2024 National Bike Summit Recap

Our Bikeflights event season shifted into high gear last week in Washington, DC at the 2024 National Bike Summit hosted by the League of American Bicyclists. Each spring, the Summit draws hundreds of bike advocates together from across the US to learn from and inspire each other to create more and safer opportunities for biking and walking.

Bikeflights was represented by four Ambassadors, including Tina Beecham, Jessica Brunson and Diana Hildebrand all in person and Kecia McCullough joining virtually. 

Vice President Sue George also made the trip to the nation’s capital.

Held over three days at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and on Capitol Hill, the Summit’s energy was overwhelmingly positive. It turns out that now is a good time for bike advocacy. You can see it by simply riding around Washington, DC, where like many other parts of the country, there are increasingly more protected bike lanes, dedicated trails and paths and many other infrastructure improvements that have been proven to increase rider safety, like rumble strips and better lighting and signage.

And the momentum continues with recent infrastructure bills promising more funding to come to states and localities everywhere. Of course, there’s still plenty more work to be done. We were all reminded of a sobering statistic: there’s been a 55% increase in cycling fatalities in the US in the past 10 years.

On opening day, we especially enjoyed the presentation by Veronica O. Davis, author of “Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities.” Davis believes everyone should have access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation, and she shared some of her first-hand experiences creating more such opportunities while working for the City of Houston as the Director of Transportation & Drainage Operations. Davis painted a candid picture of what it’s really like to be on the administrative side of bike advocacy, something useful for bike advocates to better understand as they work with other administrators in similar situations.

Perhaps the most entertaining speaker was Shailen Bhatt, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). With his witty sense of humor, Bhatt made us laugh, even while sharing info about The Active Transportation Infrastructure & Investment Program (ATIIP) and how the FHWA encourages the implementation of projects and programs to improve safety, equity and accessibility for all road users, especially through Complete Streets Planning.

Another big highlight was getting to see our very own Bikeflights Ambassador Diane Hildebrand receive an award upon being named “Educator of the Year” by the League of American Bicyclists. Congratulations to Diane!

The second – or middle day – of the Summit was what is called “Lobby Day.” That’s when Summit attendees swap out their bike shoes and helmets for business attire and meet with their respective Senators and Representatives or their staff to advocate for bills and initiatives that will create a more bicycling-friendly America. 

As we rode bikes and walked around Washington, we were treated to the sight of blooming cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin and everywhere. Mother Nature may have brought peak bloom a week or two prematurely this year, but her timing worked out to be perfect for us to enjoy.

Our big takeaway from this year’s National Bike Summit is that the most important thing is to simply show up. Again and again. We were reminded by retiring Oregon Senator Earl Blumenauer and Washington Area Bicyclist Association Advocacy Director Jeremiah Lowery that nothing ever happens to make cycling better and safer if no one shows up. 

So while not everyone can take the time or afford the expense of traveling to Washington to lobby their members of Congress for bills that fund cycling infrastructure improvements, there’s a lot we can all do locally…  such as filling out surveys to give rider input about proposed local transportation projects, attending your city or county meetings and getting involved in your local advocacy group.

Bikeflights is proud to be a long-time sponsor of the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit.

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Just signed up for the @saganfondo this weekend in Truckee CA. Looking forward to riding gravel with friends from @sportful and @gardabikehotel. Gimme a holla if you’re coming! #saganfondo #petersagan #sportful #gardabikehotel #osmonutrition #silca_velo #iamspecialized #lagunitasbeer #ride100percent #topicaledge #scienceinsport #bikeflights

Seattle: Two weeks to go

On Sunday, I dropped off my bike at Recycled Cycles. I’m leaving it to them to pack it carefully into a big cardboard box for its trip east. The shipping gets brokered by BikeFlights, but the actual transport will be by FedEx, who will pick up the bike tomorrow and deliver it to the bike shop in Maine later next week.

Today or tomorrow I will drop off a 27lb box of bike and camping gear at the UPS Store. It should be waiting for me when I arrive in Brunswick. And yes, I will be anxiously following both packages next week as their tracking icons work their way east.

I fly back myself on August 19th and on the following morning (two weeks from right now), I retrieve the bike, reunite it with the gear, and ride down to the coast. I push off on the morning of Wednesday, the 21st, and hope to be in New Hampshire by that evening. Chicago the week after Labor Day. And the Rockies and the North Cascades before the roads close!

The bike is loaded and ready to go via @bikeflights in my @evocusa bag. T-9 days to riding the #huracan300 route in central FL with my old buddy @dweiner1313 . . . #mtb #mountainbiking #bikepacking #biketouring #bikeadventure #adventurebike #fl #florida #huracan300 #sunsandandsingletrack (at Arlington, Massachusetts) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtHLI7GlCL6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18dvyjs5grqrj

Repost from @la_sweat We want to focus on the racing part not the logistical part. So partnering with @bikeflights is a no brainer. We are more than excited to be continuing on this journey with them for the 4th year. Show up, and your bike is waiting for you, ship in any bike case and they take care of everything. #packshipride

2024 Sea Otter Classic Recap

Every spring, the Sea Otter Classic attracts riders and cycling-industry companies from all around the world to the beautiful Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. This year, the Bikeflights crew was there in full force, with Gina Perschbacher, Michael Potter, Garrett Bonenberger, Kerry Werner, William Alcorn and Sue George joining the massive celebration of all things bikes.

Join us for a recap of our trip, where we'll share highlights from the races, the expo and the unbeatable California vibes!

After 13 days of being really sick and off the bike, I finally got to ride w/ my favorite person in a very beautiful warm place! It felt so good to start getting my legs and lungs working again. I'm really looking forward to warmer temps, longer daylight, planning some fun events for our cycling community w/ @brett.sev and putting in some solid training blocks in preparation for the race season now that I'm starting to feel better. ❤️🚴‍♀️

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#thankful #singletrack #mountainbike #mtb #adventure #irideorange #ridebikes #barbados #showyourvoler #iamspecialized #SpecializedAmbassador #livelife

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@orangesealed / @iamspecialized / @iamspecialized_wmn / @pedrosbikecare / @schwalbetires / @defeet / @wolf_tooth_comp / @cyclingconcepts / @bikeflights / @guenergylabs / @volerapparel / @mustgear / @ridemaple wheels / @mountainbikebarbados

RTP #96 – 12 down, 3 to go…

I am going to ride 6,000 miles across the USA on a bicycle next year to see as many friends as I can on my Christmas/Holiday mailing list over the past year, I rode over 4,700 miles to get ready to do this (compared to 500 miles the year before) have no idea what I’m going to do after the ride – where I’ll live, what work I’ll do can’t wait for the 100+ reunions that will occur along the route when I came up with the idea (a year ago, last night on December 9th) during a call with Bob Sansonetti (a long-term friend from high-school) I told him I was going to hike the Appalachian Trail this year. he knew me too well and said, ‘that’s cool, but that’s not you – you aren’t a destination guy, you are a journey guy – what journey would mean something to you?” and with that, the concept of RickToPortland was born as I came up with the idea to ride a bike next year to see as many people as I can on my mailing list. had 15 months to plan at the time. now 12 have passed and have 3 to go. a little bit worried that I’ll lose my leg strength over the next 3 months as it’s damn cold outside and I don’t like to ride in 40-degree weather (but, I won’t have to next year on RTP). my legs are in the best shape they have ever been, and I don’t want to lose that... some days you don’t feel like it          went to a Spin class today that was supposed to start at noon. an instructor I didn’t know and hardly anybody was there at 11:55, so I called an audible. went instead to a noon massage at “I Love Massage” and a very petite Chinese woman tore me up for an hour. made the right call. on one hand, I’m itching to go now. but I am really enjoying my time with Claire. we are about to head off to NYC/Delaware/CT/Niagara Falls/Toronto for a cool Christmas/NYE trip. we don’t talk too much about me being gone for the long ride, but she’s plugging into the logistics part and is offering helpful hints to be a part of it. yesterday I booked my flight to Seattle the Monday before the ride starts, as I’ll hang with Marc Ackerman for a day or two before heading down to Portland. will book my ‘BikeFlight reservation’ next week to ship Soma to a cool bike shop in Portland. and if you are thinking it, you are right, I didn’t hit 5,000 miles in the one-year of planning, but then again, that wasn’t an original goal for me…I started to realize that I was getting a bit too anxious about an arbitrary goal related to mileage and that might carry over to next year and that’s not what this ride is about…I’m not constrained by time or a miles-per-day-average next year. my mantra will be ‘it’s-a-ride-not-a-race’ – so I applied that to the past month and was quite happy that I reached 4,740 miles in the past 12 months. rick

Credit to @liliruthlillie : 🏊🏻‍♀️ day...I booked my @bikeflights this morning!! I can’t believe only 25 days are left before #imchatt703 😬 — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2HPcyIE

Boom. 55 #Flaanimal just arrived in Denver. It’s to send these to their new homes! It’ll take us a day or three to ship these all but most will arrive 2-4 days after they hit FedEx. Thanks for the assist @bikeflights ! (at Denver, Colorado)

I picked this bicycle up for a vintage project but I have too many projects. So I'm selling this. Very nicely made 1997, 20 inch frame size, Ventana marble Peak full suspension frame. Hand made in California. Excellent vintage condition with like new Fox vanilla coil shock with new bushings. All pivots are play and Creek free, tight, correctly torqued, and serviced. Fresh Greece in the lower pivot and other pivot bushings. Hundred thirty-five millimeter rear Dropout. No Provisions for disc brakes. Titanium brake post Hardware. There's some light scratching and cable rub. Mostly to the stickers which are, replaceable if you contact Ventana. Otherwise the frames in excellent condition and the stays are completely chain suck free! I have more pictures available if anyone wants them, please tag anybody that might be interested in a lovely vintage projects such as theirs. I currently have a built up with early nineties Shimano LX components that are in very good shape. I have the will set and all other parts, just do not have a front fork. I will sell it without the parts, or with it. Whatever is easiest for the buyer. I would like to get $300 for the frame. And $400 with the parts included. Shipping would be additional, and arranged using bikeflights. So please share this away and let me know if anybody has any questions or interest in this project. #vintagemtbforsale #vintageventanabike #bikeforsale (at Falls Creek Outfitters)