The League of American Bicyclists thrives thanks to the dedication of its members. We’re grateful for everyone who has joined us to support our mission to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone through membership.

Some of our members take their commitment to the next level: by joining our Board of Directors. 

Right now, it’s your opportunity to apply to run for elected spots on our Board. 

We’re seeking passionate individuals to join our Board of Directors and guide the League’s future.

Why Serve on the Board?

Our Board members have the opportunity to shape the future of bicycling. Your leadership could help us create a more inclusive cycling environment for all, one that welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. You would have the opportunity to put change into action by contributing your expertise and passion to propel our advocacy efforts and programs. And you’d be joining a community of fellow changemakers who share our vision of a nation where everyone knows the power of bicycling. 

We’re looking for Board members who:

• Embrace the League’s mission and demonstrate a deep understanding and commitment to building a Bicycle Friendly America.
• Bring diverse skills and perspectives that offer expertise in areas like governance, fundraising, or program development.
• Champion equity and inclusion to help us build a Board that reflects the rich diversity of American cycling communities.

Learn More and Apply

Visit our Board Elections page to explore the qualifications and application process to run for our Board. 

The deadline to apply for our next round of Board elections is May 31, 2024. 

Our next Board election will take place in August 2024. Voting in League elections is open to all League members. 

The post Lead the Movement for a Bicycle Friendly America: Join Our Board of Directors appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

What does the company at the top of the Fortune 500 list have in common with a rural soup kitchen? As of today, they’re both officially Bicycle Friendly Businesses!

Ahead of Bike to Work Week, when the League of American Bicyclists encourages Americans across the country to commute by bike, we are proudly recognizing 56 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses. From corporate giants to local gems, these diverse establishments share a commitment to fostering a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.

“This round of new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses is a testament to the power of bicycles, not only as a workplace initiative but as a catalyst for broader societal change,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “Progress stems from collective effort, and we applaud these employers for their commitment to collaboration in driving transformative local action for better, safer bicycling. “

List of all Spring 2024 Awards + Honorable Mentions | List of all Current BFBs

Of the fifty-plus organizations awarded, this round represented a dazzling diversity of business types with establishments like animal shelters, libraries, and preschools joining the ranks of Bicycle Friendly Businesses.

The list also includes four Fortune 500 corporate campuses, with Platinum-level Walmart’s Home Campus in Bentonville leading the pack and Chevron’s Houston campus moving up from Bronze to Silver.  

Along with an array of business types, BFBs are based in a range of community types with a surge of rural businesses applying for the first time.

One example is new Silver-level BFB Manna, a soup kitchen whose efforts are motivated by a desire to promote safe and reliable access to transportation in their rural community of Durango, Colorado — ensuring “vulnerable community members will have increased access to the services and resources they need to help them take the next steps to self-sufficiency.”

Adaptive Sports Parters in Franconia, NH

As this network of Bicycle Friendly Businesses expands and diversifies, it inspires more organizations to show solidarity with cyclists and work together to make change happen. These collaborative efforts tend to show up in regional hotspots, as friendly competition along with practice-sharing encourages more local organizations to apply for an award. 

In the Tri-Town area of Bethlehem, Franconia, and Littleton, New Hampshire, which has a collective population of 8,200, eight local businesses, ranging from a brewery with 65 employees to a one-person independent bike shop, are joining the Bicycle Friendly Business list – including three first-time Gold awardees! Each one of these small businesses shared stories of working collaboratively with one another to improve their communities, and their workplaces, for bicycling.   

Two other communities also saw significant jumps in their number of BFBs thanks to local collaboration and the leadership of local champions. In the suburban community of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, the local advocacy group Bike Fitchburg recruited and assisted seven businesses to apply – six of which were awarded, ranging from a hospital to an ice cream shop. In the beach town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, local bike shop Hilton Head Bicycle Company not only renewed their own BFB status (moving up from Bronze to Silver!) but they recruited five other bike shops across the island to join the Bicycle Friendly Business program as well. 

Another great example of regional partnership comes from Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) in South Bend, Indiana — a region characterized by “many small communities that want to prioritize active transportation, but do not have the resources.” As a renewing Bicycle Friendly Business moving up from Bronze to Silver, MACOG provides funding and expertise to shape initiatives for better biking — including a Tactical Urbanism toolbox stocked with over $25,000 of materials shared between various project sites throughout the four counties. In MACOG’s application, they share that “over a dozen short-term projects have been completed leading to three projects slated for permanent solutions in 2024.”

In the midst of Bike Month, these new and renewing BFBs remind us of the undeniable, inspiring truth: life is better when more people ride bikes. From quiet rural towns to bustling metropolises, each organization adds power to our network working to build a more Bicycle Friendly America. 

If your business would like to join the movement, submissions for the next round of the Bicycle Friendly Business program are due on June 5, 2024. Throughout May, enjoy a special 10% discount offered as an incentive to catalyze further progress toward a more Bicycle Friendly America for everyone! Just use the code “BikeMonth24” at checkout.

Apply for BFB Status

About the League Of American Bicyclists

Since 1880, the League of American Bicyclists has been people-powered, with a goal to make bicycling safer and easier as a means of transportation and recreation. Today, the League continues to improve lives and strengthen communities through bicycling. We are more than 200,000 members and supporters strong with more than 1,000 state and local advocacy groups and bike clubs as well as thousands of businesses, universities, and communities together leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. 

About the Bicycle Friendly Business Program

Bicycle Friendly Business awards reflect local leaders’ ongoing work to build better places to bike and evaluate those efforts as part of a national movement. Each of the five levels of the Bicycle Friendly Business award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze, plus an honorable mention category – provides a clear path for businesses to continuously improve. Visit bikeleague.org/business to learn more about the BFB program.

The post 56 Bicycle Friendly Businesses Recognized During Bike Month appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

Calling all youth cyclists! Grab your helmets and head to the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, for the 2024 Youth Bike Summit (YBS2024), which will be held June 14-16.

The Youth Bike Summit will bring together hundreds of youth riders and their adult advocates from across the country for three days packed with workshops and rides, all designed to help youth lead through the power of the bicycle. The theme of this year’s YBS is Youth Lead the Way, with a focus on young people who have historically been excluded from cycling.

YBS2024 will kick off on Friday evening with a welcome reception at races at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center (The Velodrome). Saturday will offer a full day of classroom- and ride-based workshops and will include opportunities for attendees to Try the Track at the Velodrome, participate in a Bikes & Boating adventure, and get an insider’s view of Bicycling Magazine headquarters. YBS2024 will culminate on Sunday with a Big Ride that will take attendees through Allentown, along the historic D&L trail, and to Bethlehem’s iconic SteelStacks.

Registration for the three-day event—including four meals—is just $110 for youth 24 and under, and $160 for adults over 24. Click here for tickets!

The Youth Bike Summit is led by the National Youth Bike Council (NYBC) and the YBS steering committee, which includes youth bike advocates from across the country. Community Bike Works (CBW), a Lehigh Valley-based Earn a Bike organization, will host YBS2024.

“Youth Bike Summit fosters connections among youth and adults who are passionate about youth cycling, while it also helps to build leadership skills of students who are the future of our cycling community,” Joshua Funches, NYBC President, said.

“The Youth Bike Summit is a magical, life-changing gathering for young people who love bikes,” CBW Youth Projects Coordinator Avery Daniels said. “This is the 10th Youth Bike Summit and the most authentically youth-led YBS to date. We are so excited to welcome everyone to YBS2024. Come ride with us this June!”

The League of American Bicyclists is thrilled to be participating in YBS once again this year, sponsoring the event as well as sending staff members to join the celebration. 

“Getting young people on bikes is essential to building a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. When we invest in and empower youth through cycling, it starts a chain reaction for stronger, healthier, more inclusive communities,” says the League’s Executive Director, Bill Nesper. 

Just last month at the National Bike Summit, the League honored Avery Daniels as Emerging Leader of the Year for his outstanding leadership, particularly in planning this upcoming YBS.

Bill Nesper presenting Avery Daniels the Emerging Leader of the Year award during the National Bike Summit.

This brings us into a full-circle moment, highlighting the overlap between the two Summits. In 2010, Kimberly White and Kristi Nanco, two bike-loving high school students, attended the National Bike Summit. As the League reported that year, “During their first trip to the Nation’s capital, the then-17-year-old participants explored the city by bike, attended the conference, and lobbied elected officials on Capitol Hill. As the pair debriefed on the bus ride home, they discussed the importance of engaging people of all ages and backgrounds in the national dialogue of cycling education and advocacy. As a result, the idea of the Youth Bike Summit came into being.”

The National Bike Summit continues to welcome youth participants, offering discounted membership rates and scholarships as well as free virtual admission for youth when virtual attendance has been available. But part of championing inclusion means supporting spaces that exist solely to benefit those who’ve previously been excluded. As the bike movement grows, we celebrate whenever leaders like Kimberly, Kristi, Joshua, or Avery step up to organize their peers around shared experiences, affinities, and passions. 

Young people deserve the chance to build the future they want to see. The Youth Bike Summit attempts to do just that — carving out space for youth and empowering them with tools for change, all the while staying centered around the joy that bicycling brings. Do you know a young person who should attend YBS2024? Don’t miss their–or your–chance to be part of this transformative experience. Find out the details and secure your spot at YBS2024 today! 

The post Gear Up for the 2024 National Youth Bike Summit appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

Earlier this month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) related to mechanical hazards of e-bikes. There are no new rules proposed in the ANPRM and its purpose is to collect information about future rules. So this is a rare opportunity to weigh in as bicyclists and share our experiences with e-bikes. Comments are due May 14th. We encourage you to submit your own answers to the CPSC’s questions so the agency has a breadth of information and input to draw from. 

While the ANPRM touches on many issues — there are 52 specific questions — the League of American Bicyclists sees the biggest issues as:

• Whether the CPSC will adopt a version of the 3-class system used by many states and how their version might align with state approaches,
• Whether the CPSC will exercise its authority over higher speed out-of-class e-bikes or express a belief that they should be regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration instead, and
• Whether new equipment standards, such as braking and lighting system requirements, will be proposed.

Batteries and electrical hazards are outside the scope of this comment period. All comments should be submitted through regulations.gov and include a reference to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the comment period docket number CPSC-2024-0008. 

The League opposes policies and programs that discourage or suppress bicycling and is concerned about inconsistent labeling and inconsistent mechanical abilities, particularly related to speed, that might lead to communities and land managers discouraging or suppressing bicycling due to the inability to differentiate between bicycles and e-bikes with much different performance characteristics. The League believes that Class 1 e-bikes that require pedaling for electric assist and do not provide assist above 20 mph are functionally the same as unassisted e-bikes and should be treated as such. 

The League would like to see the 3-class system adopted by the CPSC with strong labeling and mechanical requirements that restrict an e-bike to one class of operation so that communities and land managers that use the 3-class system to regulate bicycle access can rely upon the standardized labels and mechanical consistency. 

Out-of-class e-bikes, including e-bikes sold with out-of-class top speeds marketed for off-road use, can threaten bicycle access to shared use paths, natural surface trails, and other public facilities. Some people use the term out-of-class electric vehicle (OCEV) to differentiate between in-class e-bikes and out-of-class electric vehicles that should not be marketed or regulated as e-bikes due to consumer and access manager confusion.

For individual bicyclists, bicycle education instructors, and bicycle advocates, the League suggests the following guidance when commenting:

• Provide your personal experiences with e-bikes, with an emphasis on how the 3-class system is useful to your community and any mechanical issues you may have experienced with e-bikes. Questions that may be of particular interest to people with experiences riding e-bikes may be:
  • Question 6. “What are some relevant factors we should consider in the definition of an e-bike ( e.g., weight, throttle capabilities, pedal-assist capabilities, speed governors, motor power (watts) and batteries).”
  • Question 21. “Do e-bikes, due to their heavier weight or other factors, need different performance requirements for braking, particularly for disc brakes, which are used in e-bikes but are not included in the current bicycle standards?”
  • Question 25. “Is it appropriate to have marking, labeling, instructional literature, and/or packaging requirements specific to e-bikes (especially for new riders)? If so, what are some important points that the Commission should include?”
• If you have any experiences with e-bikes marketed for use by children, please share them and what aspects of those e-bikes made them more or less safe for children of the intended age.
  • Consider Question 15. “What are the developmental capabilities of children to understand and operate e-bikes, including electric balance bikes, and how does that relate to maximum speeds of the products?”
  • Consider Question 31. “CPSC is aware of ASTM work item, ASTM WK88946, New Specification for Electric Powered Balance Bike. Do electric balance bikes need different performance requirements than other e-bikes?”
• If you have had negative experiences with out-of-class e-bikes that can exceed 20 mph with a throttle or 28 mph with pedal assistance, please share them. Negative experiences may include limited trail access due to a jurisdiction’s confusion about e-bike types, or personal experiences of negative interactions where speed or operational capabilities played a role.
  • Consider weighing in on Question 5. “How broadly should the Commission define e-bikes (beyond low-speed e-bikes) to reflect recent developments in the product category? For example, we can include all e-bikes except for those that meet the definition of a motor vehicle in 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(7).” 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(7) says “‘motor vehicle’ means a vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways, but does not include a vehicle operated only on a rail line.” According to a 2008 interpretation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  “‘believe[s] that vehicles with speeds of over 20 mph are capable of on-road operation,’ and therefore fall within their purview.”

What to expect next:

• This is an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking meaning CPSC wants to hear what issues exist and will take comments to inform a future Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
• A future Notice of Proposed Rulemaking can be expected within a year or so with specific proposed regulations.
• A Final Rule will be issued sometime in the future, likely within a year or so of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. (One CPSC Commissioner who has expressed an interest in this type of rulemaking has her term expiring in October 2025, so the rulemaking may be completed by that time.)
• Once a Final Rule is in place, all new e-bikes sold to consumers in the United States must comply with the Final Rule.
• The CPSC can use fines and recall authority to enforce its Final Rule.

The post A Rare Opportunity to Weigh in on E-Bike Safety Rules appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

May is National Bike Month, which means it’s time to share your love of biking! Did you know that just getting on your bike is one of the best ways to encourage other people to try biking? And it’s the easiest way to be an advocate for safer, better, more convenient biking. 

So, if you need the excuse to ride more, here it is in the form of Bike Month! (But we’d love to see you riding year round – trust us, it’s easier than you think!)  

Our Top Tips For Bike Month Hop on the Saddle

The most obvious way to celebrate? Just ride your bike! It doesn’t matter if it’s a quick spin around the block, a leisurely cruise through the park, or a challenging mountain bike adventure. Every pedal stroke counts!

Bike Basics 

Share our Smart Cycling videos with your friends, family, and community members! Our videos cover the basics of biking, from checking your tire pressure to shifting gears to changing lanes. We even answer questions drivers may have like, “why is that bicyclist in the middle of the road?” 

Make Every Ride Count 

This month, help show decision-makers just how many people bike! Download the Love to Ride app and join the League and Love to Ride in our campaign to #MakeEveryRideCount! Record your rides (or let the app automatically do it for you) and then

Download the Love to Ride app from the App Store or Google Play Store.

Mark Your Calendars

National Bike Month offers several key dates to focus your riding adventures:

• National Ride a Bike Day: This falls on the first Sunday of May, that’s May 5th in 2024. Plan a fun ride with friends and family, explore a new bike path, or simply enjoy a solo journey.
• Bike to Work Week: This is the third week of May, May 13th-19th in 2024. Maybe you’re an everyday commuter or maybe you’re a weekend warrior wondering about ditching the car: this is your chance! Many workplaces offer incentives and support for bike commuters, so check with your employer (this is especially true if they are a Bicycle Friendly Business!) 
• Bike to Work Day: This happens the Friday of Bike to Work Week, May 17th in 2024. It’s a national day of celebration where communities come together to promote cycling as a healthy and sustainable mode of transportation. Your region, city, or town might have a “pit stop” or event for you to ride to and pick up free gear – find your local bike advocacy group on our map to get started: bikeleague.org/map 

Beyond the Basics

While simply riding is fantastic, there are more ways to celebrate your love of bicycling: 

• Bike Clubs: You can find our League member bike clubs on our map. Clubs often host big yearly rides and weekly group rides, which can be a great way to get motivated to put in the miles or to meet fellow cyclists and explore new routes.
• Bike Safety Events: League Cycling Instructors and local advocacy organizations often host classes to help you hone your cycling skills classes, whether that’s city riding tips or learning to ride. Find LCIs near you on our map!
• Advocacy Organizations: While the League works at the national level to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone, local organizations are on the ground leading initiatives in your neighborhood. Connect with your state and local advocacy groups by checking out – you guessed it – our map! 

Spread the Bike Joy

National Bike Month isn’t just about transportation and exercise. It’s about celebrating the joy of cycling. Post your rides on social media, share your favorite routes, lead a party pace ride – the ideas are endless. 

National Bike Month is a chance to experience the freedom, fitness, and fun that cycling offers.  So, get out there, explore your world on two wheels, and join the celebration!

The post Get in the saddle this Bike Month appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

The League certifies hundreds of League Cycling Instructors every year and there are thousands of LCIs across the country leading bike education efforts in their communities. In our LCI spotlight series, we share the stories of League Cycling Instructors doing what they do daily: educating, mentoring, and empowering. You don’t have to be an extraordinary athlete or overachieving student to be a stellar LCI, all you need is the conviction that life is better for everyone when more people ride bikes.

This month, we’re catching up with Jamie Miernik, an LCI based in Huntsville, Alabama. Jamie is a longtime National Bike Summit attendee and is one of the few dozen who scored a spot in our first-ever League Cycling Advocate training following the Summit this year.

Jamie’s nominator says, “She has been the Alabama state coordinator for the National Bike Summit’s Lobby Day for nearly two decades! Year after year, Jamie continues to show up and speak up for safer, better cycling. She’s a reliable powerhouse who makes things happen, and we love to see all aspects of her work for bicycling in Alabama.” 

Jamie is a member of every bike advocacy organization she can find, including Marshall Space Flight Center’s Team Redstone Alliance for Cycling (MTRAC), Spring City Cycling Club (SCCC)/Rocket City Cycle Belles (RCCB), Huntsville Bicycle Advisory and Safety Committee (BASC), Huntsville Urban Bike Share Coop (HUBS). She’s also the founder of the Alabama Bicycle Coalition (AlaBike).

Know an inspiring LCI we should feature next? Nominate a stellar bike educator here! 

Tell us a little about yourself and why you enjoy teaching bike education.

Being from Minneapolis, I grew up riding a bike as a means to get to the park, school, softball, and basketball games. I am very comfortable riding for transportation and like to help others be able to enjoy bike transportation, too. Now that I live in Alabama, teaching kids to ride is a great way to nurture considerate, future drivers. I would call myself a cycling advocate just as much as an educator.

How does your experience compare as a cyclist and advocate in those different states?

In Minnesota, you don’t have to push too hard as a cycling advocate to make things happen. Seattle wasn’t too bad either – it’s been thirty years since I lived there, but even back then it was pretty easy to ride in Seattle!

In Alabama, much of the conversation is around how unsafe it is to ride because there’s a lack of facilities, very few bike lanes, and even sidewalks are kind of spotty. Part of this struggle is our state constitution – the longest, most complex state constitution in the United States – which makes it tricky for communities to take local action for safer streets. On the positive side, we’ve seen some erosion of that barrier in the past few years, including successfully advocating for a three-foot passing law. Alabama is also a lot more scenic than you might have heard – we’ve got lots of mountain biking and recreational road biking! 

How did you become involved with the national bicycle advocacy movement?

In 2003, a group of friends and I got inspired and founded the Alabama Bicycling Coalition, now known as AlaBike. We were invited to the National Bike Summit in 2004 as part of an initiative to bring someone in from every state. I was the only Alabamian there, but the group from Georgia took me under their wing and LAB scheduled all my lobby day meetings. At that first Summit, I met with all nine Alabama congressmen in one day! In the year following, AlaBike got incorporated as a 501c3 and we’ve had board members or cycling advocates attend every year since. 

What first motivated you to become an LCI?

I began to assist a friend who was an LCI to teach some classes. I see the need to train folks how to ride in traffic and how to find the best route by bike.

I also love supporting safety on a larger scale by supporting big cycling events. I’m known for carrying around these huge, bright green “Caution: Bikes on Road” signs to all the century rides in the state. My mission is to bring safety to cyclists whenever I can!

What is your best piece of advice for an LCI who wants to teach a class but isn’t sure how to get started?

Finding students for a cycling class can be challenging. When we first started the women’s division of our bike club was when I taught the largest cycling class ever. Sometimes a large company or hospital may have a health initiative to encourage their employees to ride bikes or to commute by bike, and they would sponsor a class. If you can find interest in teaching cycling in PE classes, that’s a good audience. But, scheduling Bike Rodeos at other events is a way to reach kids, too!

Give us an interesting or funny fact about you.

My husband and I scheduled our wedding and honeymoon to ride in Italy during the Giro d’Italia and met Miguel Indurain at the hotel.

What is your favorite thing about being on a bike?

I like it all. I have always liked to ride a bike for transportation around town, especially on vacations. I also have raced on the road, mountain biked, rode with bike clubs, and enjoyed big organized weekend century rides.

What is your favorite memory from being on a bike?

Riding in the Pyrenees on the Tour de France “rest day” riding over the Col de Tourmalet!

Jamie Miernik (bottom right) with the Rocket City Belles

Jamie’s bicycle advocacy career has spanned multiple decades and dozens of organizations. But we’re excited to celebrate that a new chapter is beginning! Just last week, Jamie officially retired from her day job as a Chemical Engineer at Boeing. She says, “I’ve always done bicycle advocacy in my spare time on nights and weekends, so I’m excited that all my time now can be dedicated to the work for better, safer biking.” We can’t wait to see how Jamie will continue pushing the bike movement forward in Alabama!

The post LCI Spotlight: Jamie Miernik appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

Communities and organizations often use the League’s Bicycle Friendly America program as a way to set local benchmarks and receive actionable feedback around bicycling improvements they could make for everyone’s benefit. 

The Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) program is no different, serving as a tool to help businesses invest in best practices to make bicycling better for employees, customers, and the larger community. When the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC) first applied to the BFB program last year, they were motivated by a desire to set an example in the region and inspire local action around better bicycling. 

“In the past few years, a lot of communities have worked on their rail trails, sidewalks, and other Complete Streets efforts,” says SNHPC’s Executive Director, Sylvia von Aulock. “The general trend in the area is headed towards reviewing streets to make improvements for all users.”  Silvia hopes that SNHPC’s Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Business award will open the door for more projects specifically around improving cycling.

Tammy Zamoyski, Regional Planner at SNHPC, says, “In New Hampshire, there are eight other regional planning commissions with whom we work hand in hand. We’d love to see them match what we’ve done as a Bicycle Friendly Business or even do better if they can!”

Members of SNHPC show off their alternate commuting modes. Tammy Zamoyski is pictured third from left with her bicycle.

Benefits from BFB Application & Report Card

Tammy was already familiar with the Bicycle Friendly America program because of her past work in Montrose, Colorado which received a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community award in 2020. She says the extensive documentation is probably the most challenging part of the application, but worth the effort. 

Her advice for first-time applicants is, “Don’t be afraid of failure! It’s great to receive an award, but the application process itself is such a learning tool. There are so many ideas and inspiration you can take out of the application. Indoor parking, access to showers, events – all sorts of things that encourage visitors and staff to bike to your business that you wouldn’t think about until you get the application and your report card.”

Maintaining Community Dialogue & Awareness

By showing up as a part of the Bicycle Friendly America program, organizations like SNHPC are demonstrating leadership and can inspire other peer organizations to consider being more welcoming to people who bike.  At the individual level, Tammy reports that “people are using our bike facilities and keeping conversations going about biking, riding, and rolling.” 

This momentum even has inspired increased awareness at the state level. From creating posters and branding toolkits to submitting a proclamation to the governor, Tammy along with the SNHPC team, worked to ensure last year’s Bike Month was a huge success across the state.

Another promising update comes from New Hampshire’s Department of Transportation, which has been gradually working on updating its bicycle and pedestrian plan for quite a few years. In 2023, that plan was finally finalized. SNHPC staff sees this as a victory attributable to slow and consistent progress toward elevating bicycling as a priority.

Building a Bicycle Friendly America for Everyone: Championing Inclusion 

This progress can’t happen alone, but it certainly helps to have people in your organization to champion bicycling, just like Tammy Zamoyski. For anyone inspired to follow Tammy’s lead, she says that the most important part is just encouraging people to show up and ride. “It’s also important – especially for us as planners – to understand the barriers non-drivers face, particularly in transit-related projects as we understand what it’s like to use that mode of transportation.” 

Finally, we asked Sylvia for any final advice or inspiration. She says, “I’ve been biking for 58 years and have found that as we change, our abilities change. You might start to slow down or find yourself dealing with balance issues. But no matter how your abilities may change, it’s so important to make sure you find moments to feel alive. Embrace the different types of bikes, whether on two, three, or more wheels. Just get out there and be alive!”

Overall, this conversation left us feeling impressed and excited to see what happens next in New Hampshire’s bicycling scene. With this level of investment at the local and regional government level, great things are on the horizon for the Granite State. 

Looking for more information on the transformative power of public agencies embracing cycling initiatives? Check out our upcoming webinar, Pedal Power for Public Servants: Creating Government Workplaces for Better Bicycling! 

Interested in applying for recognition and feedback from the Bicycle Friendly Business program for your workplace? The next BFB submission deadline is June 5th, 2024, and you can learn more about the BFB application process here. 

Apply Here

The post Why Public Agencies Make Great Bicycle Friendly Businesses: Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

You’ve probably heard it before: “oh, I couldn’t bike here, it’s too [fill in your town’s biggest barrier to biking.]” Hesitations about safety or about skills aren’t uncommon. Cycling can be intimidating, especially for beginners and people who have been away from it for a while. That’s where LCI seminars come in, empowering a network of educators to create a community of safer, more confident cyclists.

The League of American Bicyclists trains knowledgeable cyclists to become certified instructors, also known as League Cycling Instructors (LCIs). Through a three-day program, participants gain the knowledge and skills to teach the League’s comprehensive Smart Cycling curriculum.

The Smart Cycling curriculum includes cycling education for adults and youth, skills for people riding in a group for the first time, training for motorists on how to share the road, and tips for older adults and those getting on a bike for the first time. There is something in the curriculum for nearly every type and age of rider.

League Cycling Instructor seminar in Pittsburgh, PA League Cycling Instructor seminar in Pittsburgh, PA League Cycling Instructor seminar in Pittsburgh, PA An LCI candidate reviews their Smart Cycling field card An LCI candidate reviews their Smart Cycling field card An LCI candidate reviews their Smart Cycling field card

So, why is bike education so important? Here’s the lowdown:

• Safety First: Learning the rules of the road, proper maneuvering techniques, and basic bike handling are crucial to avoid collisions with other people, whether on bikes or in cars, and becoming more aware of other trail and roadway hazards.  With cyclist deaths at an all-time high, traffic safety education serves as a preventative measure to protect all road users. 

• Confidence Boost: Fear can be a major barrier to cycling. By understanding the basic traffic principles of cycling and mastering essential skills like the ABC Quick Check, new riders gain the confidence to explore their surroundings on two wheels further and more often.

• More Riders, Stronger Movement: When more people ride bikes, life gets better for everyone. Every cyclist, whether on trails, bike paths, or roadways, adds strength to our movement. Bike education brings new cyclists in, fostering a larger, more inclusive cycling community to advocate for safer roads and better biking for everyone. 

Interested in becoming part of the movement? LCI seminars are open to anyone with a passion for cycling and a desire to empower others. The League offers scholarships to promote inclusivity, making the program accessible to a wider audience.

Even if you’re not ready to become an instructor, there are ways to get involved. Check out our website to see if there’s an upcoming Smart Cycling class near you! You’ll find classes designed for all ages and experience levels, from teaching kids the basics of bike safety to helping adults become comfortable riding in traffic.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to locate Smart Cycling classes near you:

1. Provide your location to the League’s Connect Locally map
2. Scroll down to view list below the map
3. Find the section labeled “CLASSES & SEMINARS.” If you don’t see this section, your location may not have any opportunities available at this time. 
4. If “Classes & Seminars” does appear, click to expand details & find the registration link for each available class.

Of course, not every location will always have a seminar or class available. Luckily, our online Learning Center provides 24/7 FREE access to basic bicycling education! Whether you are a League member or not, we want everyone to have free access to our online cycling education resources.

By prioritizing bike education from on-bike to online, we can all contribute to a safer, healthier, and more Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. So, what are you waiting for? Hop on your bike and join the ride!

The post Shift Gears on Safety: Why Bike Education Matters (and How You Can Help) appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

We’re four months into 2024, and most state legislatures across the country are in session deciding the laws and funding allocations that will shape life in each respective state. The decisions state lawmakers make have the ability to impact residents’ access to safe infrastructure for active and multimodal transportation, along with the regulations that govern different methods of transportation. Like 2023, electric bicycles (e-bikes) and other assisted methods of transportation are a popular topic in statehouses this year. 

It may be no surprise to some reading this that e-bikes continue to be on the menu in one way, shape, or form in the majority of state legislatures. What may surprise some however are the bills that go beyond rebates and class definitions, like the efforts happening in several states that would restrict accessibility and put in place burdensome regulations that treat e-bikes more like motor vehicles than their non-motorized siblings. 

Restrictive E-Bike Bills

At least three states are considering legislation that would require e-bike owners and those using other electric mobility devices like scooters to register their devices similar to how most are required to register vehicles. Residents of New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York are at risk of additional registration requirements, fees, and potential legal penalties if their state adopts these restrictive transportation bills. 

In addition to requiring the registration of electric bicycles, several states including two of the three mentioned above are also trying to require a license or photo identification to operate an e-bike or similar electric mobility device.

Furthermore, Oregon passed a bill and Florida tried to pass a similar law that would limit the age of riders who can use e-bikes, e-scooters, and other electric mobility devices. 

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r

Why These Bills Matter

The League is deeply concerned about proposed legislation in several states mandating registration, licensing, and insurance for low-speed e-bikes and other electric mobility devices. While ostensibly for safety, these bills would actually burden people who bike, particularly people who rely on bikes as their main mode of transportation. If the focus is truly on safety, then the bills should emphasize proven safety measures like education, infrastructure improvements, and vehicle safety technology. 

The requirements for e-bike registration and insurance are inappropriate, costly, and not relevant for these electric mobility devices. Unlike motor vehicles, e-bikes are involved in few crashes with significant property damage or insurance claims, are relatively inexpensive, and do not pose substantial dangers to others. We require registration and insurance for motor vehicles because they cause more than 40,000 deaths each year in the United States. E-bikes do not pose the same danger and justify the same level of regulation. These proposed regulations could also discourage people from switching to e-bikes, worsening traffic safety.

If adopted, these regulations and additional fees would make e-bikes and e-scooters less affordable, disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color, who rely on them for transportation. These laws could exacerbate existing transportation inequities and push people away from choosing sustainable modes of travel. Registration, insurance, and licensing are all not readily observable and may lead to increased interactions with police potential based on pretextual reasons rather than bad behaviors This is especially concerning for people of color who are already disproportionately stopped and searched by police while biking. Ultimately the proposed laws would limit access to e-bikes for the majority of people in each state including, but not limited to seniors, young people, families without cars, undocumented residents, and people with disabilities.

Not only are these regulations bad for residents, but they are also bad for our environment. These laws threaten each state's progress towards net zero emissions by making electric bicycles and other electric mobility devices less accessible. In a time when many other states have incentivized e-bikes with rebate programs to help combat climate change, it’s sad to see a few take steps backward.  

Conclusion

The League firmly opposes these bills, and we are not alone in urging states to prioritize infrastructure improvements and equitable transportation policies over burdensome regulations on micromobility devices. To learn more about why these bills are so harmful, read the latest sign-on letter we along with our partners sent to members of the New Jersey Legislature voicing our opposition to Senate Bill 2292 and Assembly Bill 3359.

Stay tuned to our Action Center for opportunities to voice your support or disapproval of cycling-related legislation in your state and at the Federal level.

The post 2024 State Legislative Roundup: E-Bike Registration & More appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

The tragedy of people being killed while biking continues to increase. This, despite the multitudes of federal, state, and local agencies saying they are dedicated to eradicating roadway deaths. Our collective voices demanding safer roads continue to be needed, because everyone deserves to get home safely. 

Unfortunately, 2022 was the deadliest year for people biking on record — ever. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released 2022 fatality data showing that more bicyclists were killed by people driving motor vehicles than in any previous year reported by NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). 

According to NHTSA FARS data, 1,105 people riding bicycles were killed by a person operating a motor vehicle on a public road. FARS has existed since 1975 and the previous high was in its first year of reporting when 1,003 people riding bicycles were killed.

Why did fatalities go up so much? 

There are many questions about why more people riding bicycles are being killed, and many questions have unsatisfying answers due to a persistent lack of good data on many aspects of bicycling in the United States. Common questions include:

• Is this due to more people bicycling?
  • No, there is no data from the federal government suggesting that there has been an increase in bicycling. Whether annual estimates from the Census Bureau on commuting to work or occasional surveys from the Federal Highway Administration, available data from public agencies suggests that bicycling is flat or declining. No federal data attempts to estimate bicycle miles traveled on an annual basis.
• Is this due to distraction?
  • No, data from NHTSA shows that fewer than 10% of bicyclist deaths involve distraction and the rate of distraction-involved bicyclist fatalities has decreased in recent years. This NHTSA data is police-reported and NHTSA has noted that many police reports do not have consistent reporting methods for distraction.
• Is this due to large pickup trucks?
  • No, data from NHTSA shows that pickup trucks have not increased their share of deadly bicyclist and pedestrian crashes in recent years. Sport Utility Vehicles have increased their share of deadly bicyclist and pedestrian crashes, and research shows that vehicles with taller, blunter, front ends designs cause more harm.
• Is this due to poor bicycle infrastructure?
  • Likely, but no national data on bicycle infrastructure exists and NHTSA data on where a bicyclist was killed groups bike lanes with shoulders and parking lanes.

What we do know is that more can be done to address bicyclist safety. 

• Safer cars: As we have been asking NHTSA since 2015, bicyclist safety could be improved by adopting public testing of Automatic Emergency Braking systems available on new vehicles that can detect and mitigate or fully avoid a crash with a person bicycling.
• Safer roads: Bicyclist safety could be improved by greater promotion and implementation of protected bicycle infrastructure. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has yet to update its Bicycle Design Guide from 2012 and does not currently include protected bike lanes in their guidance. Just this year, the new Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) was updated to include protected bike lanes after 15 years without an update. Despite several campaigns led by the League and others, the Federal Highway Administration has not yet promoted bicycle safety and protected bike lanes through their Every Day Counts technology promotion program.
• Safer speeds: Bicyclist safety could be improved by embracing slower speed limits for urban and residential districts. The League’s #SlowRoads Save Lives initiative encourages a positive culture of speed management that embraces slower speed limits for their ability to reduce injury and death. NHTSA has done little to promote speed limit law best practices or reform, with their last compilation of speed limit laws being over a decade old, and nonsensical messages such as “Speeding Slows You Down.” FHWA has done better and has indicated it is developing a comprehensive guide for speed limit setting. Many state Departments of Transportation continue to promote the “85th percentile” as the best approach to speed limit setting, ignoring injury severity statistics for people outside of vehicles.

There is one caveat to this reported number. For 2022, people riding motorized bicycles were grouped with bicyclists rather than as drivers or occupants of motor vehicles. While NHTSA could have reported the impact of this change, they did not. In previous years, fewer than 100 people riding mopeds or motorized bicycles have been killed annually. The change in reporting means that mopeds are grouped with motorcycles and motorized bicycles are grouped with bicyclists. In the last year (2020) that motorized bicyclist fatalities were reported as their own group, 32 deaths were reported. Even with this uncertainty, it is likely that 2022 had the most reported bicyclist fatalities in NHTSA’s history.

The post Highest ever reported number of people killed while biking in 2022  appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

It’s National Public Health Week and the League of American Bicyclists is proud to celebrate with a new resource, “Setting Speed Limits for Health and Safety.“

Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, and one way a community can support public health is by providing access to routes with speeds that support the safe movement of people inside and outside of vehicles. Slower vehicle speeds not only help prevent death and serious injuries, but they can encourage physically active modes of transportation, such as walking and bicycling which has a range of health benefits.  

This new resource reviews the types of laws that states use to set the lowest speed limits in their states. State laws that set speed limits based upon roadway contexts, development patterns, and types of adjacent institutions — such as schools — are common. It is also common for state laws to require traffic studies for lowering speed limits and, in some cases, for state laws to prohibit slower speeds. This resource focuses on the lower end of speed limits because slower speeds can support health and safety goals.

Twenty miles per hour (mph) speed limits are promoted for public health and safety because they help ensure that vehicle crashes are less common and more survivable when they occur. Currently, 20 mph speed limits are rarely promoted or enabled through state speed limit laws. In urban districts, it is more common for 20 mph speed limits to be explicitly prohibited than encouraged. Nineteen states currently set speed limits in urban and business districts at 30 mph or above, a speed at which a person hit while walking has a 25% chance of death. It is no accident that the most common posted speed limit on roads where a person biking or walking is killed is 45 mph, a speed at which a person hit has a more than 50% chance of death. Creating more streets with speed limits of 20 mph or less, where a person has less than a 10% chance of death if hit, is a science-based approach to traffic safety.

The League of American Bicyclists knows that Slow Roads Save Lives and we’re excited to share this resource with you. This resource is designed to help you better understand how states set their speed limits and what barriers to setting slower speed limits are. This information can be used to identify opportunities to lower speed limits in your state to support health and safety goals. We hope that by using this resource you are better equipped to help your state improve health and safety.

Download the resource here

The League of American Bicyclists developed this report with funding from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity.
This report is designed to help highlight the importance of lowering speeds to help prevent
injuries and fatalities and support activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations. These
efforts are part of the Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative that is working to help 27
million Americans become more physically active by 2027.

The post New Resource: Setting Speed Limits for Health and Safety appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

Today, the League of American Bicyclists is thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2024 Community Spark Grants! After extensive review, the League selected 15 communities to each receive $1,500 to fund projects with the potential to spark change toward a more Bicycle Friendly America. 

Marking the third year of the Community Spark Grant program, this latest round of applications was larger than ever. In total, 140 proposals were submitted with creative ideas for bike-friendly projects. This year’s recipients include eight event-related projects, four education projects, and three additional projects with goals to increase the accessibility of bicycle maintenance and equipment. 

“It’s exciting to see how many people are coming up with innovative ideas and demanding resources for better biking in their communities! No matter how small, every action that builds a more Bicycle Friendly America shifts our future in the right direction,” says Anna Tang, Bicycle Friendly America Program Specialist. 

Since its launch in 2022, the Community Spark Grant program has provided seed funding for dozens of bike-related projects across the nation. These mini-grants are meant to catalyze community change by empowering grassroots leaders to identify local needs and take action accordingly. Whether the funding goes towards building capacity for bike education or supplying pop-up infrastructure to realize a community’s vision of safer streets, each grant is one small spark with the potential to ignite sustained action for better bicycling. 

Learn more about this year’s winners and previous Spark Grant recipients by joining our Sparking Change with the League: Stories from the Field webinar at today at 3PM ET

Keep reading to find out how the fifteen recipients of the 2024 Community Spark Grants plan to use their new funding to spark change in their communities by making bicycling safer, easier, and more accessible.

BikeWalkBG’s Sparking Change in Youth through Bicycle Education — City-County Planning Commission, Bowling Green, KY

“BikeWalkBG’s initiative for cycling education for our youth is expected to reach all local 4th graders in the public school systems —that’s over 1500 students (and their parents/guardians)! We see a great need in equipping our youth with not just the skills and safety knowledge for cycling, but the confidence and spark of excitement to be active and outside. This is one small step in helping the next generation create healthier lifestyles, while also hoping to encourage greater safety on our streets for all users. We hope this one small step will trickle into the lives of parents, guardians, grandparents, teachers, and the whole community  to become more bicycle friendly!”

Bike Lockport! — Lockport Main Street, Lockport, NY

“Our goal is to create and promote bike routes that community members can then use to get to the Lockport Community Farmers Market, and to Lockport Main Street’s other events throughout the summer season, and offer special accommodations for cyclists such as bicycle parking and security at each of these events. We hope to encourage the cyclists of Lockport to come together and begin to create a bicycle friendly environment while educating and encouraging fellow community members to join in!”

Bike-to-Park, Park Your Bike! — City of Menasha, WI

“We are so excited to be able to place bike racks in more of our neighborhood parks. This will provide safe parking of bikes for our community members and encourage bicycling as a means of transportation to enjoy our parks. We expect these enhancements will result in higher use of our bike trails and increased active transport to parks.”

Better Block Flint — Crimm Fitness Foundation, Flint, MI

“Our plans include temporary traffic calming with materials like speed bumps and “wikiblock” furniture to provide residents, city staff, and policymakers alike the opportunity to experience options for better mobility, and specifically cycling, first hand. With our Community Spark Grant, we hope to collaborate with residents, businesses and city officials to demonstrate safer cycling initiatives.”

Chain Reactions: Fixing Bikes, Empowering People, Building Community — McClintock High School, Tempe, AZ

“This grant will help us get so many more bikes into the hands of community members excited to ride. We hope we can get bikes that need a little TLC all fixed up and into the hands of people who need them and will ride them! Every bike we fix or build strengthens the bonds within our community and paves the way for a greener, healthier future for all. By hosting bike events, fixing up bikes, and teaching others how to do it, McClintock High School Bike Club is igniting a chain reaction that gets more people empowered and excited to ride their bikes every day.”

Cycleworks: Creating free access to bicycle mechanical support and wayfinding — Trips For Kids Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

“Cycleworks is a monthly six-part education series that meets and engages historically marginalized and under-resourced communities where they are to provide critical information on bicycle safety, operation, commuting best practices, connection to food, sustainable practices, routing and wayfinding by bike and maintenance/repair skills. Cycleworks is an older program of Trips For Kids Charlotte that was put on pause during the pandemic, and we are excited to use this funding to reimagine and restart this program. Through the support of the Community Spark Grant, Trips For Kids Charlotte’s Cycleworks program helps local residents and community members gain confidence through education and access to mechanical and wayfinding tools to explore and navigate the urban landscape of Charlotte by bike.” 

Disability Pride Ride — The Street Trust, Portland, OR

“Portland is extremely lucky to have Adaptive BIKETOWN’s adaptive bike rental program because not every person can ride a regular two-wheeled bike. The Street Trust’s event to introduce Portlanders to Adaptive BIKETOWN’s fleet and join a group bike ride will help dozens of people test out adaptive bikes for the first time in a safe, supportive, and fun environment. For a truly bicycle-friendly America, it is vital to include people living with disabilities in our planning processes. This event will demonstrate how transformative adaptive bikes and supporting programs can be for folks living with disabilities, and set the stage for a more inclusive bike future for our city.”

Fall Bike Ride — Detroit, MI

“This Bike Ride will expand the vision away from only a particular demographic enjoying the benefits of bike riding. There are members of the community who feel riding bikes are no longer an option – possibly due to age, abilities or economic limits. This ride will bring attention to vehicle options, highlight bike trails, show city mobility improvements, all while enjoying hidden city gems.”  

Mobility Justice 101 Seminar — Go Gulfport, Gulfport, MS

“We are looking forward to partnering with the League of American Bicyclists on a one-day seminar that is building on Gulfport’s effort to envision, plan, find funding, and construct our new bike/ped/tram bridge in the city’s downtown, and see this energy move into the surrounding neighborhoods through community-based education, to include the efforts of our partners with the Gulfport Gaslight District. Our goals are to engage with folks around the opportunities, joys, returns on investment, health benefits, and economic benefits of having a cycling community.”

OutSpoken Teens — Bike Library, Iowa City, IA

“The $1,500 grant will equip 60 teens with quality bike helmets, bike lights, and locks for our at-risk teen program OutSpoken Teens. Through the OutSpoken weekly teen program, teens fix up bikes for themselves over three weeks. After a teen fixes up their bike they need safety gear. The Bike Library is committed to providing assistance and one-on-one instruction on how to maintain the bike and additional safety riding skills/gear whenever needed. The Bike Library’s vision is to empower people, especially the next generation of cyclists, to make bicycling a primary form of transportation in our community.”

Raising Voices for Infrastructure — Bike Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

“Cleveland’s first major separated bike lane project is slated to begin construction in 2025. Bike Cleveland will work to build excitement among the adjacent neighborhoods by offering free bike tune-ups, community bike rides, and free bicycle racks to businesses along the corridor. These efforts will build excitement for the future bike connection in the neighborhoods.”

Schuylkill on the Move: Biking — Schuylkill County’s VISION, Schuylkill County, PA

“To create more bicycle-friendly communities we are partnering with Schuylkill County communities and schools to conduct bike rodeos and pop-up/temporary traffic gardens. Additionally, we will utilize AARP’s Walk and Bike Audit tool kits to assist municipalities with addressing bike and walkability in their communities.We are excited to increase bike usage in our county through bike safety events like bike rodeos, traffic gardens and bike audits that present opportunities to educate and advocate for safer and more bikeable communities for all.”

Skidmore Park Re-Opening Day Celebration — University Park Neighborhoods, Grand Forks, ND

“As Skidmore Park is updated this summer, it’s important that residents have the opportunity to develop their own vision for this space where we live, work, and play — and how we can get there. The League of American Bicyclists’ 2024 Community Spark Grant will allow us to close off part of the normal traffic near the intersection at 5th and Gateway Dr, which is scary to cross on foot while carrying your Dairy Queen to the park for a sweet picnic, and meet with neighbors of all backgrounds for conversations on how we can make pedestrians more of a priority in this area. We’re so excited!”

Whittier Bike Club — Sioux Falls School District – Whittier Middle School, Sioux Falls, SD

“The program will offer access to bikes for underserved youth, bike repair for children with broken bikes, as well as helmets and locks for safety. Collaborating with Whittier Middle School and three feeder elementary schools, we will kick off with a Bike Repair/Giveaway Day. City staff will assist in identifying safe biking routes to school, with support from the Sioux Falls Police Department and Fire Department for helmet distribution and bike repairs, emphasizing safety. Whittier Bike Club will help foster a sense of community and overcome barriers to safe transportation, ensuring that every child can confidently navigate their journey to and from school.”

Wyco Bike-O — Central Avenue Betterment Association, Kansas City, KS

“​​In 2024, WyCo Bike-O is concentrating our efforts on the Third Friday Art Walks. There will be six events from May through October. Our plan is to up our game and presence at the Art Walk this year. This will include a bike ride course with loaner bikes, give-a-way bikes, riding safety instruction, bike art, and ciclovia rides. The more people we introduce to cycling, the better the community health benefits and need for better bike infrastructure become. Our purpose is to generate upper mobility for the members of our community by promoting their self-investment and leading by example. See you on Central!”

Whether measured in knowledge gained, access to equipment and tools, or simply more people understanding the transformative power of the bicycle, the League is proud to be able to support these organizations as they begin to spark change and make a long-lasting impact on their communities through the Community Spark Grant program. Bicycling makes life better for everyone, and we hope to see the benefits of these projects sustained throughout multiple generations. 

This year, support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds 8 awards, as part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy Nation℠ Initiative, which aims to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.  Separately, support from General Motors is funding 7 awards in 2024.

Want to learn more about how the League’s grassroots network is building a more Bicycle Friendly America through our Community Spark Grants? Join us today from 3-4PM ET for Sparking Change with the League: Stories from the Field. During this webinar, you’ll hear testimonies of people who have made a positive impact in their communities with Community Spark Grants in previous years, including:

• Ryan Kelsey of the Crimm Foundation’s “Better Block Flint” project in Flint, MI
• Dr. Michelina Messina Witte of University of Miami’s BikeSafe’s “Pop-Up Protection = Safe Cycling For All” project in Miami, FL
• Justin Crowe, of Hope House & BikeWalkBG’s “Back on the Saddle Recovery Support” project in Bowling Green, KY 

Sign up and join us!

The post Meet the Winners of the League’s 2024 Community Spark Grants  appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating women who are currently shaping cycling history. One such figure is Austin Killips, who holds the title of being “the first transgender woman cyclist to win a professional road stage race sanctioned by the sport’s international governing body, the Union Cycliste International, when she was victorious at the 254-mile, five-day Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.”

We caught up with Austin as she traveled through her recent high-altitude training ground, the mountain passes of Colorado. Through tunnels and valleys, the conversation persisted despite patchy service and several dropped calls. Read on to catch a glimpse into Austin’s experience, her take on inclusion, and her favorite memories of bike joy. 

Austin Killips’ nice bikes team photo

To start, we always like to ask people about their bike journey. What got you into biking?

I found a job at a local bike shop when I lived in Chicago, and it just snowballed from there. I started riding a lot during a period of existential crisis. I found my bike to be a powerful tool for self-discovery. 

What made you want to go pro?

Finding success was something that happened, more than something I sought out. The opportunity arose where I had tons of support, with sponsors in my corner and a wonderful team. It seemed like something to jump on while I had the chance and ability. 

In the wake of the UCI’s decision to exclude trans women competing in women’s cycling, what are you doing these days?

I’m spending time putting together an ultra-endurance program — chasing goals on the bike that are pushing the limit, chasing challenges, and training. I’m thinking a lot about my relationship to the sport, what brought me here, and what keeps me here, if it’s worth continuing to pursue. It’s a multifaceted challenge and a very difficult, weird moment. Literally an uphill battle.

I’m so glad this experience hasn’t pushed you out of the bike movement. For LGBTQ+ people, your success in the face of exclusion has been an inspiration. 

Everyone should have access to elite racing. It’s important to continue to carve out spaces and show that trans and queer people — all underrepresented people — have every right to be here and pursue the sport to the highest level. It’s also valuable to consider that domestic cycling is in an interesting shape. The landscape is shifting with a lot of energy towards efforts that aren’t bound up with traditional sanctioned racing, like gravel racing and bikepacking. Racing doesn’t have to be all I am or all I do. 

What would you say to LGBTQ+ people, specifically trans women, who are looking for their place in the bike movement? 

It’s important to consider – why do you like riding your bike? In what ways is your bike an important tool for you? Because it’s not about winning. Showing up in the bike movement is to be connected, to be in community with others. Carve out spaces, and hold space for yourself and peers who are underrepresented in the sport. For me, what really brought me in was a positive and nurturing local race community. Just show up at local races or events and engage. Once you find or build your community, be intentional with your time — make plans to ride bikes with your friends, and do it in a way that’s enjoyable and fulfilling. 

What’s been the best part about your bike journey so far?

It has to be the relationships I’ve made and the friendships I could have never expected. There’s been lots of unfamiliar territory, and so many new friends on this journey. I love being in community with all these wonderful people — lots of kind people who I never would have met otherwise. 

Talk to me about your #bikejoy, about your favorite memories on a bike. 

There are so many joyous memories! I have some favorites in the front range of Colorado, being out in the mountain passes. Even if you have a bad day, grappling with big feelings, it’s so special to look around you. I find a lot of solace and magical moments on my training rides when I have time to think and take space for myself. To just sit and realize that right now, I’m here, I’m riding my bike, and this is so special. It’s fun to be in a place with so much creative energy.

What’s a fun or interesting fact about you?

I love visiting indie theaters in my travels. Movies are so cool because they involve so many different people — cinematographers, directors, sound design folks — coming together to realize a collective vision. The theater is a wonderful place, and small independent theaters do an incredible job curating a collection to help people access the arts and community. You get to experience things you might never see otherwise, like old movies projected on 35mm film (the standard in the early 1900s). 

Lastly, I just want to pass you the mic and give you the chance to speak from the heart. Is there anything you wish I asked you? 

I am eternally grateful for all the people who’ve been supportive, both those I know personally and the people I’ve had the fortune to meet through the Internet. I’m so thankful for everyone’s support, patience, and grace as I navigate a weird and confusing time.

We’re grateful to share this sincere conversation with Austin as she continues to shape women’s bicycling history. Stay connected by following Austin at @austin_trace on Instagram or supporting her Patreon! 

The post Carving out Space with Austin Killips appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

For the first time since 2019, we were thrilled to host our annual Advocacy and Education Awards ceremony in person at this year’s Summit. There is something just particularly special about the energy in the room and hearing from the winners that can’t be expressed when everyone is constrained to a small video-conference box. If you couldn’t make it to the 2024 Summit (or you want to re-live it), you can watch a recording of the livestream of the festivities and get a taste of what’s in store for 2025. 

The 2024 Advocacy and Education Award winners are a truly impressive cohort. Their achievements in their communities had an impact far beyond their hometown streets and roads. It’s impossible not to be inspired by their work, which you can read about below. We look forward to seeing them build the future of the bike movement, one that is impactful, inclusive, and instrumental in building a Bicycle Friendly America for Everyone.

Bicycle Friendly America Leadership Award 

The Bicycle Friendly America Leadership Award recognizes civic, academic, and business leaders who have made significant contributions towards our shared goal of an America where biking is safe, comfortable, and accessible for all  From mayors and CEOs to public agency leaders, academics, and university presidents, this award honors the leadership of changemakers each year.

Our 2024 Award goes to Commissioner Rodney Ellis of Harris County, Texas

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

I am hopeful that the future will see Houston leading the way in a global bike renaissance, where we become a model for transforming a car-dependent city into one that makes cycling a cornerstone of our transportation system.

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future?

Advocates should seize this pivotal moment with unyielding determination, pushing beyond the status quo to demand cities where accessibility and sustainability are not just ideals but foundational principles that guide our planning and development.

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work?

A recent highlight was attending multiple ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new segments of the Bayou Greenway project, an ambitious 150-mile trail system that threads through Houston’s bayous. Each completion brings me immense joy and pride, as it marks another step towards realizing a grand vision for our city—one where the natural beauty of our bayous is seamlessly integrated with our urban landscape, providing accessible, green transportation options for all Houstonians.

Advocacy Organization of the Year

This award goes to a bicycling and/or walking advocacy organization or club who, in the past year, made significant progress. Their leaders have worked tirelessly together to grow and strengthen their organization and fulfill their mission. The proof of their efforts is in the growth of their capacity, programs, membership and the victories they have achieved for biking and walking in their state/community. This award is about recognizing organizations that are inclusive, welcoming, and committed to growing bicycling.

Our 2024 Award goes to Bike Houston

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

In many places in America, it’s more controversial to include bikes in our transportation plans than it is to exclude them, but we’re working toward a future where it’s the other way around. Some places might already be there. For the rest of America, that future can’t come soon enough. 

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future? 

Our job right now is to show decision makers that this isn’t just a future that bike advocates want; this is a future that most Americans want.

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work? 

Before Houston’s election last fall, BikeHouston co-hosted a mayoral forum on transportation where we parked nearly 70 bikes in three curbside parking spaces outside the event. 

Advocate of the Year 

This award goes to a leader of a bicycling and/or walking advocacy organization who has shown tireless commitment to promoting bicycling and walking in their state/community. This person goes above and beyond the call of duty to transform their state/community into a great place for biking and walking. Their time, knowledge, creativity, and commitment are the highest standard of excellence exemplifying a role model for peers.

In 2024, the League gave two Advocate of the Year Awards, one to a professional advocate and one to a volunteer advocate. 

Our 2024 Professional Advocate Award goes to Jeremiah Lowery, advocacy director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

I hope the bike movement continues on a pathway of becoming more inclusive and welcoming to people of all backgrounds, because we will win when we keep the doors to our movement open.

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future? 

Advocates can seize this moment to shape the future by thinking big and bold while also tapping into the artistic and fun parts of our movement.

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work? 

A volunteer and fellow biker told me that he had never lobbied or talked to his local elected representatives about traffic safety before, and our campaign gave him that opportunity to tell his story to his representatives (side note: we ended up passing and fully funding traffic safety bills because of his voice and others). That brought me bike joy. 

Our 2024 Citizen Advocate Award goes to Steven Hardy-Braz, a board member of Bike Walk NC

Watch Steven accept the award:

Gail and Jim Spann Educator of the Year 

This award recognizes a person who has worked to elevate bike education in their state/community. We’re looking for educators who are current League Cycling Instructors, active in teaching classes in the past year, serve diverse communities, and have shown innovation in their education work.

Our 2024 Award goes to Diana Hildebrand 

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

The bike movement has already shifted to where more people are becoming aware of the freedom the bicycle gives them and how far they can go just on two wheels.  As a tool it will provide alternative options for health & wellness, mobility and family within the biking network. My hope is to see biking as an educational enhancement within our physical education curriculum. By doing this it will allow youth to understand not only safety but could shift how they will interact with cyclists once they are behind the wheel of a vehicle.  

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future? 

As an educator of biking, advocates should seize this moment by stepping into communities where we see the most need for better implementation of ped/bike infrastructure.  Being the true face of biking, walking and safety while meeting them where they are at.  Being a tangible change and not relying on the systematic adjustments to please those with funds but more so for our community.  

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work? 

The most recent bike joy I received in my work was first being honored with the Educator of the Year Award, becoming a League Cycling Coach and watching lives being changed two wheels at a time by working with physical education teachers to offer biking during PE.  Watching some of my students not only learn how to ride a bicycle as a middle schooler but having the confidence to continue to get better so that we can have fun on two wheels riding through neighborhoods while also showcasing the skills they’ve learned during our sessions.

Susie Stephens Joyful Enthusiasm Award

This award commemorates Susie Stephens, one of the Alliance for Biking & Walking founders and an enduring inspiration for many members of the bicycle and pedestrian movement. The honor goes to an individual or group who carries on Susie’s passion for advocating for bicycling as a fun and economical means of transportation.

Our 2024 Award goes to Sam Balto, co-founder of Bike Bus World

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

I hope to see more children riding in the street to school and for our leaders to prioritize childrens mobility.

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future? 

Advocates should focus on children with their work. Children aren’t looking for perfection, they just want to be seen.

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work? 

A recent moment of bike joy was getting a message from a parent of a middle schooler who rides in the bike bus that they now feel more comfortable biking in the street.

Katherine “Kittie” T. Knox Award

This award recognizes champions of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the bicycling movement. This award goes to an individual or group that has led in making bicycling more inclusive and representative and has worked to remove barriers to participation by underserved and underrepresented people in their community, state, or country.

Learn more about Kittie Knox and her advocacy for a more inclusive League and bike community.

Our 2024 Award goes to Veronica O. Davis, author of “Inclusive Transportation”  

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

The ability to elect better leaders who are willing to make the hard decisions to install better and more infrastructure.

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future? 

Use the bike summit to network and build national coalitions. You don’t have to suffer or go it alone.

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work? 

The 11th Street Bike lanes in Houston won an award from the America Public Works Association. It seems like validation for a great project.

Emerging Leader of the Year

This award is a special accolade for a young person who is new to the bicycling movement and has demonstrated exceptional and inspiring bicycle advocacy. Nominees have demonstrated leadership in their short tenure and show great potential to continue leading in the bicycling movement.

Our 2024 Award goes to Avery Daniels, youth projects coordinator at Community Bike Works 

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

I hope the future holds more engagement. I would love to see as result of our work that guests of the Youth Bike Summit are able to take what they learned and experienced back to their own cities and implement it into their communities. I believe the organizations in attendance are going to have powerful workshops with a lot to reflect on.

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future? 

I think it is first important for advocates to take a step back and look at their community and assess what it is they need, then do as much research and collaborate as possible to make your work come to life. As advocates you are looking to be the voice representing those around you, the first step is opening your mouth and making your message be known.

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work? 

Recently, a moment of bike joy has been picking my favorite trails in the Valley to ride during the summit. It is fun for us at CBW to think about if you could only go a few rides while here (at the YBS) for a weekend, where would you go first.

Club of the Year

This award is for a bicycle club that has done an excellent job at providing a great experience for its members and people who are new to bicycling. The goal of this award is to recognize clubs that do an exceptional job at integrating advocacy into club activities or supporting advocacy organizations while creating exceptional events for new and experienced bicyclists. This award is about recognizing clubs that are inclusive, welcoming, and committed to growing bicycling.

Our 2024 Award goes to Major Taylor International Cycling Alliance

Watch Bill Gaston, founder of the alliance, accept the award: 

Youth Empowerment Award  Our inaugural 2024 Award goes to Eric Supil, executive director of Trips for Kids Charlotte

What do you hope the future holds for the bike movement?

Equitable access to bicycle infrastructure, education, mechanical resources and bicycles themselves.  Infrastructure and greenways are also tools for mobility, just like the bicycle.  Education around how to use them, how to access them (especially the last mile) and how to navigate them to connect to opportunity is critical to shifting the narrative of who cycling is for.  My hope is to see more emphasis and support for educational and engagement programs to empower ALL communities (not just the already engaged cycling community) to confidently utilize, navigate and benefit from transit by bike.

How should advocates seize this moment to shape the future?

The opportunity to shape the future starts on your local level, in your community, in your neighborhood and in your schools. Supporting youth engagement, education and empowerment on “two wheels” ensures a future of connected, informed and confident bicycle users/commuters. Their voice will shape the narrative that takes cycling from an “alternative transit option” to an accessible, equitable and sustainable primary mobility choice.

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work?

I am fortunate to collect many moments of bike joy through our youth programs.  My favorite comes from our Earn-A-Bike camp programs where a youth’s initial expression of uncertainty, as we bike out of the known boundaries of their neighborhood, transforms into expressions of confidence and excitement as we expand and explore their perspective of the world through greenways, infrastructure and connections by bike.

The post Congratulations to our 2024 Advocacy and Education Award winners appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

It’s no secret that the power of the bicycle is transformative. Communities nationwide are taking innovative approaches to spark local change for better bicycling, and seeing incredible results. This is exactly what we’re hoping to empower through the League’s Community Spark Grants – our annual mini-grant program which funds grassroots projects that have the potential to make a big difference for communities. 

One Spark Grantee from 2023, Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC) in the Mattapan of Boston, Massachusetts, is on a mission to build intergenerational leadership within Mattapan’s Black and Brown community to advocate for equitable access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. Their Spark Grant project was the 13th Annual Mattapan on Wheels (MoW): a youth-led biking event created to benefit the community’s health, bring awareness to the city of Boston that Black and Brown people do bike, and provide route options about where riders can go on their bikes from Mattapan. 

We talked to Shavel’le Olivier , Executive Director of MFFC, about her insights into public health in her community and how Mattapan on Wheels fits into MFFC’s vision.

You’ve been working with Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition for over a decade. What keeps you going?

Our community has so many folks with incredible passion and wisdom gained from decades of fighting for equitable resources. In particular, MFFC’s advisory group is a group of lovely women of color with a lot of knowledge about public health. They have such determination, compassion, and drive to mitigate negative health disparities and health challenges in Mattapan. Their perseverance makes me want to continue what they started. 

How did the Mattapan on Wheels event get started?

I started the event along with a group of fellow teens when I first got involved with MFFC in 2009. This wasn’t long after the organization itself was founded, so we were still in the process of finding the best ways to take action to improve public health in Mattapan. At one meeting, we had a show of hands for who likes to ride bikes. All hands went up! But when we asked who had a bike to ride, a lot of hands went down. That’s when my peers in the Vigorous Youth program decided to take on the challenge of making Mattapan more bike-friendly, and we agreed a youth-led bike event would be a great way to make a difference. 

How many people participate in Mattapan on Wheels?

When we started out, it was just 25 people, an intergenerational mix – notably including Boston’s current mayor Michelle Wu. This past year, we had 75 riders participate coming from Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Malden, Newton, Cambridge, Somerville, and more! Mattapan elected officials City Councilor At Large Julia Mejia and State Representative Brandy Fluker Oakley stopped by to mingle. More than 20 volunteers gave a total of 126 volunteer hours during the planning and implementation of the event.

Over the years, how have you seen the impact on the community in terms of getting more people on bikes?

One major impact is the increase of Black and Brown people coming into leadership roles in the local biking community. Mattapan is an 87% Black and Afro-Caribbean community, but when we first started most of the folks who were teaching things like bike education and mechanic skills were White. So shoutout to those allies who supported the Black and Brown people coming into this space. This is a powerful impact because not everyone knows that biking can lead to viable career paths. Mattapan on Wheels brings people into the bike movement and realize there’s so many opportunities here from urban planning to professional advocacy.

Lastly, I just want to pass you the mic and let you speak what’s on your heart. What do you want people to know about Mattapan, and about biking in your community?

Mattapan is a diverse and vibrant community with so many different faces, stories, and experiences to uplift – yet it’s often in danger of being reduced to stereotypes. People try to push harmful narratives on Mattapan and point out its deficits. To combat this, we often reflect with our young people about what is happening in the community, why it is happening, and why the work they are doing at MFFC is instrumental in empowering communities and shedding those weaponized stereotypes others have of them and the community.

On the topic of public health, biking is one part of the strategy to improve physical health and nutrition in the Mattapan community, but health doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Supporting the health of Black & Brown communities like Mattapan requires taking action on multiple levels to address social determinants of health, and that has to be part of the conversation.

With our next round of Community Spark Grant announcements just around the corner, stay tuned to find out what communities will be sparking change for better biking in 2024! Funding for eight of the 2023 Spark Grants, including Mattapan on Wheels, came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity as part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative, which is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027. 

The post Mattapan on Wheels: Sparking Change in Their Community appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requires auto manufacturers to implement drunk driving prevention technology in new vehicles as early as 2026. It does so by directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a rulemaking process and set a final standard within three years for impaired driving prevention technology on all new vehicles.

In January, NHTSA initiated an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit responses about how to move forward with its required rulemaking under the IIJA. This is the first opportunity for the public to weigh in and express to NHTSA the importance of this lifesaving technology.

According to NHTSA data, impaired driving has killed more than 100 bicyclists every year since 2015. Dating back to 2007, each year between 15-16% of total bicyclist fatalities are caused by drunk drivers with BACs of .08% or higher. An additional 15-22% of bicyclists killed each year are killed by drivers who hit and run and are unable to be tested for impairment.

While progress has been made on making drunk driving less socially acceptable, the last decade has seen a plateau in drunk driving-related deaths and recent years have seen more bicyclists killed by impaired drivers. Advanced Impaired Driving Prevention Technology offers a new approach to preventing impaired driving that is supported by Congress and nearly two-thirds of respondents in a nationally representative survey. Even Anheuser-Busch calls implementation of this technology “a strong step in the right direction.”

The League has commented to express our support for NHTSA fulfilling its congressional mandate and moving this technology forward. NHTSA will accept comments from the public until March 5th.

If you are interested in providing a comment, there are some great background resources available from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Their advice for an effective comment is to submit one that shares your personal story about the dangers and devastation of drunk driving. In sharing your personal experience, consider these questions to help share your story:

• Why is ending drunk and impaired driving important to you?
• How has impaired driving impacted your life?
• Why is it important that drunk and impaired driving prevention technology be required in all new vehicles?

If you or a loved one has been impacted, consider attaching a photo.

Go to regulations.gov Docket NHTSA-2022-0079-0015 to express your support for ending drunk driving.

The post A Chance to End Drunk Driving appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

The League of American Bicyclists is excited to announce the availability of 30 Equity Scholarships for aspiring League Cycling Instructors.

In striving to achieve our mission of building a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone, one of our primary objectives is developing and supporting a more diverse community of League Cycling Instructors (LCI). Representation matters and people of every race, gender, gender identity, and background should be able to see themselves in the bicycling community. Over the past several years, we’ve been honored to offer equity scholarships to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) LCI candidates in partnership with the Be Good Foundation and Quality Bicycle Products. 

2022 LCI Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia

League Cycling Instructors serve a crucial role in communities across America by teaching riding skills and the importance of sharing the road to the next generation of cyclists and drivers. LCIs play a fundamental role in encouraging confident, safe, and responsible ridership and motorist behavior throughout their communities. 

Today, we’re thrilled to announce 30 Equity Scholarships available now through October 1, 2024, thanks to support from the Ford Motor Company Fund. With the goal of continuing to increase diversity within the LCI community, half of the scholarships will be granted to aspiring LCIs in Ford home communities and the other half will be distributed throughout the country. The League will partner with local organizations to create and host LCI seminars where scholarship recipients can gain certification. Check out the calendar of upcoming LCI seminars »

“We know the positive effect equity scholarships can have on increasing the reach of the Smart Cycling program and the much-needed cycling education LCIs can offer. We are thrilled to have the support of the Ford Fund to continue growing our community of instructors,” said Alison Dewey, Director of Education for the League of American Bicyclists. 

The scholarships cover the $500 tuition fee of the three-day LCI seminar and one year of membership to the League. Those interested must apply to be considered. Recipients will be notified by email. 

Click here to apply

The post 30 Equity Scholarships for Aspiring LCIs Now Available appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

The League certifies hundreds of League Cycling Instructors every year and there are thousands of LCIs across the country leading bike education efforts in their communities. In our LCI spotlight series, we share the stories of League Cycling Instructors doing what they do daily: educating, mentoring, and empowering. You don’t have to be an extraordinary athlete or overachieving student to be a stellar LCI, all you need is the conviction that life is better for everyone when more people ride bikes.

This month, we’re catching up with Tia Carter, an LCI and Lancaster Bicycle Club member who came up with the idea of the “Bike to 30K” program as a way to recruit more members. The Bike to 30K is meant to build cyclists’ confidence by starting with a 5-mile slow ride and training over 10 weeks to complete a 30K ride by the end of the program.

This year, Tia’s program celebrates ten years of getting more people on bikes! We’re so excited to celebrate this milestone to inspire our network of changemakers across the country. Tia’s nominator shares our admiration for Tia’s efforts, sharing, “She introduces new people to cycling every year with her entry-level program. You just have to read this article about her, it’s so inspiring!”

Know an inspiring LCI we should feature next? Nominate a stellar bike educator here! 

Tell us a little about yourself and why you enjoy teaching bike education.

By day, I am a Human Resources Professional.  In HR, we wear many hats including Wellness Coordinator.  One year, after facilitating a workplace wellness initiative and with the approval of my local bike club, I created and executed a beginners’ community cycling program now known as The Bike to 30K Program.   

Because of The Bike to 30K Program, I interact with so many people within my community- all on their individual cycling journeys.  It is a true blessing to touch so many people and empower them to not only ride on the road but to do so safely and with confidence. This is why I enjoy teaching bike education.

What first motivated you to become an LCI?

Before becoming an LCI, I would lead a lot of rides for my local bike club.  This is what motivated me because I wanted to make sure I had all the information to lead a ride safely.

What has been your greatest reward in teaching bike education?

My greatest reward is seeing the graduates from my program put their knowledge into action.  They often graduate from the beginners’ program and lead rides for the club applying all of the safety rules of road cycling to keep others safe while riding. 

What is your best piece of advice for an LCI who wants to teach a class but isn’t sure how to get started?

Find your teaching mojo and your audience will follow.  Be yourself and have fun with it.

What is something you think that all LCIs should know about teaching bike education?

Be fluid with the curriculum.  Yes, we have a curriculum to deliver but deliver it in a way that your audience will receive the information. Be adaptable.

What is your favorite thing about being on a bike?

My friends. We have power rides where we are focused, and we also have social rides.  Both are fun but laughing and enjoying one another is priceless. Especially when we stop for pictures with the camels, peacocks, and other animals we find on our local farms!

Give us an interesting or funny fact about you.

Well, where do I start? I lobbied for AAA to include Bike tows as part of a membership. My favorite fun bike rides are centered around Ice Cream.  Fun Fact: My bike club has created The BEST Bike Ride in Pennsylvania and it’s centered around Ice Cream! Oh, and I am known for matching my socks with my cycling jerseys!  Check out my Nerds candy socks and jersey →

What is your favorite memory from being on a bike?

Riding past someone’s home and seeing an elephant. He was feeding the animal in his front yard. We assume the elephant was part of a play production.

The post LCI Spotlight: Tia Carter  appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the League of American Bicyclists celebrates 44 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses, who join the ranks of 1,480 other BFBs in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The League launched the Bicycle Friendly Business program 16 years ago to recognize and assist companies that demonstrate commitment towards building a more welcoming atmosphere for bicycling employees, customers, and the community. Find the full list of current BFBs here, and the latest round of awards and Honorable Mentions here. 

“We’re proud to celebrate this round of new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses who are investing their resources to not only build up bicycling in the workplace but in their communities as well,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “It takes collaboration to build an America where every person can safely and easily choose to bike, and we applaud each of the 1,480 Bicycle Friendly Businesses pedaling alongside us to power this movement.”

In this round of awards, one of the most notable trends was the influx of awards arising from local efforts to promote the benefits of being a Bicycle Friendly Business and encourage places to apply. One effort by the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Research in Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community St. Petersburg, Florida resulted in six new Bronze BFBs and one new Silver. A BFB “bootcamp” hosted by Bronze-level BFB Experience Fayetteville in Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community Fayetteville, Arkansas saw success as well, with one renewing Silver BFBs, four new Bronzes, and one new Honorable Mention. This data tells a compelling story – that local businesses make biking better when they work together for inspiration and support. Collaboration is key to a strong community, and Bicycle Friendly Businesses can play an important role in shaping that success. 

Crank Works Bicycles, a new Gold-level BFB in Brooksville, Florida, is one business with exciting and innovative approaches to local collaboration. According to their application, “We cross-promote bicycling with local businesses with a show we call ‘Bike Brooksville’ where we visit a different business on a different bike in each episode. We interview the business owner and also feature riding around our town to expose people to all types of biking, all the places to ride, the bike amenities, and the interesting places to see. The businesses also spread the word on our efforts.”

Another approach to getting more people on bikes is to improve local infrastructure. While most Bicycle Friendly Businesses can only advocate for improved bike infrastructure in their communities, some have the ability to make a direct impact on local biking conditions: local city governments that apply to the BFB program as employers.  The Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community of Ann Arbor, Michigan, joined the BFB program in this round as a Silver-level BFB, one of four local governments earning new BFB awards this round. Per the City of Ann Arbor’s BFB application, “Not only does our business strive to have its employees bike, but through our work, we are getting the community to bike more. Our city has 3.5% of our population that bikes compared to our seven-county region which is 0.3%. We have documented changes in commuting patterns for single occupancy vehicles and have been able to reduce posted speed limits and provide for more people-focused designs as a result of these changes.” 

From bike shops to government agencies, we’re proud to see BFBs of all shapes, sizes, and structures making biking better. One of our largest applicants in this round is Oregon Health and Science University (OSHU), a renewing Platinum-level BFB in Portland, Oregon. Clocking in at 18,051 employees, OSHU takes on a myriad of approaches to not only support those employees (such as free bike valet) but to connect the wider community with better biking. One notable effort is their Bike Loaner program, described as a “personalized, multi-stage approach to helping people access bikes.” According to OSHU’s application, “Employees, students, contractors, vendors, and volunteers are all encouraged to apply. When a bike becomes available, they can choose from electric, non-electric, and multiple sizes of bikes (if the bike size varies). At the end of the rental they are interviewed on their experience and given a voucher for $200 ($300 for e-bikes) toward the purchase of a bike of their own.” 

If your business would like to join the League’s growing movement to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone, submissions for the Spring 2024 round of the Bicycle Friendly Business program are due on March 5th at 11:59 PM PT. 

Apply for BFB Status

About the League Of American Bicyclists

Since 1880, the League of American Bicyclists has been people-powered, with a goal to make bicycling safer and easier as a means of transportation and recreation. Today, the League continues to improve lives and strengthen communities through bicycling. We are more than 200,000 members and supporters strong with more than 1,000 state and local advocacy groups and bike clubs as well as thousands of businesses, universities, and communities together leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. 

About the Bicycle Friendly Business Program

Bicycle Friendly Business awards reflect local leaders’ ongoing work to build better places to bike and evaluate those efforts as part of a national movement. Each of the five levels of the Bicycle Friendly Business award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze, plus an honorable mention category – provide a clear path for businesses to continuously improve. Visit bikeleague.org/business to learn more about the BFB program.

The post 44 New and Renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses Making Biking Better  appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.

In celebration of Black History Month, we’re passing the microphone to amplify the stories of Black cycling advocates, leaders, and changemakers who are strengthening the bike movement.

One advocate we’re thrilled to spotlight is the Newport, Rhode Island-based Allyson McCalla. Allyson does it all – she’s a certified League Cycling Instructor, Shero of a local Black Girls Do Bike chapter, and Director of Operations at Bike Newport.

We connected with Allyson to hear more about her experience, ambitions, and vision for the bike movement.

We always love to hear from people about their ‘bike story’, what got them so deep into bicycling that they ended up here with us. How did your journey begin?

My bicycling journey began as a child. I am the youngest of four siblings and I grew up in a single-parent home. Although my mother had a car, she was new to driving at the age of 34, wasn’t a confident driver, and didn’t enjoy it at all. She was too busy working and taking care of home, so my bike was basically my only mode of reliable transportation if I wanted to go anywhere.

Fast forward into adulthood — biking was not something that stayed with me. But once I began working for Bike Newport, my biking journey began all over again, and I LOVE IT!

You do so much for the bike movement, especially in your hometown of Newport. Tell us a little about your community and your favorite local rides!

My hometown of Newport, RI is known as the “City by the Sea.” We have only 7.7 square miles of land – so as you can read, Newport is a very bikeable town where biking and walking are by far the easiest ways to get around. For many years, Newport has been known as a New England summer resort that is famous for African heritage history that dates back to the 17th century, historic mansions, sailing history, and one day – bicycle advocacy! I LOVE biking around Newport, especially the famous Ocean Drive (we like to call it the “Ocean Loop”), where you’re right on the coastline and can smell the sea. One of my favorite local bike rides is Bike Newport’s 10-Spot Ride! We’re invited to ten unique homes around Newport, and upon arrival, we’re greeted by live bands, local Newport restaurant foods, and BEAUTIFUL scenery.

I also really enjoy our Full Moon Rides! We usually have between 50 and 80 riders from around Newport, and surrounding cities and states – it’s a great way to get a glance of a full moon – especially when it reflects from the calm ocean at night. But my most FAVORITE rides are with my black women and girls who do bike! There’s nothing like riding with a group of women whom you feel an instant connection with who really enjoy one another’s company. Our rides are ALWAYS fun: laughing and talking, getting to know each other and what inspired us all to ride. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

What would you tell someone who wants to get involved in bike advocacy, but isn’t sure where to start?

Unfortunately, safety is a major concern for many bicyclists and pedestrians. A lot of our work at Bike Newport consists of advocating for additional safety measures and road challenges citywide, educating individuals of all ages and backgrounds on Smart Cycling, and helping more people get out of the car and into the saddle.

I highly encourage individuals to speak with their city leaders, join a local Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC), or come to Bike Newport! Educate yourself on the issues within your community and figure out how you can be a part of the changes you would like to see happen. Also, sometimes it’s not enough to just attend those meetings, you must use your voice, or find a way to be heard, find a way to make “good trouble.”

What has been your greatest reward in your bike advocacy journey so far?​​ What keeps you going?

I don’t know if I can pick just one: Providing bicycles to individuals in need of a mode of transportation so they can get to work, school, doctor appointments, grocery stores, etc.; advocating for and witnessing Newport’s first shared-use bike path being built, seeing RI’s first ever traffic garden in the heart of my hometown – Newport’s north end, introducing bicycle education into Newport’s public schools, seeing bike lanes on our residential streets, getting Black Girls Do Bike up and running for Rhode Islanders – there are so many. All of these moments are what keep me going – it’s rewarding!

What’s your favorite thing about being on a bike?

It really brings me back to being a kid again. The freedom I have, the places I go that I never thought of and where cars won’t fit, smelling the aromas of the sea and flowers, fresh air, therapy, health and wellness – I can go on and on. It’s freeing, it’s free, and it’s definitely for me!

We’re excited to see you’ll be joining us at the National Bike Summit next month! What are you looking forward to the most this year?

I always look forward to seeing my fellow Black Girls Do Bike sheros! And, I’m looking forward to learning new ways of helping to inspire more individuals to become advocates in our line of work, speaking with our state senators and representatives, seeing all the fun people who I’ve met over the years, and hopefully catching the cherry blossoms in full bloom! So… It’s safe to say, I’m looking forward to the entire summit!

About the Summit

Join hundreds of bike advocates like Allyson for the largest grassroots bicycle advocacy conference in America from March 19-21, 2024, at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC. Yes, you read that right – this year, we’re starting mid-day on Tuesday, March 19th, and concluding on Thursday, March 21.

Learn more about the Summit »

How to Register

While registering, please read the full event description to learn more about the difference between in-person and online-only tickets, as well as information on available scholarships. 

Register Now on Whova

P.S. In-person attendees can add on the limited-edition League of American Bicyclists t-shirt celebrating the 2024 National Bike Summit! You will receive your shirt during event check-in on Tuesday, March 19. 

Take advantage of League Member pricing! 

League Member pricing is the best rate available for paid attendees. To receive this member rate, you must have an Individual or Family Membership to the League of American Bicyclists.

Learn more about League membership and become a member today to receive the discounted Summit registration rate! (You will save money!) 

The post Advocate Spotlight: Allyson McCalla appeared first on League of American Bicyclists.