I have just now spent enough time recuperating from the National Bike Summit, processing the experience and thinking about how best to summarize the event, to be able to post something about it.  In a word: “whoa.”  Briefly, the National Bike Summit is an annual event organized by the League of American Bicyclists every year in Washington DC to advocate to our elected officials for increasing support of bicycle programs and funding.  Since 2000, the first year the event took place, attendance has grown from only 100 people to nearly 800 attendees in 2011.

Indicative of the increased prominence of the event was the lineup of speakers: Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation; Ken Salazar, US Secretary of the Interior; Jeanette Sadik-Khan, New York City Transportation Commissioner; and our own Earl Blumenauer, US Representative from Portland; and these were only a few of the many outstanding speakers at the event.  As the above picture shows, one of the amazing things about the conference was the level of access attendees have to many of those notable people.

The key message of the Summit was to protect the federal funding that exists for bikes.  This was primarily through the Transportation Enhancements Program and the Safe Routes to School program, the former being one of the programs House Republicans have proposed cutting.  The challenge to attendees was to demonstrate that the federal government gets a lot of “bang for its buck” when it invests in bicycle infrastructure, since budget deficits and government efficiency are #1 right now on the policy radar.

When those from congressional district 4 (including me) met with Congressman Peter DeFazio, we discussed the value that our communities place on bicycling, and the money that it generates and keeps in the local economy.  Co-owner of Sweetpea Bicycles discussed how, because of overwhelming demand for his bikes, he had to contract with Co-Motion Bicycles here in Eugene to keep up with orders.  In all, over 500 jobs and nearly $30 million in revenue are generated by the bicycle industry in district 4, but this is dependent on being able to use those bikes.  Congressman DeFazio was receptive to our requests and promised to work hard to make sure that federal funding is maintained– keeping in mind that, as a member of the minority, his ability to influence the upcoming transportation authorization bill is significantly impacted.

Aside from the “big names” that I met, what I am left with one week later is a lingering sense of awe; awe, that I was included and even embraced with open arms into this group of seasoned bike advocates from across the country.  Awe, that I was able to meet the President of the League of American Bicyclists, Andy Clarke, and he shook my hand and thanked me for coming all the way from Oregon.  And that Jerry Norquist of Cycle Oregon went out of his way to thank me for attending, noting that young faces at the Summit are the key to a sustained movement.  And I happened to fall into conversation with the Community Advocacy Coordinator of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Carlos Babcock, and we wandered around the Senate for an hour discussing our communities, how we came to be bike advocates, and strategies for engaging decision makers.  All of these encounters have built up not just my network, but the network and name recognition of the Greater Eugene Area Riders.  I feel so lucky to have been a part of the event, and hope that GEARs continues to build on that involvement in the future.

Thanks to all the organizations and individuals that made this trip possible.  Specifically, GEARs, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and point2point Solutions for their generous support, in addition to the many individual donors from the community.