2014 National Bike Summit and Women's Cycling Forum

 2 weeks ago we traveled up to Washington D.C. for the National Bike Summit and Women's Cycling Forum. The National Bike Summit is a bike advocacy event, uniting the voices of bicyclists on Capitol Hill. The Summit helps increase investments in bicycling at the state and local level.

The Summit includes a lobby day on Capitol Hill where we met with Alabama Senators and Congressmen / Congresswomen (or their staff in most cases). Visiting all of the representatives from Alabama is tough to do in just 1 day but we split up and got it done. At the end of the day we calculated 11 miles of walking.

On lobby day we made 3 ask for upcoming bicycle related legislation:

1- Co-sponsor the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act 

2- Please support the Safe Streets Act (previously called Complete Streets)

3- Please support the New Opportunities For Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Financing Act

 The Summit was exciting everyday included keynote addresses from top government officials, members of Congress, and leaders from advocacy and industry. 

The Alabama delegation.

 The weather in Washington D.C. was less than ideal. 8 inches of snow and temperatures dipping down to 15 degrees.

We attended daily workshops and breakout sessions that highlight innovative advocacy ideas and trends from around the country. It was a great opportunity to listen and learn from the top advocates in the country.

We are already looking forward to attending the National Bike Summit in 2015!