Reflections on the National Bike Summit

March, 2003

If you ride a bicycle, you've got to like what's happening in our movement. Basically, it's becoming one.

The bike industry, advocacy groups, cycling press, retailers and racing leadership are working together. We're pushing a unified political agenda. We're finally drawing on two of our most compelling assets: the jobs our industry provides and the dollars our sport generates through tourism.

Walking the halls of the U.S. Senate and House office buildings this month during the National Bike Summit, it seemed as if every third person was wearing a Bike Summit badge. We were dynamic, well prepared, and everywhere. (Of course, the highway lobby is all of these things, every day of the year.)

Still, in 24 years in the bike business, I've never seen anything like this. Mountain bikers and road advocates are in sync, organizational rivalries have been closeted, and the industry is stepping up big time. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D.-Oregon), an avid bike commuter, said he's never seen a movement come so far so fast in Washington, D.C.

Beyond traditional arguments for bike funding, we have new, compelling ideas on our side. Scientists are concerned that today's children may actually have shorter life expectancies than our generation. The key factors? Sedentary lifestyles, poor diets and a dramatic increase in childhood obesity.

Could there be a better reason to work to get kids on bicycles? It strongly supports the logic of programs such as IMBA Sprockids, Safe Routes to School and Bicycle-Friendly Communities.

Through the leadership of the America Bikes Coalition, the focus now is protecting (or hopefully increasing) the bicycle funding components of TEA-3--the next six-year, $300 billion federal transportation bill.

One small element of this act, the $50 million-a-year Recreational Trails Program, is near and dear to IMBA and mountain bikers coast-to-coast. It provides money--often matched by the value of local volunteer labor--to quickly and economically build hundreds of miles of new trails. Prime examples of RTP support include the Maah daah Hey trail in North Dakota, a 100-mile singletrack that has earned international fame, and paths in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine State Forest north of Chicago.

So many elements are coming together to improve the future of bicycling in America. We still need to carry our message to the millions of everyday cyclists who have never heard of America Bikes, LAB or IMBA. We need more photos and more newspaper and magazine stories that show great bike projects built with TEA money.

We also need to stick together once this bill is put to bed. The lackluster condition of the U.S. economy and the financial burden of prepping for war could override all of our efforts and squeeze federal bike funding along with all other elements of the bill. TEA-3 is crucial, but the future of bicycling will depend a lot on our continuing growth as a movement and on sustained grassroots excellence.

IMBA has a saying: Anybody riding a bike, any time, on any surface is a good thing--except maybe a bank robber making a getaway on two wheels. How encouraging it is to see us all working so well together.

Tim Blumenthal is the executive director of IMBA, the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

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	Reflections on the National Bike Summit March, 2003 If you ride a bicycle, you've got to like what's happening in our movement. Basically, it's becoming one. The bike industry, advocacy groups, cycling press, retailers and racing leadership are working together. We're pushing a unified political agenda. We're finally drawing on two of our most compelling assets: the jobs our industry provides and the dollars our sport generates through tourism. Walking the halls of the U.S. Senate and House office buildings this month during the National Bike Summit, it seemed as if every third person was wearing a Bike Summit badge. We were dynamic, well prepared, and everywhere. (Of course, the highway lobby is all of these things, every day of the year.) Still, in 24 years in the bike business, I've never seen anything like this. Mountain bikers and road advocates are in sync, organizational rivalries have been closeted, and the industry is stepping up big time. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D.-Oregon), an avid bike commuter, said he's never seen a movement come so far so fast in Washington, D.C. Beyond traditional arguments for bike funding, we have new, compelling ideas on our side. Scientists are concerned that today's children may actually have shorter life expectancies than our generation. The key factors? Sedentary lifestyles, poor diets and a dramatic increase in childhood obesity. Could there be a better reason to work to get kids on bicycles? It strongly supports the logic of programs such as IMBA Sprockids, Safe Routes to School and Bicycle-Friendly Communities. Through the leadership of the America Bikes Coalition, the focus now is protecting (or hopefully increasing) the bicycle funding components of TEA-3--the next six-year, $300 billion federal transportation bill. One small element of this act, the $50 million-a-year Recreational Trails Program, is near and dear to IMBA and mountain bikers coast-to-coast. It provides money--often matched by the value of local volunteer labor--to quickly and economically build hundreds of miles of new trails. Prime examples of RTP support include the Maah daah Hey trail in North Dakota, a 100-mile singletrack that has earned international fame, and paths in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine State Forest north of Chicago. So many elements are coming together to improve the future of bicycling in America. We still need to carry our message to the millions of everyday cyclists who have never heard of America Bikes, LAB or IMBA. We need more photos and more newspaper and magazine stories that show great bike projects built with TEA money. We also need to stick together once this bill is put to bed. The lackluster condition of the U.S. economy and the financial burden of prepping for war could override all of our efforts and squeeze federal bike funding along with all other elements of the bill. TEA-3 is crucial, but the future of bicycling will depend a lot on our continuing growth as a movement and on sustained grassroots excellence. IMBA has a saying: Anybody riding a bike, any time, on any surface is a good thing--except maybe a bank robber making a getaway on two wheels. How encouraging it is to see us all working so well together. Tim Blumenthal is the executive director of IMBA, the International Mountain Bicycling Association.


Help \| Site Map \| Copyright