We’ll use this post space to try and report all the activities and news from the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit in Washington DC.  We’re going to be running hard and furious…so, these posts might be bullet points or highlights (because we’re tired!)  We’ll elaborate with details if needed when we return to Columbus.

Day 1 – Tuesday - After a quick sightseeing bike ride in the heart of DC, I cleaned up and joined the 700+ bicycle advocates from across the country at the opening reception.  Its always wonderful to see the many wonderful friends we’ve made in the past years and catch up on progress and challenges.  Of course we made many new connections…and had a first face-to-face with folks we’ve only had e-connections with. 

Our Ohio delegation looks strong.  We have Consider Biking members Jeff (me), John Gideon, Tom Over, Mimi Webb and Ben Stout (who both came representing Trek Stores Columbus.)  Tricia Kovacs from OBF is here too.  Our great partners from the Miami Valley, Andrew Williamson and Greg Brumitt from 5 Rivers MetroParlks are in the house.  And, the always energetic Lois Moss from Cleveland (and another CB member!) rounded out tonight’s crew.  We’re expecting a total of 18-19 from Ohio – we’re so happy to have a strong presence from our orgainzation and from Central Ohio. 

The big difference in our first night was the absence of a sit-down dinner.  Rather, we enjoyed a reception setting with nice food and great socializing.  A welcome change which allowed us to better catch up with our peers.  

The exciting news was a launch of the new Bikes Belong campaign.  Bikes Belong is the advocacy arm of the bike industry…and has invested heavily in resources and contributions in the last 10 years.  The campaign and branding materials can be seen at www.peopleforbikes.org  Its a joyful and fun brand which has a simple ask – sign up for the movement.  Check it out.  You’ll see this splashed across tons of media outlets in the coming year(s).

While Mimi and Ben trekked off to a Trek sponsored party…many of us went to the annual Alliance for Biking & Walking reception and awards.  (aka party with a purpose)  Consider Biking was singled out to provide our successes with an Alliance supported stretegic planning proccess and a "winning Campaigns" training which we’ve leveraged into developing funding resources for our "2 by 2012" campaign.  (Teaser…..You’ll hear much more about this in coming weeks!) 

We enjoyed cheering on the successes of our peers across the country.  Well deserved awards for the Active Transportation Alliance, Bike Coalition of Greater Philidelphia, Toronto Cyclists Union, Palmetto Cycling Association, and more…  Lastly, we were reminded of the groundbreaking $10,000,000 over 5-year sponsorship provided to the Alliance by SRAM.  This generous sponsorship has allowed the Alliance to pass on many capacity-building grants to young organizations like Consider  Biking.  Hot damn, SRAM!!

Ok…its been a busy day.  On top of the excitement here in DC….I was at Dublin CIty Council late last night presenting the case for investment in cycling….and, we’ve seen an exciting directive from Gov. Strickland to re-evaluate the accomodation of pedestrians & cyclists on the innerbelt bridge in Cleveland.  Wow….if tomorrow is anything like today….I better end this post and hit the sack so we can all turn out the lights and get some rest.

Day 2 – Wednesday - As tradition dictates, our #2 Federal bicycle champion, Oregon Representative Blumenauer, kicked off today’s conference day. After recounting some of the 10-year history of the LAB Summit, and citing examples of our growth, he unveiled plans to put bike lanes on Pennsylvania Ave between the Capitol and White House. Holy cow….this is arguably the most prominent avenue in Washington…perhaps our country.  And, there will be bike lanes there by Spring. Pinch me.

Deleware Governor Markell was next – he is an AVID cyclist and even campaigned by bicycle.  He shared that it gave him genuine contact with folks across the state…and, was a critical component of his campaign strategy. Maryellen…are you listening? 

The launch of the "bicycle there" function in Google maps was next.  They’ve mapped "about 150" cities across the country. I’m sure your e-mail and social media outlets have been buzzing about this all day. During the break, I futzed with the app with one of the Google engineers and quickly discovered that since we have very few bike lanes in our area…and no other accommodations that the model prioritizes (boulevards, sharrows, cycletracks, etc)…it’s not much different than car routes.  

And, in the late afternoon, the entire 700+ delegates gathered for an hour briefing on the issues we’ll be carrying to our Congress members tomorrow. Our Ohio delegation then met as a group to plan our meeting schedule and strategy for the 20 visits.  Kudos to our state coordinator, John Gideon, for arranging a meeting with EVERY congressional office representing Ohio.  This is a first for us.  We’re going to need our larger Ohio delegation to split all the visits into smaller teams….should be a fun day on Capitol Hill!

I’m not sure we have any aspirations for running the world….but, appreciate the sentiment. Consider Biking is proud to represent all cyclists. We’re humbled and honored to serve your interests here in Washington DC this week.  

Due to the backlog of health care legislation (among other things) the transportation funding act will not likely move until next year.  One of our primary goals for the day was to paint broad strokes and plant the seeds for the need for equitable funding for active transportation initgiatives.  

We all reconvened at the end of the day for a reception to celebrate our work. Representative Blumenauer provided speaking points and applauded our succes. Transportation Secretary, Ray Lahood joined us as well to cheer our work to create livable communities. In a testament to the growing bike friendliness of critical decision makers at the Federal level, Sec. Lahood said, "Make no mistake that the bicycling community has a full partner in Ray Lahood."  Wow…a nice cap to an energizing day!  

Well, we’re worn out.  The rain is moving into DC, which might put a damper on our Congressional Bike Ride on Friday morning. We’ll enjoy getting a nice rest, and make the decision to ride in the morning.