2024 National Bike Summit Recap

angela olson
Deputy Director
March, 2024

Cherry Blossoms in full bloom on Capitol Hill

From March 19-21 of this year, the League of American Bicyclists held its National Bike Summit at the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library in Washington, DC. The annual event is a chance for bike and pedestrian advocates and organizations from around the country to come together and share insights, participate in workshops, and lobby for safer bicycling and pedestrian practices. 

I attended this year’s conference with BikeMN’s Executive Director, Michael Wojcik and We Bike Rochester Communications Director, Erik Noonan to share Minnesota’s bike/ped education and advocacy with summit attendees. Other advocates from across the state joined us, including Wayne Hurley and Mallor Jarvi of West Central Initiative in Thief River Falls, and everyones’ favorite BikeMN Founding Director, Dorian Grilley.  Minnesota was well represented! 

Erik Noonan with Jessie Peers and Jahasia Esgdaille at their talk “A Tale of Two Rochesters”  Michael Wojcik presents as a “Bicycle Friendly State Leader”

The Summit was kicked off by Veronica Davis, talking about her journey from advocate to Transportation Director for the City of Houston. Her manifesto of the impacts of baking inclusivity into the design of our public spaces and our transportation systems is one that continued to resonate with attendees throughout the rest of the week. The first and third day of the Summit consisted of various talks and panels, including Michael’s presentation as a “Bicycle Friendly State Leader” and Erik’s collaborative presentation with advocates from Rochester, NY entitled “A Tale of Two Rochesters”. Both talks were engaging, well attended, and included Q&A sessions where attendees were able to share insights, knowledge, and experiences. A shared highlight for all was the final plenary talk by Erik Cedeno, “The Bicycle Nomad”. His talk highlighted the power of traveling across America by bike and the incredible stories that inspire us to follow paths carved by those before us. I was moved by his passion for bike riding, his connection to history, and his ability to weave compelling and moving stories about his journeys.

Rep Tom Emmer’s office gave us a warm welcome!

Wednesday, March 20th was a big day on the hill! After a kick-of bike ride with summit attendees, state reps and senators, BikeMN, accompanied by founding director and all-star citizen lobbyist Dorian Grilley, met with 7 state representatives and 2 state senators’ offices. In addition to celebrating the great wins of last year’s legislative session, we talked about our current initiatives, and brought with us the national legislative asks from The League. The three bills we sought sponsorship and endorsement for will greatly increase access to safer bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, funding, and education to communities around the US. We presented our Congresspeople and Senators with information on the Bicycling in Kids’ Education (BIKE) Act, Complete Streets Act, and the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act. I felt personally excited about the BIKE Act, which would make in-school bike education programs eligible for federal funding. BikeMN appreciates our legislators and their hard working staff for sharing space with us to discuss these important legislative changes. 

Congressional bike ride with members congress and attendees of the National Bike Summit

When not at the summit, I spent a lot of time admiring the cherry blossoms, visited Ford’s Theatre, and had breakfast at Lincoln’s Waffle Shop. I took many bike rides and experienced so much of DC’s bicycling infrastructure on a Capital Bikeshare bike, admired the ease of traveling by subway and (definitely!) got my steps in walking to and from meetings.  This was my second time attending the National Bike Summit, and I am honored to have been among diligent advocates and change makers from across the country. Hearing about accomplishments and sharing resources for overcoming challenges with other like minded individuals from all walks of life was refreshing, inspiring, and nourishing. Thanks to BikeMN members and supporters for continuing to make BikeMN’s involvement in historic advocacy work like this possible. 

BIKE Act Factsheet

Complete Streets Act – H.R. 7082 S 3670

Langenkamp Bill