The Best National Bike Summit Yet
The 2008 National Bike Summit, held March 4-7 in Washington, D.C., was the best one yet. This annual event is organized by the League of American Bicyclists with top sponsorship from Bikes Belong. This year, a record number of suppliers, retailers, advocates, and our partners rallied in our nation’s capital in an unprecedented show of strength, unity, and professionalism.
2008 National Bike Summit snapshot:
* The highest attendance ever, with more than 500 participants
* Record industry involvement, with 145 industry representatives, including 12 Bikes Belong board members
* 290 Congressional meetings
* A successful BikesPAC fundraiser, attended by three U.S. senators and one U.S. representative
* High-level IMBA sponsorship and participation
* Introduction of a bill to support an ambitious national bicycling strategy
* Announcement of a Capitol Hill bike-sharing program to be launched by May
Bikes Belong is lead sponsor of the National Bike Summit because we believe it is crucial to the future of our industry. We’re aiming for 1,000 attendees at next year’s summit. Please join us in March 2009 to campaign for bicycling.
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AAA Declares Last Year’s Protest by Drivers a Success
Washington DC (AP) – The American Automobile Association announced
that last year’s coordinated protest against cyclists and pedestrians
was a smashing success. During 2007, drivers engaged in a “Critical
Mass” event for cars, making their presence known on virtually every
public road in the United States. They formed long
queues during critical peak travel hours on major urban highways,
delaying commuters and commercial vehicles. They defiantly took up the
entire width of right, center, and left lanes, leaving no room for
others who might try to use these “cars first” areas.
They drove across crosswalks, many containing pedestrians, without
stopping or yielding. They turned right on red and often went
straight on red, drove on highway shoulders and in bike lanes, backed
into front-in-only parking spots, and otherwise engaged in acts of
civil disobedience. In a choreographed protest, 70% of drivers drove
at 10 to 15 mph over the posted speed limit to highlight their
strength and power. Drivers expressed their anger at cyclists by
honking, yelling, and gesturing at them whenever they encountered them
on public roads, especially those wearing objectionable lycra.
In a prepared statement, AAA declared the protest very successful,
saying “We’ll try it again next year. We see no reason why this can’t
be an annual, January to December event.”
Happy 4/1 to everyone!