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Imagine your community with more trails for people biking and walking. Imagine a bicyclist and pedestrian bridge over that major arterial that cuts neighborhoods off from each other. At the 2019 National Bike Summit, advocates asked their senators to support enhancements to the Transportation Alternatives (TA) program that would make it easier for local governments and agencies to fund and implement projects to make biking better.

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Here at the League, members are at the core of every program, every initiative, every action. As the 'big tent' national organization for bicycling, we need the wide depth and variety of experience, background, and perspective that only the bike community at-large can provide. Cycling in this country is experiencing a renaissance, built soundly on the platform of the many voices of our riders.

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Join the League during our Spring member drive to support our work advancing cyclists' rights (and maybe win an e-bike!)

It would be impossible to sum up #BikeSummit19 in one post--so I won’t. Over the next several weeks, we’ll post recaps with photos, presentations, and more detailed recaps about what we took away from the Summit. In the meantime, we want to celebrate the nearly 400 cyclists and advocates who attended the Summit and helped elevated our conversations about making biking better to the national stage.

When developers build new shopping centers or apartment complexes, they rely on datasets and visualization tools that illustrate how people can get to and from these sites most efficiently and safely, including by bike. Unfortunately, state and local Departments of Transportation often do not have access to these private sector data tools that would show them how improved bike facilities would increase everyone’s ability to get places safely and quickly.

Each National Bike Summit is an opportunity to recognize the exemplars of our vibrant bicycle advocacy community. From organizations to individuals, everyone plays an important role in the campaigns and initiatives that make biking better. These awardees are the ones that inspire us, keep us motivated, and encourage us to reach bigger goals. We were honored to have the 2019 award winners join us at the National Bike Summit and share their stories with us. 

With #BikeSummit19 Lobby Day just a week away, review our tips and fact sheets on how to protect and promote bicyclists' rights on Capitol Hill.

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Earlier this year, the Montgomery Bicycle Club escalated their work to pass a hands-free law in Alabama and make it the 17th state to pass a hands-free law.

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The United States should be a leader in vehicle safety, but a new report show how far behind the U.S. has fallen when designing vehicles for bicyclist and pedestrian safety.

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In our recent 2018 Benchmarking Report, the League found the U.S. is in the midst of a public health crisis of physical inactivity and deadly roads. The Bike New Deal addresses the urgency to act, and act in a big way to make biking and walking better for everyone.

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Number of bicyclists killed reached 25-year high as transportation policies at federal and state levels require greater urgency to create a more Bicycle Friendly America

While the NTSB rarely directly addresses bicyclist or pedestrian safety, many of the “most wanted” safety efforts point to big potential improvements for people who bike and walk.

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President Trump campaigned the need for a $1 trillion investment in improving our infrastructure, and he mentioned the issue once again in last night’s State of the Union address. It was an important, if brief, moment.

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Just over a month from now, bike advocates will gather in Arlington, Virginia, for the 2019 National Bike Summit. Situated just across the river from Washington, DC, Arlington is more than just a suburb with a beautiful view.

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In creating a more Bicycle Friendly America, the League wants to make biking safer, easier, and more accessible to everyone, whether commuting to work, exercising, or simply enjoying the freedom felt while bicycling. Part of that is engineering and encouragement, but a large part of that is education. To be a Bicycle Friendly Community, for example, a place must offer educational programs in bicycling skills for adults and children.

While we’re building a more Bicycle Friendly America, there are advocates and educators working around the world to make their own countries more welcoming to cyclists--even in places we think of as havens for bicyclists, like Belgium.

In 2019, our movement of biking advocates will have several opportunities to create a more Bicycle Friendly America on Capitol Hill and through local partners at the community level. The League's efforts to make our roads and cities more welcoming for bicyclists, pedestrians, and other road user are often most successful when we join forces with like-minded organizations, such as our friends at America Walks and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

We're committed to building a Bicycle Friendly America which means helping more cities and towns meet the criteria to become Bicycle Friendly Communities. We couldn't do that without the support of partners like Eco-Counter. Last year, we worked with Eco-Counter to survey almost 200 communities across the country, including BFCs and non-BFCs, to learn how local officials are counting bicyclists on their trails and roads.