentage of trips made by bike will increase to 5 percent (from 1 percent in 2012), and the diversity of people on bikes will mirror the diversity of America;
Traffic injuries and fatalities (in all modes) will decrease by 50 percent;
Half of all Americans will have front-door access to a bicycling network that will take them to destinations within two miles exclusively on low-stress streets, lanes, and trails–protected from high-speed traffic.
The League and Alliance are developing plans to help state and local advocates get the most out of MAP-21, the new, two-year federal transportation bill, and will work with Bikes Belong on this, and other projects. Bikes Belong has initiated a strategic discovery process to review its overall goals and to refine its focus, and is engaging the League and Alliance to help shape its future direction.
The leaders of all three groups began the unification discussion fully aware of the challenges of blending unique legal structures, membership bases, project priorities, and headquarters locations. While these talks didn’t produce a merger, the groups will continue to work together to engage, represent and connect the many different elements of the bicycling movement. They will focus on federal, state, and local projects that best improve bike infrastructure and safety in the United States.
Contact:
Alliance for Biking & Walking: Jeff Miller, 202-449-9692
League of American Bicyclists: Andy Clarke, 202-822-1333
Bikes Belong: Tim Blumenthal, 303-449-4893
Just a few months ago, Sue Hewitt was searching. The evaluation coordinator at the Health District of Northern Larimer County in Colorado was looking for an exercise program that could bring her workplace together and meet the needs of all employees, regardless of their fitness level.
Now more than half of the employees at her organization have made significant changes in their health and their quality of life – thanks to the National Bike Challenge.
(From left) Sue Hewitt, Jillian, Kristen and Chris
Hewitt came across the Challenge on Twitter and started researching. She loved the points system and the diversity of participants – families, employees, individuals of all ages. It was the perfect wellness project for her workplace.
But she did more than simply put the word out. She developed incentives for those who joined, like gift certificates, magnets and water bottles. By the start of the Challenge in May, already more than half — 44 out of the 80 employees — of the organization had signed up to embark on what would be a life-changing summer.
Located in Fort Collins, the Health District is in the perfect neighborhood for biking to work. In addition to weight loss and saving gas money, employees quickly told Hewitt that biking to work is now the best part of their day. Some participants who struggled with physical or health issues have shared their inspirational stories about how biking has helped them lead healthier lives.
One employee, who has a pain and fatigue syndrome, decided to try the Challenge and was exhilarated by her quick progress, racking up 275 points to contribute to the team. Another employee, who had put her bike aside when she started a family, was reunited with the joy of riding — and realized biking to work does fit her busy schedule.
How did Hewitt keep employees motivated? Each month, she organizes a raffle for all participants who have logged even a single mile. She also created laminated colored jerseys — each color representing a different accomplishment. A blue jersey is the award for “most improved,” and the red jersey for “most mountain biking” points. Her organization also had a “Bike to Work” picnic for employees to celebrate their fitness accomplishments. In addition, being part of a team at work has established camaraderie among employees and given them a feeling of satisfaction and achievement through working together to build up points for their office.
Hewitt hopes participating employees will inspire others who think biking is out of reach because of health issues, family obligations, or just a busy lifestyle. Through the National Bike Challenge, Hewitt and her coworkers have demonstrated that anyone can make improvements their quality of, even it means just biking a mile a day.
We had a great turn-out for our webinar this week, with nearly 400 people eager to get an overview of the new federal transportation bill.
The first of the Navigating MAP-21 webinar series, “The ABCs of MAP-21″ explained the basics of the new law, what it means for bicyclists and how we can harness the opportunities to fund biking and walking projects and programs. The session was facilitated by Darren Flusche, policy director for the League of American Bicyclists, and included presentations by Caron Whitaker, campaign manager for America Bikes and Randy Neufeld, director of SRAM Cycling Fund.
Mark your calendars for the next Navigating MAP-21 webinar on August 27, which will focuse specifically on the impact of the new transportation law on Safe Routes to School, and what you can do to ensure that SRTS survives and thrives in your community and state. Register here.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
(clockwise from left) Wunsch, Blue, Kohout, Davis-Overstreet
Media and Marketing: Who’s Selling Cycling to Women?
In the vernacular of marketing, if women’s cycling is a product, then who is selling it? Who should be and how? Words and images hold the power to help transcend known barriers, narrow the gender gap and improve access to cycling. Social media and open-source tools offer exciting new potential to unify women and amplify pro-cycling messages. Through engaging presentations, panelists will explore examples from a variety of media channels, share their own best practices and invite creative thinking from the audience about how to attract more women of all backgrounds to cycling for transportation, fitness and fun.
Moderator
Susi Wunsch: Susi is founder of the New York City-based website velojoy.com, a growing online source of news, events, how to’s and stylish gear for city cyclists and “bike curious” New Yorkers. The site is dedicated to attracting more women to NYC’s bike lanes by demystifying and celebrating the joys of two-wheeled transportation. Susi is a member of the board of directors of the advocacy organization Transportation Alternatives and supports a variety of pro-biking causes in New York City.
Twitter: @velojoy
Website: www.velojoy.com
Panelists
Elly Blue: Elly is an influential commentator about bicycling, with an emphasis on economics, culture and gender. She owns and operates publishing and publicity company Taking the Lane Media, and is the co-founder of the Portland Society, a nonprofit professional organization for women who are passionate about bicycling.
Twitter: @ellyblue
Website: http://takingthelane.com
Yolanda Davis-Overstreet: Yolanda has more than 15 years experience in working on diversity marketing and creative communications campaigns serving clients such as Los Angeles World Airports, Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and Fortune Magazine Special Advertising Editorial Sections. As a marketing and graphic design/communications specialist and consultant, she currently focuses on helping non-profits and businesses to grow and enhance the effectiveness of their local and national outreach programs, as this relates to communicating and bridging gaps between the bike industry and diverse communities. Yolanda also serves a volunteer advocate for getting more people on bikes. Recently, she has turned to the camera to highlight a topic underrepresented in the media. Her documentary film, RIDE: In Living Color, tells the stories of African American cyclists and sheds light on the captivating power of cycling in urban Los Angeles and beyond.
Twitter: @RideinLivingCol
Website: www.rideinlivingcolor.com
Mia Kohout: Mia is the co-owner and co-publisher and editor-in-chief of Momentum Magazine, an independent media company that celebrates the growing transportation cycling movement in North America, with an emphasis on women and families. She encourages more women to ride bikes by showcasing cycling as an easy, fun, sexy, smart and efficient way to get around. Mia is also the founder of Bike to Work Week in Metro Vancouver, where in its inaugural year in 2007 more than 1,000 new cyclists participated, of which more than 50 percent were women.
Twitter: @momentummag
Website: www.momentummag.com
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Who benefits from bicycling in your community? Alison Graves, executive director of the Community Cycling Center, posed that important question in the May-June issue of the League’s magazine.
In the story, Graves outlined the efforts of the Portland nonprofit to identify and effectively respond to the cycling disparities in nation’s most bike-friendly city. With its Understanding the Barriers to Bicycling initiative the advocates cultivated relationships with new partners and developed new programs with the insight and leadership of low-income, largely immigrant communities in North Portland.
Hacienda Bike Educator Training (Credit: Cristina Mihaescu)
Now the CCC has released a full report that delves into the process and lessons learned from the multi-year project. Perhaps the biggest take-away: True collaborative advocacy is “a big shift” from the status quo of many bike organizations. From the report:
Until this point, we had focused our efforts on running a community bike shop and delivering hands-on bicycle programs. This project would require we understand community health frameworks and policy development processes. Both represented significant new territory for us. In addition, we were pushing the organization to grapple with cultural competence. While bicycle advocates often have good intentions, the majority of bicycling organizations in Portland lack cultural competence and racial and class diversity. This lack of diversity means most discussions and decisions about bicycling issues have a limited perspective, which often excludes the concerns of many groups, including families or individuals living on low incomes and people of color.
One of the first steps to understanding the concerns of traditionally excluded groups was building genuine partnerships with other community organizations. After 70 meetings, the CCC found dedicated partners in New Columbia and Hacienda, two housing developments predominantly populated by Latino, African and African American residents. In 2009, the CCC worked with the partners to gather data through surveys and focus groups to assess the perceptions and barriers to bicycling for members of the New Columbia and Hacienda communities. Among their findings:
The most commonly noted barrier was costs associated with bicycle ownership. 60% of participants shared that the cost of purchasing a bicycle was a major obstacle, and 25% expressed concerns with the cost of bicycle maintenance.
100% of the African American participants were concerned that drivers would be hostile to them while riding a bicycle.
43% of the Latino/Hispanic respondents were concerned about being pulled over by the police.
33% of the Latina and Somali women participants expressed interest in learning how to ride a bicycle so that they could bike with their children.
The findings — and the relationships built in the process of discovery — led to an evolution in the CCC’s approach to programming. For instance, instead of simply providing free bicycles, the CCC began “clustering” programs and resources to create a sustainable community of riders at both locations.
Between Hacienda and New Columbia, we held six Create a Commuter workshops, through which 77 adults earned fully-outfitted commuter bicycles, and 11 Bike Clubs, where 102 elementary-age kids earned bikes to ride to school. To build on this momentum, we organized outreach events at both Hacienda and New Columbia. Skilled volunteers repaired bicycles, fit helmets, and taught youth and adults how to change flats and understand how to keep their bicycles in good working order. We were able to empower hundreds of people. Every time we set up our tool kits and stands, we were overwhelmed with demand for repairs because there was not reliable access to bike repair in these communities. We realized that a more permanent solution needed to shift toward more of a capacity-building model. This meant building the skills and knowledge of community members to be able to create a sustainable solution.
They also realized a more permanent solution started in-house. As well as external outreach, the organization looking internally.
We knew we needed help to become a more diverse, inclusive, and effective organization, and in 2010, we started the process by forming an equity committee and participating in the Center for Diversity and the Environment’s (CDE) Environment, Health and Equity program. The CDE program provided specific feedback, trainings, and support and started by performing a comprehensive equity audit of our organization. They then followed up with specific recommendations for improving our organizational cultural competence. The equity audit provided a comprehensive set of recommendations, ranging from hiring practices, culture building, physical space design, and board development. The findings advanced the work of the equity committee, which then developed a three-year plan to provide trainings to increase organizational cultural competence, revised our bike shop’s layout and signage to create a more welcoming environment, and continues to evaluate our policies and procedures to ensure our organization is equitable and inclusive.
The project had a significant impact on the development of the organization’s new strategic plan, informing a new direction and focus for the CCC. “The plan will demonstrate how, in the coming years, we will transform the Community Cycling Center to fully move beyond direct service and become a catalyst for community change.”
A must-read for advocacy organizations, click here to download the full report.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
“Bicycles have long played a role in my life,” Leah Missbach Day wrote in 2011. “As a young woman, I rode one year-round before I had a car. But it was later in adulthood that the bicycle became more than a source of transportation for me. The bicycle began to truly shape the way I saw the world.”
And Missbach Day began to shape the lives of other women around the world — through the power of bicycles.
In the wake of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Missbach Day and her husband, F.K. Day, founded the global non-profit World Bicycle Relief. In the two years following the disaster, WBR provided 24,000 bicycles to the residents of Sri Lanka, supplying a key resource to citizens in rebuilding their lives. In partnership with local aid organizations, World Bicycle Relief shifted its efforts to Africa in 2006, providing 23,000 specially designed, locally assembled, rugged bicycles to healthcare workers treating HIV/AIDS patients. And they continued to expand their efforts.
To date, WBR has supplied more than 100,000 bicycles through programs in Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
As history has shown here in the United States, bicycles can play a huge role in women’s empowerment. As Missbach Day has seen in her work, that’s especially true in developing countries. “When addressing global development challenges, a single-speed bicycle can improve the dignity and quality of life for women,” she says. “Entrepreneurs can get their goods to market; mothers gain access to life-saving medical clinics; girls are able to attend — and stay in — school.”
In 2009, Mary Lewanika was the first student in Zambia to receive a WBR bicycle. Immediately, Lewanika felt safer traveling to school. Because it cut her journey from an hour walk to a 20-minute ride, she was able to finish her morning chores, get to school on time and arrive with the energy to fully participate in her studies. Without a bicycle, Lewanika told Missbach Day, she wouldn’t have made it to the eighth grade. Now she aspires to be a doctor.
Such stories are common in her inspiring work — and Missbach Day will share some of those voices and (her stunning documentary photography) in her keynote address at the National Women’s Bicycling Summit.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Women’s Bicycling Summit as an artist, a humanitarian working to transform individuals and their communities through the power of bicycles and, of course, as a bike rider,” she says. “This is the first year I’ve been confident commuting on Chicago’s city streets, including taking our six-year-old to school and camp. The artist and humanitarian work came naturally. The turning point for urban commuting? A one-day women’s cycling clinic. All I needed were a few lessons to build that last piece of confidence! I’ll be excited to learn what motivates the women who attend because I imagine we all have this belief in common: With passion and a little practice it is never too late to learn new moves. See you September 13th!”
Register for the National Women’s Bicycling Summit here.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
We did it! With three weeks left in the online competition, the National Bike Challenge hit its goal of 10 million miles this morning.
I had already biked into the office and, like other participants around the country, was eagerly watching the website counter as we approached eight digits. Out in Denver, though, Amy Schiebel was riding three miles to work on her Electra cruiser — and pushed us past the 10-million mark just after 7 a.m. Mountain time.
Excited by our collective accomplishment, Schiebel was happy to share her (colorful!) story and thoughts on the Challenge.
Amy Schiebel
What’s your bike story — why and when did you start riding?
I have only recently started riding bikes in the past 2-3 years. I rode some as a kid but not like I do now. My dad has been an avid biker for years and years and tried to get me to ride but I never would. I was working from home and didn’t have much of a social life and decided it was time to finally get off the couch and do something productive. My cousin works for Bicycle Village in Aurora, Colo., and they sponsor a weekly cruiser ride on Thursdays through the summer here in Denver, so I joined in. It only took one time to get me hooked. I’ve been riding that cruiser ride now for three seasons and, from there, have branched into many others. Since starting to ride, I have lost close to 40 pounds, too! Up until two weeks ago, my entire National Bike Challenge has been completed on a cruiser bike!!
Tell me a bit about your cycling habits; where and how often do you ride?
I try to ride every day. I live about three miles from my work, so riding into work is a must for me. I feel super guilty on days that I don’t. During the winter I do my best to ride every day too, even if there is snow on the ground or falling from the sky! My extra curricular riding is all over the Denver Metro area and sometimes to mountain towns, too.
What do you love most about biking? What keeps your wheels turning?
I love how biking makes me feel. Getting on a bike early in the morning not only wakes me up for the day but gets me in a better mood. Then, riding home after a hard days work, it relaxes me to feel the wind through my hair and on my skin. With the amount of weight that I have lost over the past few years and most of it due to biking, that motivates me to keep going and keep that weight off!
Why did you join the National Bike Challenge?
I always like a friendly bike competition and love the program with Endomondo that tracks everything for me. It’s a good way to have that friendly competition between friends and even with my dad! I was so happy when, in June, I actually beat him for miles!!
You’re known locally because you put an emphasis on fun; how do you express the joy of biking?
I am highly involved in numerous cruiser clubs in the Denver Metro area. As previously stated, I first joined Governor’s Park Tavern Cruiser Club. From there I was introduced to the nation’s biggest cruiser club the Denver Cruiser Ride where each Wednesday night throughout the summer is Halloween. There is a new theme and start bar location each week. Then everyone converges at the Capitol in downtown Denver for what is called the Circle of Death (mass chaos of thousands of people in costume, on bikes, riding in circles!)
I also take part in the Golden Cruiser Ride on the last Tuesday of each month through the summer. My total round trip for that ride is 40 miles and close to 900 to 1000 foot elevation change, and always on a cruiser bike! I participate in New Belgium’s different rides throughout the summer also, from Tour de Fat in two local cities to their Urban Assault Race around town. A group of friends and I have made it a yearly vacation to go to Crested Butte for their Bridges of the Butte bike weekend. It’s three days of different bike races, from a chainless race down Keebler Pass to a 24-hour Townie Tour raising money for Adaptive Sports Center. This summer I rode over 100 miles on my cruiser in three days. There are many other smaller events that I participate in sponsored by many bike related clubs and charities.
I also like to light it up! Pretty much all of my bikes (total of seven!) have at least one to five strands of LED light wire on them. And that’s in addition to the spoke lights and other fun features like giant pinwheels on the front of my basket!
Is it exciting to be part of a collective effort that has pedaled 10 million miles?! Has this experience inspired you in any way?
I’m excited by how many people are involved in just this one little program and how many miles have been completed in such a short time! It’s fun to see so many people outdoors, getting in shape, living healthier lives and cutting back on pollution. This makes me want to get everyone I know involved with biking!
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
No, the League isn’t going to start ranking advocacy groups. But we are expanding our tradition of partnering with state and local advocacy groups on the Bicycle Friendly America program. These partnerships have already yielded some great local resources for cyclists – check out Bike Pittsburgh’s amazing commuter guide or Bike Minnesota’s technical assistance. Building on these existing successes, we’re very excited to work with Bike Walk Mississippi and Bike Maryland on upcoming campaigns.
Credit: MS Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Parks
Bike Walk Mississippi knows the state is currently ranked #38 in bicycle friendliness, and they’re going to change that. Taking both a state and local approach, BWMS is working with the League to offer “on the ground” assistance and resources to communities seeking Bicycle Friendly Community status. This includes:
Short- and long-term action plans in target communities – Pascagoula, Jackson, Greenwood and Starkville
Developing a Community Resource Tool-kit and “How-to” guide
Creating a statewide bicycle and pedestrian advisory coalition
Identifying BFA application best practices
and a lot more
It’s an impressive campaign recently supported with an Advocacy Advance grant. Want to help? They’re hiring!
Bike Maryland and the League have been partnering on BFC workshops for the past few months (Salisbury, Annapolis, Columbia). Before and after the workshops, BikeMD staff have provided technical and advocacy assistance to interested communities. “The BFC application process is key, especially with everything that a community can learn just by thinking about bicycling issues, as well as the League’s feedback,” says Anna Kelso, BikeMD’s Bicycle Friendly Maryland Program Coordinator. BikeMD will also be working to connect advocates where a local advocacy group may not exist to create a network across the state.
Awarding Baltimore’s BFC sign
This year the League made a few updates to our toolkit including the brand new Building a Bicycle Friendly America Booklet which is designed to give advocates, elected officials, business leaders, students, and university administrators a visual and written tour of the BFA program and includes a brief BFA self-assessment scorecard. Just send an email to bfa@bikeleague.org, call 202-822-1333 to request a copy or visit the BFA website for a printable electronic version. A standard BFA web model and new promotional presentations for partner organizations will be available online later this fall.
Elsewhere in cycling advocacy…
The City of Omaha, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA), Metro and the Pappio-Missouri River Natural Resources District cordially invite you to attend the Heartland Active Transportation Summit 2012 (HATS 2012). The Summit will take place on Friday, September 28th, 2012 at the Swanson Conference Center on the campus of the Metropolitan Community College – Fort Omaha Campus. For more information visit http://hats.mapacog.org/.
Matt Wempe League State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Mr. Wempe joined the League in September 2011. For the three years prior, he worked as a transportation planner and Safe Routes to School Coordinator in Fort Collins, Colo. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The new transportation law, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) creates a new program called Transportation Alternatives program (TA). TA combines several key funding pots from the past — Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails — and adds new eligible activities, like environmental mitigation (which used to be included in road project costs), over-looks and viewing areas, and certain boulevard projects.
Everyone seems to have the same question: How much money is my state going to get?
We’ve tried to answer that question as simply as possible. This table shows the amount of funds each state received in fiscal year 2012 from Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and the Recreational Trails program combined, compared to how much each state will receive from the Transportation Alternatives program.
All states will see a reduction in funding, but, because the law changes the way these funds are distributed to the states, the percentages vary.
For a more detailed break down, check out these two tables from America Bikes and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership (also see SRTS’s blog post).
2012 TE, SRTS, & Rec Tails VS. TA in 2013 and 2014: This is a more detailed version of the table above. It includes the funding levels of each distinct program in FY 2012. It also shows the TA values for FY 2014 and the percentage reduction in funding.
Sub-division of Transportation Alternatives: This is a table for those who really want to understand the breakdown of the TA program. It shows the dollars amounts distributed according to this break down:
The key point in all of this is that TA still represents an opportunity for bicycling and walking projects. We are asking cyclists to work closely with their state and local advocacy organizations to ask their state to make full use of Transportation Alternatives funds. To see how your state ranking in spending federal money, see our Bicycle Friendly State report cards.
For more resources, check out our MAP-21 resources section on the Advocacy Advance website to find tables on how well your state has spent existing bicycling and walking programs.
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
You gotta love a city that boldly professes on the side of its City Hall — “Long Beach: The most bike-friendly city in the U.S.” The industrial town just outside of Los Angeles isn’t quite to the Gold or Platinum standard just yet, but they’re certainly making incredible strides incredibly quickly. So it’s fitting that Long Beach will play host to the Pro Walk Pro Bike: Pro Place conference next month.
Hosted by Project for Public Spaces and the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, Pro Walk Pro Bike is the leading international conference on walking, bicycling, and creating great communities through placemaking. With more than 100 program sessions and mobile workshops, PWPB will not only be an opportunity to connect with hundreds of like-minded people to celebrate self-powered transportation; it will also be a chance to develop an agenda for cities and towns designed to get more people off the couch and onto their sidewalks and bicycles.
Planning to attend the National Women’s Bicycling Summit (see below)? Use promo code WSummit to get $35 off your PWPB registration. That way you can attend BOTH events for just the cost of PWPB!
Why come to Long Beach? Here are three ways the League is getting involved:
Green Lane track: The Green Lane Project, from Bikes Belong, is a new initiative working with six U.S. cities to help them build world-class cycling networks on city streets with cycle tracks and related improvements. Curated by the League, the Green Lane Track at PWPB is an opportunity for practitioners and advocates to join the Green Lane movement, learn about the importance of innovative infrastructure in building strong bicycle-friendly communities, and benefit from the lessons learned in pioneering communities. Participants will learn the essential elements of a successful campaign to get cycletracks and protected bike lanes on the ground and join the critical discussion of where we go from here.
Mikael Colville-Andersen: The League is also sponsoring the appearance of Mikael Colville-Anderson, the outspoken (often controversial) icon behind the popular blog Copenhagenize.com. As League president Andy Clarke explains on the PPS blog: “Mikael is an immensely talented presenter and speaker, very challenging and iconoclastic. Anyone who thinks they’re doing something ‘hot’ is going to get a rude awakening when Mikael comes and looks at their stuff. He is not afraid to slaughter a few sacred cows and call things out when they’re stupid, and I think we need that… He’ll do that with gusto, I’m sure, but in a very informative, helpful, and well-presented way.”
National Women’s Bicycling Summit: A separate event co-hosted by the League, the Women’s Summit will take place immediately after the PWPB conference at the same venue, from 2:30-11:30 p.m. on September 13. The Summit will provide a unique opportunity to network, share best practices and develop action steps to get more women in your community out riding. With a keynote address from Leah Missbach Day (co-founder of World Bicycle Relief) and six break-out sessions (tackling topics like equity, media and car-free families), it will provide the space for us to create a bike future where women of all backgrounds are equally represented on the streets and in the movement. Register today — this event will sell out!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
In addition to serving on the Women’s Summit steering committee, Fionnuala Quinn is a board member for Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, a licensed civil engineer working for Alta Planning + Design, and an advocate on a range of bicycling infrastructure issues in her suburban community.
Fionnuala Quinn
“People who spent their natural lives riding iron bicycles over the rocky roadsteads of this parish get their personalities mixed up with the personalities of their bicycle as a result of the interchanging of the atoms.” ~ Flann O’Brien
I started riding my bicycle the four miles to school back in 1974 when we had a nine-week bus strike in Dublin. But it really wasn’t until college that a bicycle became how I got absolutely everywhere. Looking back, I took the enjoyment of cycling for granted, but now that is something I truly value. Decades have passed and I suspect that I might have developed a touch of ‘‘bicyclosis.” This is a condition identified by Flann O’Brien in The Third Policeman, which refers to a process of molecular interaction by which people who ride bicycles “get their personalities mixed up with the personalities of their bicycles.” Even if I do have a case of bicyclosis, it’s pretty harmless and “a little of it is a good thing and makes you hardy and puts iron on to you.” Yer all suitably warned.
“There are no strangers here, only friends that have not yet met” ~ William Butler Yeats
Mostly, I ride because it’s my favorite way of getting around. I like seeing street life and buildings at the pace that I can take them in and I enjoy the everyday encounters with other people as I travel. In my college days back in Dublin, I would chatter the rest of the ride in with pals I happened upon on the way. Today, it’s more likely to be at a stop on the street to catch up with one of the neighbors. Plus, living here in the Virginia suburbs, there are always the unexpected nature encounters, which add to the small dramas of being a cyclist. Just last week, I had to move a turtle to the side of the road and saw a deer with only one antler.
“The bicycle is a great good” ~ Samuel Beckett
Call me an old fogey, but I dislike inefficient design. I come from sensible stock and cycling feels like the practical way to get places. The bicycle itself is an impressive device and, with all the parts at work, it leaves you feeling like a more competent and capable person for having gotten yourself somewhere. This isn’t to say you won’t find me ferrying teenagers around the suburbs in my mini-van. But I like to arrange my life so that, when I can and as much as I can, I bike instead. It’s fast and it’s cheap and just seems like a Good Thing. I should officially note here that any and all money saved by using a bike is completely negated by husband’s purchases of fancy electronic devices for his bike. However, I figure that one way or the other between the two of us, we still come out ahead.
“On my tenth birthday a bicycle and an atlas coincided as presents and a few days later I decided to cycle to India.” ~ Dervla Murphy
While I can only wish to be even a tiny bit as daring as Dervla Murphy, bicycling does add adventure and exhilaration to everyday life far more than my mini-van ever has. The act of cycling has gone from being completely unremarkable in my Dublin days to where it can, at times, cause me to be regarded as almost the seventh wonder of the world when I arrive on two wheels instead of four. Reading through the many personal comments submitted through the APBP Women Cycling Survey, many spoke of consciously considering themselves a role model and wanting to encourage other women to cycle too, something I hadn’t really thought about. I now ride knowing that women who see me may realize that lots of trips are already bikable in our community: most of our trips are short and there are already many suitable areas to safely and comfortably ride to get places. In the meantime, I also ride thinking about how to fix and improve those areas that are not safe, suitable and comfortable for riders like me.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
The July/August issue of the League’s magazine — American Bicyclist — is now online! Features in this edition include: growing bipartisan support for bicycling, a Spanish-language PSA campaign in Los Angeles, an interview with Melissa Balmer of SoCal Women on Bikes and more!
Comments? Criticism? Feedback? Send me your letters to the editor! E-mail carolyn@bikeleague.org.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
When we kicked off the National Bike Challenge in May, we knew our goal was ambitious: Unite American bicyclists to ride 10 million miles this summer. Well, with three months behind us and just one month to go, we’re on pace to FAR exceed even that impressive milestone. Thus far, more than 29,000 participants have pedaled nearly 9.5 million miles.
And hundreds of those riders have gotten a little something for their efforts.
Thanks to our partners at Bikes Belong and our generous sponsors, at the end of each month there’s a drawing. Thus far, more than 300 people from every corner of the country have won an array of different prizes, from Trek water bottles to Better World Club bike memberships to a year’s supply of Cottonelle bath tissue. Of course, the most coveted items — reserved for folks who have earned enough points to rise to the Gold Level — have been brand new bikes from Trek and Specialized.
July winner were just announced this week. Shelli Shipps from Kansas won a Specialized Globe and Jonathan Oakley from Indiana will be pedaling a new Trek. Last month, the two bikes went to Texas resident Howard Maher and Zulma Castaneda in California, respectively.
Chris Nelson, who lives and rides just outside of Minneapolis, Minn., was honored to be the first winner of a Specialized bike in May. “I’ve been a bike commuter on and off for 20 years,” he says. “During the past 12 months I’ve become a committed daily bike commuter — all seasons, all weather, I ride 10 miles from home to office and back. I love getting the fresh air and exercise to start and end each day.”
So, why get involved with the Challenge? “I like these events and how they promote biking,” he explains. “I tend to ride my bike because I love it, however, I get involved with the Challenge and other events that track biking (Endomondo is a great tool!) because they help give hard statistics to the impact of bikes — helping cities and states justify investing more in bike infrastructure. So my goal is to help our community justify building better routes for everybody to enjoy biking.”
Who will take home the grand prizes — including a Trek Travel trip through California’s wine country and a White Rim Trail Trip from Western Spirit — when the Challenge concludes on August 31st? Stay tuned — and keep pedaling!
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Yesterday, the D.C. engineer and advocate was honored as a Transportation Innovator and Champion of Change by the nation’s top brass. Davis was among just 14 individuals who were applauded by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood as visionaries for the future of American mobility.
“We’re not talking about the past,” Lahood said at yesterday’s ceremony. “We’re not talking about building more roads and bridges. We’re talking about building new and creative communities with innovative and creative ways of getting people around those communities.”
That’s certainly what Davis is talking about.
Veronica Davis speaking at the National Women Cycling Forum (Credit: Chris Eichler)
Many people do not recognize the role that equitable and accessible multi-modal transportation options play in their everyday lives. Transportation planning and choices have the ability to impact socioeconomic conditions, personal health and overall quality of life. I seek to help others understand that the role of transportation cannot be underestimated.
As a result of many casual discussions with others about transportation options in my community, Black Women Bike DC was founded. Although it started as a twitter hash tag (BlackWomenBike), it grew into a movement within the District of Columbia. I have always been an advocate of sustainable transportation but after noticing the absence of black women on two wheels Nse Ufot, Najeema Washington and I founded Black Women Bike in May 2011. The organization has grown to over 550 African American women in Washington, DC ranging in age from late 20’s to late 60’s. The news spread to women via word of mouth and social media. Although the group takes a monthly group recreation ride to help novice riders get prepared for riding on the road, we encourage the women to use biking as an alternative form of transportation for running small errands and getting to work… Black Women Bike is building a community of women who bike in the District.
Davis wasn’t the only bike/ped visionary honored as a Champion of Change. Jason Roberts, creative director for Team Better Block, was recognized for his innovative approach to urban redevelopment. What started as a guerilla project in a struggling area of Dallas quickly turned into a national model. As Roberts wrote in his blog post:
My whole life I was waiting for someone to create the kind of community I always dreamed of. The real change in me occurred when I saw many of my friends moving away from our city. I looked at that and thought I could leave as well, or we could all start working to make it the kind of place we always wished we lived in. The change for me personally was to say, “Wait a second, who am I waiting for to fix these problems?”
In 2006, I started the Oak Cliff Transit Authority which brought together civil engineers, residents and property owners to return the streetcar as a means to revitalize our community…. A team of artists, residents, and property owners helped begin our first Better Block project, an effort to temporarily revitalize a single blighted block with any means at our disposal. What we lacked in funds we made up for in community! We set forth in building our dream walkable environment. We took our wide streets and thinned them by creating bike lanes and outdoor café seating so children and families could more easily access the area and seniors could have a comfortable place to sit. We brought in historic lighting and shade trees, and began converting the vacant buildings into pop-up business such as local cafes, markets, flower shops and art studios for kids. We filled the sidewalks with fruit stands and life!
Prior to the project we were told Dallas was too hot and lacked the culture to support a pedestrian environment. What we found was that we were no different than any other great city in the world. We just needed the chance to create an irresistible place that embraced people and promoted walking, bicycling and lingering with friends and family.
Congratulations to Davis and Roberts for recognition well-earned!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
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