American Bicyclist - Winter 2023

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Y OU T H R S FOR THE SHIFTING GEA IN THI S ISSU E

ISSUE

NEXT GENERATION

TE AND KIDS • FEDERAL ADVOCACY UPDA TRIPS FOR KIDS GOES BEYOND TRIPS SAFER SCHOOL ZONES AND ER SLOW TING CREA ARE ES UNITI SLOW ROADS SAVE LIVES: HOW COMM TEACH-A-THON” • YEAR IN REVIEW BFA IN ACTION: “A CROSS-COUNTRY

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TRIPS FOR KIDS GOES BEYOND TRIPS AND KIDS One ride can change your life.

That’s why Trips for Kids starts by getting kids on bikes, and keeps going. Learn how earn-abike programs, re-cycleries, and local chapters are transforming the next generation.

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SLOW ROADS SAVE LIVES: How Communities are Creating Slower and Safer School Zones We take a look at how communities need to think about the design of streets near schools and why the safety of children should motivate their investment in surrounding streets.

Viewpoint: Youth, Freedom, Independence & Gratitude for Bikes Bill Nesper, Executive Director

24 BFA in Action: Bike Club: How the Humble Bicycle Shines in Tulsa 28 Four Youth-Focused Projects from the League’s 2023 Community Spark Grants Editors: Lauren Jenkins, Communications Director, Marlee Townsend, Communications Coordinator

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ISSUE

FEDERAL ADVOCACY UPDATE Our members and advocates make our success in the halls of Congress and the corridors of the Department of Transportation possible.

Read about our progress on supporting communities, truck safety and more!

BFA IN ACTION: A CROSS-COUNTRY TEACH-A-THON When the young people of the Stanford Spokes ride their bikes across America, it’s about more than the joy of being on a bike with your buddies. (But there’s a lot of that, too.)

32 Year In Review: A Monumental Year for League Programs 38 Smart Cycling: Learning to Ride as an Adult 40 League SAG Wagon: We Celebrate Being a Kid at Heart

Creative Direction & Design: Halupka Studio � ha-lup-ka.com

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YOUTH, FREEDOM, INDEPENDENCE & GRATITUDE FOR BIKES B Y

IN THIS SE ASO N O F TH A N KSG I V I N G ,

with an excellent issue of American Bicyclist focused on youth and our future in hand, I can’t help but reflect with great gratitude on the people throughout my life who have made biking not just possible but joyful.

That started with my parents, who made sure I had a bike and that I stayed out of the house as long as possible, which was aided by my friends who biked with me. As I grew up, my world expanded thanks to my bike. In elementary school, my bike was the freedom to explore my neighborhood and by middle school, it made pretty much everything in my hometown accessible to me.

At that time, kids biking around town and to school was common. Drivers expected us and, while it wasn’t perfectly safe and the biking infrastructure should have been much better, we had mobility and the freedom to do more things without relying on our parents to cart us around. We had strength in numbers!

That really isn’t true for kids today in most places in the U.S. It should be. That’s why the League’s programs emphasize creating opportunities for youth to bike at all levels.

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B I L L

N E S P E R

We are pushing Bicycle Friendly Communities to invest in and build safer streets. We are offering parents and caregivers the guidance to get kids started biking early, creating youth-focused Smart Cycling courses, and advocating for every kid to have on-bike education in school. We are developing more opportunities for young people to advocate for better bicycling at all levels, and we’re supporting more opportunities for kids to bike together.

We are truly honored and excited to carry on and grow the reach of Trips for Kids’ programming (which you can read about in this issue), to support Trips for Kids chapters nationwide, and to share their best practices with communities and organizations so that our movement can ensure that every child, no matter where they live, has access to great biking experiences and to biking with their peers.

“The opportunities opportunities “The

we create create we

for people people to to for

bike together The opportunities we create for people to bike together can’t be overstated. The League’s most recent national survey found a majority of respondents ages 18-49 agreed that “people to ride with” would make them ride more often. Similarly, a 2018 Outdoor Industry Foundation survey found the number one reason to not participate in bicycling outdoors reported

by Black Americans was, “I do not have anyone to participate with.” So let’s ride more, together.

Thank you for being part of the solution in building a robust biking culture that welcomes everyone. Thank you for the miles you put in and showing what destinations are bike-possible, for being a great bike-friend in your community, for leading those rides and classes, for supporting your local biking organizations and clubs, and of course for pedaling with the League and powering this movement that improves lives and strengthens communities through biking.

Our communities, our country, our world is made a little better every time we go for a bike ride, every time we welcome someone in to experience a ride together, and show up to speak up for better biking for all.

can’t be

overstated.”

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TRIPS FOR KIDS GOES BEYOND TRIPS AND KIDS A LEGACY CONTINUED BY THE LEAGUE B Y A LY S S A P R O U D F O O T S I E G E L , E N G A G E M E N T & P R O G R A M M I N G C O O R D I N AT O R

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he year is 1982 in Marin County, California. Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer, and Fleetwood Mac are dominating the radio waves.

E.T. and Indiana Jones are blowing up at the box office. The leading philosophy on shoulder pads is that bigger always equals better. And widespread access to mountain biking is about to change cycling forever.

At this point, the Larkspur Canyon Gang had been shredding down Mount Tamalpais on klunkers for over 20 years, but the first mass-produced mountain bike, the inaugural Specialized Stumpjumper, was less than a year old. Marilyn Price, working at the Cove Bike Shop in Tiburon, fell in love. Mountain biking was a rush and connected her to nature.

Overlooking San Francisco after another successful summit of Mt. Tam with her trusty Trailmaster, she thought back to all the kids she connected with while volunteering at St. Anthony’s Dining Room back in the city. She knew that if any one of them was able to experience what she was feeling in this very moment, that it would change their lives forever.

And thus, Trips for Kids was born. It started simply—with a single ride in Pt. Reyes National Seashore, a handful of rented mountain bikes, and some very excited kids from the city, most of whom had never been across the Golden Gate Bridge, let alone in the beautiful expanse that laid before them.

“Cycling really is my therapy,” former Trips for Kids (TFK) CEO, Patricia Gallery, said in her announcement of the League’s acquisition of TFK at the 2023 North Carolina BikeWalk Summit. “I knew that through this kind of therapy, we could truly change the lives of these kids for the better.”

These humble beginnings didn’t stay humble for long. Quickly, Price realized the need existed beyond the Bay Area—people from all over the country and beyond were reaching out, asking for assistance beginning their own Trips for Kids chapters.

Price founded a national non-profit, and Trips for Kids grew bigger than just rides.

Local chapters opened re-cycleries, set up earn-a-bike programs, and many became community hubs for cyclists of all types, youth and adults alike.

“Really and truly—yeah, we give to kids—but what they give us is pretty amazing too.”

— Doug Brown Executive Director of Trips for Kids Birmingham

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One of the best examples of this is The Charlotte Re-Cyclery, a chapter of Trips for Kids. Since 2000, The Re-Cyclery has been a cornerstone of the Charlotte community.

From the beginning, founder Paula Fricke would lead Charlotte youth on local trails every Saturday morning, and she did this religiously for almost 20 years. Fricke also reached out to community members to help establish a re-cyclery program: a circular economy-based community bike shop which directly funds all of their community and youth bike programs.

“One thing I noticed about Charlotte in particular is yes, historically, Charlotte is a really weird space, because there’s a ton of queer people, especially queer people of color that live there.” Lewis noticed. “I don’t feel like [the city] does a really great job of being a space to foster community in general.”

This funding also supports their Earn-a-Bike Program, where youth can participate in a six-hour course that teaches about the safety and operation of their bike, then receive that bike for free. Recently, they have been able to expand and offer this program in multiple languages, and start an adult Earn-a-Bike program as well.

In the future, Lewis wants to “be a satellite for other places and other connections… it’s not just us. There’s more than just us.”

Their newest program is Gears for Queers, an affinity group for Charlotte LGBTQIA+ cyclists looking for resources and community. Tabia Lewis, who heads the group and uses she/he pronouns, was inspired by the people she connected with at the Outdoors for All Summit.

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So Lewis took matters into his own hands.

Just two weeks after Outdoors for All, he hosted an affinity night at The Re-Cyclery, followed by workshop nights and volunteer sessions focused on the queer community.

Eric Supil, TFK Charlotte’s Executive Director, knows this rings true across all their programming. “When you think about transformative cycling experiences, you gotta start from meeting folks where they are, right? And so that typically means meeting them literally in their closest park, [or] meeting them in their community center.”

When dreaming about the future, Lewis emphasized the sustainability and longevity of Trips for Kids and its programming: “My hope is that I feel secure in the fact that any program has a legacy after I am no longer around, and that volunteers will feel empowered enough to say, ‘I wanna do something, I wanna take initiative. I understand that you host this thing, but please pass me the mic, ‘cause I have some ideas.’”

Last month, the League inherited the expansive history of Trips for Kids National.

League staff got a chance to meet with TFK chapter leads, including Supil, and talk about the bright future of the program.

“I’m excited about what it could be like, using the League as a network…getting the word out and making ourselves accessible, not just on a local level, but on a national level. I’m really interested in seeing this or things like this pop up all over the place, because they’re huge, huge assets to the community.”

Doug Brown, the Executive Director of Trips for Kids Birmingham, said it best: “Really and truly—yeah, we give to kids—but what they give us is pretty amazing too.”

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FEDERAL ADVOCACY

FEDERAL ADVOCACY UPDATE B Y C A R O N W H I TA K E R , D E P U T Y E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

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icycling had a good year in Washington. We have you to thank for that. So much of what we are able to accomplish is thanks to you—our members and advocates who make our success in the halls of Congress and the corridors of the Department of Transportation possible.

N AT I O N A L R O A D WAY S A F E T Y This year, we focused a lot of our efforts on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to influence the implementation of the 2021 infrastructure bill and the National Roadway Safety Strategy. These endeavors bore fruit as the DOT recognized the League of American Bicyclists as one of four highlighted partners for our work supporting communities’ access to federal funding. Additionally, DOT sought to fulfill its commitment to meeting access, equity, safety and climate goals in its discretionary grants by selecting bicycling and walking projects for 25 percent of its popular RAISE grants!

VULNERABLE ROAD USERS We also made some important progress in Congress, where we worked to make it easier for local governments to access safety funds through the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act, and we addressed truck and car safety as it relates to vulnerable road users.

An annual inflection point for our advocacy is Lobby Day at the National Bike Summit.

During the 2023 National Bike Summit, attendees met with 250 congressional offices resulting in 42 bipartisan cosponsors of the Langenkamp Safety bill.

Those meetings, our follow up, and the dedicated efforts of Dan, Sarah’s husband, and Dirk, her father, has resulted in strong support for the bill and we anticipate some possible committee movement later this year or in 2024, pushing this bill one step closer to becoming a law.

TRUCK SAFETY The Summit advocacy on truck safety resulted in report language in the Senate Transportation Appropriations bill that directs the DOT to test trucks’ side underride guards for their efficacy in protecting Vulnerable Road Users. This is particularly important because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was willing to rely on 2017 research that determined requiring side guards was not cost effective. We believe the old research underrepresented the number of lives that could be saved if large trucks were required to have this important safety equipment. If we are successful in keeping this report language in the final bill, it will force the DOT to re-examine that research and provide a better understanding of how side guards can protect the lives of people biking and walking as well as car occupants.

A P OW E R F U L A S K To continue applying pressure on the truck safety ask, the League organized a letter with over 200 organizations from 49 states signed on, plus leading national safety organizations, asking Secretary Buttigieg to ensure that DOT policy and testing on car safety regulations always include testing for the safety of people biking, walking, or using wheelchairs. At the time of this writing we are awaiting a response from the DOT.

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C O L L A B O R AT I O N S W I T H A M T R A K In addition to our work in Congress and with the administration, the League has also taken on a leadership role with the Amtrak Bike Task Force. We started the year asking our members and advocates what they would like to see from Amtrak, and we heard from many of you about your desire for seamless and improved access for bikes on trains, and a more user-friendly website.

While changes to make trains more easily accessible to board with bikes is a long term goal, we were successful in working with Amtrak to improve their website and offer people more information about bringing your bike on board. The best way to convince Amtrak to improve bike access on trains is to increase bicyclists’ use of trains so check out the website and make your reservations!

Photo by Saara Snow

Scan to check out Amtrak’s new and improved website

WHAT’S AHEAD IN 2024 In addition to continuing our efforts on the Langenkamp Safety bill and truck side underrides, we will be watching the following issues as they take shape:

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At the end of 2024, Congress will be debating tax rebates and reissuing climate-friendly rebates originally created in 2009 and reauthorized every few years. That will be an opportunity to promote cycling incentives such as rebates for e-bike purchases and the bicycle commuter benefit.

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NHTSA is currently working on a report on cars’ Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) for people biking.

The agency has been slow to recognize the benefit of AEB that can detect and respond to bicyclists and the League will continue to champion the inclusion of this technology in the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

Congress is also working on some legislation we hope to influence, including:

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Safe Streets A bill meant to improve design standards and practices that promote safety for all users.

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Autonomous Vehicles A bipartisan group of members in Congress are starting to discuss a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles. The League will continue to promote a ‘vision test for cars’ ensuring AVs can detect and respond to vulnerable road users.

Be on the lookout for our action alerts and other update emails in 2024 to take part in our advocacy around making biking better.

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POLICY

SLOW ROADS SAVE LIVES: HOW COMMUNITIES ARE CREATING SLOWER AND SAFER SCHOOL ZONES B Y J A M I L M O D A F F A R I , P O L I C Y S P E C I A L I S T

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The safety of children should be a top priority for every community.

Because traffic violence is one of the top dangers to young people, most states have laws or policies that allow the creation of school zones with lower speed limits than would otherwise be allowed. Is lowering speed limits enough, though? Recent research from the Minnesota Department of Transportation found that most states provide for school zone speed limits of 15, 20, or 25 miles per hour.

However, for school zone speed limits to be effective at slowing traffic and creating safer spaces, their review found that the speed difference between the school zone and the normal speed limit should be no more than 5 to 10 miles per hour.

To create slower and safer school zones, communities need to think about the design of nearby streets, how the school is integrated in the community, and why the safety of children motivates their investment in surrounding streets.

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100%

STATES CAN TO SAVE LIVES Making 90% of crashes survivable, by choosing (or not) to set smarter, more appropriate speed limits.

WHAT WILL YOUR STATE CHOOSE?

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W H Y S C H O O L ZO N E S D E S E RV E S LOW E R S P E E D S School zones are intended to be safe spaces for students and their families to access education. Unfortunately, according to data referenced by Safe Kids Worldwide and AARP, approximately 100 children in the United States are killed every year while walking to or from school, and 25,000 others sustain injuries as a result of school zone crashes. Data on crashes may also be limited, with an investigation in Las Vegas finding that state crash data showed more than 340 school-age children were injured within a quarter mile of school campuses, but less than 20 injuries were reported by the school district. Lack of coordination between school districts and state departments of transportation leave gaps in our understanding and put young lives at risk.

School zones are particularly important places to prioritize safety through slower speeds because children are particularly vulnerable to the dangers of traffic for a number of reasons.

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Children are typically smaller than adults.

• According to the group Kids and Car Safety, larger vehicles such as trucks and SUVs can have front blind zones of up to 15 feet, making it difficult for drivers to see smaller children.

Frontover crashes, where a driver hits someone—typically a child—at very slow speed due to not seeing them, are responsible for 366 deaths and 15,000 injuries per year.

• The smaller size of children also means that when they are hit they are more likely to be impacted in the head or upper body. This higher impact point has been identified as dangerous to people walking and biking by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, sometimes leading to secondary impacts where a person is knocked to the ground and driven over.

Children have difficulty navigating fast streets.

• Studies suggest that children aged 6 to 12 have difficulty determining how to safely cross a single lane of traffic when vehicles are traveling 25 miles per hour. Lower speeds, like 15 or 20 mph, provide a better opportunity for children to accurately perceive oncoming traffic speeds and measure gaps in traffic, and lower the risk of injury or death if a crash occurs.

• A recent policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics endorsed reducing speed limits in urban areas, including areawide 20 mph zones, as part of embracing Vision Zero and continuing long-term reductions in child pedestrian mortality.

To create slower and safer school zones, communities need to think about the design of nearby streets, how the school is integrated in the community, and why the safety of children motivates their investment in surrounding streets.

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S C H O O L ZO N E S E M B RAC I N G S LOW E R S P E E D S School zones are often the lowest speed limits in our communities because of the recognition that the safety of children is a priority. However, temporary lower numbers on signs are also not enough to turn that recognition into long-lasting changes. Here are a few ways that communities are ensuring that slower speeds—not just lower speed limits—happen: Implementing Automated Changing Road Design: Communities Enforcement: Some communities, like are installing traffic calming measures Alexandria, Virginia, have implemented such as speed bumps, chicanes, and automated enforcement systems, such enhanced crosswalks in school zones. as speed cameras and red-light cameras, These physical alterations to the roadway in school zones. These cameras capture force drivers to reduce their speed, violators and issue fines. In 2022, New making the area safer for pedestrians York City was allowed to operate speed and bicyclists. The School District of IN MANY CASES, ISSUES OF SAFE ROADS CENTER ON zones EACH STATE’S LAWS school hours a day.

Philadelphia received a $25 million RAISE IN MANY CASES, ISSUES OF SAFEcameras ROADSinCENTER ON 24 EACH STATE’S LAWS Grant that will help create “slow zones” around six North Philadelphia schools.

STATES CONTROL SPEED LIMITS STATES CONTROL SPEED LIMITS Challenging Road Design

Improved Road Design

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SLOW DOWN!

SLOW DOWN!

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WAY TO GO!

FROM MARGINS TO MAINSTREAM

REFRAMING ROAD DESIGN Designing for people is not optional.

We create safer roads and stronger communities when people come first.

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TRADITIONAL

REFORMED

REFRAMED

CAR CENTRIC AWARENESS

WORKING TOWARDS SAFETY

Expanding School Zones: Often, state laws governing school zones will only address several hundred feet around school property. When children bike to school, they generally must travel routes outside of those narrow definitions. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell recently signed an ordinance that expands school zone perimeters around schools in the city to improve student safety on their way to and from school.

PEOPLE-FIRST, SAFETY-FIRST

Leading Bike Buses: Portland’s Sam Balto has drawn attention for leading rides of smiling children on low traffic and low speed routes, following the international bicibus model initially set in Barcelona. Whether the route is just a few blocks from school where parents get to avoid the drop-off line and get their kids some exercise or a longer route from a neighborhood meetup, slow streets are key to the safety of these rides. Oregon recently adopted a law that allows state transportation funds to be spent on bike buses as an alternative to traditional bussing.

The safety of school zones depends on proactively planning for slower and safer streets. While it was once common for children to bike and walk to school, fast and chaotic traffic around schools now discourages biking and walking. School zones provide an example of where we currently recognize the need for slower speeds, even if communities struggle to meet that need. By building a movement that embraces why we choose slower speeds for school zones we can think about the entire trip that gets children safely to school and how slower speeds benefit us all.

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GENEROSITY: IT’S JUST LIKE RIDING A BIKE.

GIVE ONLINE NOVEMBER 28, 2023 BIKELEAGUE.ORG / GIVE

Need some space?

Cruise self-driving cars are all about space.

Yours. With a 360º view they’re designed to see, recognize, and respect cyclists. They can predict movements and react faster than any human driver, giving everyone on two wheels the space they need to ride safely.

Learn more about how we’re working to make roads safer at getcruise.com/safety.

BFA IN ACTION

A CROSS-COUNTRY TEACH-A-THON REFLECTIONS ON THE LAST TWO YEARS OF STANFORD SPOKES B Y

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P A R T H

S A R I N

The six 2022 Stanford Spokes stand in front of the Washington monument. Photo by Julia Meltzer

The Spokes outside a library in Newton, KS, celebrating the librarian who organized their event, Sharon Cepada. Photo by Sophia Wu

Every summer since 2018, several Stanford students have biked from San Francisco to Washington, DC, and have stopped along the way to teach in community centers. Parth Sarin, a former Spokes rider, writes about how the program has changed over the last two years.

When I decided to bike across America two summers ago, I hadn’t really biked before. Well, I knew how to ride a bike—my parents taught me as a child—but I didn’t even own a bike when I committed to join Stanford Spokes, a cross-country teach-athon in which Stanford and MIT students bike across the country (in opposite directions, meeting up halfway) and stop

along the way to teach. I joined for the teaching, which I’ve loved since I was in high school.

At first glance, biking and teaching might seem totally different but, during the trip, I came to appreciate the connections. We’d bike through communities during the day and stay with local hosts at night. We’d eat their food and hear about their traditions—and then we’d go teach the next day with a little more awareness of their cultural context.

Before the trip began, I spent a long time planning my workshop. I knew I wanted to incorporate exciting topics—data science, math, art—and design the lesson so students had a lot of voice and choice.

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Katherine, Joel, Parth, and Timothy—four of the Spokes in 2022—relaxing near Lake Tahoe before the final climb into the Sierras and descent into Carson City, NV. Photo by Aja Burslem

As a student in the School of Education, I had read so much about interesting pedagogical theories like constructionism and I was excited to be teaching middleschool students for the first time. I decided to teach a lesson about how data can be an artistic practice—charts and graphs communicate a story, like novels and paintings. Other Spokes taught about storytelling, bottle rockets, urban planning, color theory, and informatics.

On the first few rides my body was stretched too far, and I developed pain in my lower back and wrists. I struggled to figure out the shifting mechanism (which lever do I push to go up again?) and I was a constant source of worry for my family and friends when they heard about how my bike kept breaking down during critical moments of the trip (like the time my back wheel locked against the frame while climbing up the Sierras).

In the end, the workshop was a hit, but all the time I spent developing it came at the expense of bike training. When I was describing my ever-changing lesson plan to my friend the week before the trip, he politely commented, “I feel like you’ve got the teaching part, Parth, but what about biking?”

But eventually we fell into a rhythm: each team member had a designated role, we’d developed a routine for handling bike issues, and we’d been through many revisions of our workshops. I remember the heat and hills of the “loneliest road in America” (Highway 50, Nevada), the smell of dust and grass after thunderstorms in Colorado, the warmth and energy of the students in Pittsburgh, and the tearinducing joy of seeing the Washington monument at the end of our trip.

That learning curve was steep. As in “five thousand feet over ten miles” steep. I got my bike—a used, blue 2015 Specialized Allez I bought from a mechanic at the local bike shop—just two weeks before the grand départ.

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2022 Spokes stopping for a bench perch along the Great Allegheny Passage shortly before crossing into Maryland. Photo by Parth Sarin

I wish I could say that we got straight to work organizing next year’s trip, but that took some time. Fortunately, there was no shortage of institutional support: Stanford is a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University and many organizations on campus were interested in partnering.

Spokes began working with organizations like Stanford Digital Education which focuses on spreading the teaching and learning that happens at Stanford outside of the university. The School of Sustainability, School of Medicine, and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design helped sponsor the program. University Communications amplified the Spokes message so much that tons of staff and students reached out to see how they could help. And Stanford Transportation’s Ariadne Scott pitched in by teaching bike safety and coordinating a mid-trip care package for the team. Slowly but surely, we began working towards a larger initiative.

The last two years of Spokes have seen tremendous change and so many opportunities for growth remain. For one, the program is beginning to have an intergenerational memory through coaches that stay with the team from year to year. We want to partner with teachers and develop learning experiences that continue after the Spokes bike away, like teaching about bike repair skills! And we want to engage more of the Stanford community in the exciting, ambitious, and occasionally terrifying endeavor.

As the program evolves, our mission stays close to its roots: we want to build relationships while teaching, biking, and sharing our love for both across the country. We believe that education and sports can complement each other in inspiring students to love learning. As the Spokes roll into our sixth year, we’re grateful and excited to continue making a difference for youth across America—with a growing legacy, a network of support, and many miles to climb.

Over the span of 3 months, the 2023 Stanford Spokes biked from San Francisco, CA to Washington, D.C. They stopped and taught in Carson City, NV; Steamboat Springs, CO; Newton, KS; Kansas City, MO; Farmington, MO; Hazard, KY; and Pittsburgh, PA, among others.

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BFA IN ACTION

BIKE CLUB: HOW THE HUMBLE BICYCLE SHINES IN TULSA B I C Y C L E

B Y A M E L I A N E P T U N E , F R I E N D LY A M E R I C A P R O G R A M

P H O T O S

BIKE CLUB

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L U K E N B A U G H

“It’s a mentorship program, and bikes are how we connect kids to mentors.” That’s evident in Bike Club’s mission: “Building confident cyclists and great Tulsans through Community Engagement.”

There’s something incredible happening for kids in Tulsa Public Schools (TPS), and bikes are a notable part of the story. Bike Club is an after-school program that, as of this school year, is active in 33 Tulsa schools and has a waitlist for students eager to join.

Since the program launched in 2014, more than 2,400 elementary and middle school students have participated. From September through May every school year, a group of roughly 20 students meets weekly with adult volunteers at each participating school to learn about bikes and life, and to go on rides together.

Despite its name, “Bike Club is not a biking program,” said Jason Whorton, founder and executive director of Humble Sons Bike Company (HSBC), a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Business and the 501(c)3 non-profit behind Bike Club. “It’s a mentorship program, and bikes are how we connect kids to mentors.” That’s evident in Bike Club’s mission: “Building confident cyclists and great Tulsans through Community Engagement.”

All of Bike Club’s volunteers are trained not only on the ins-and-outs of biking basics, safety, and maintenance— apparently every certified League Cycling Instructor in Tulsa either works for or volunteers with Bike Club!—but also on critical skills and knowledge such as youth health, trauma, resiliency, and social and emotional learning. “Volunteers are our secret sauce,” added Whorton, who described the volunteer cookouts and other recruitment and retention efforts that have helped lead to Humble Sons’ success in building a trusted network of volunteers.

Every fall semester, Bike Club students and adult volunteers focus on cycling skills, life skills, and science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM)related activities, while the spring semester is reserved for off-campus rides and experiences. In addition to learning how to ride, how to care for your bike, and the basics of an ABC Quick Check, students learn leadership and citizenship skills and every student that completes the program earns a bike and helmet at the end of the school year.

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HSBC provides all equipment needed for Bike Club, including bikes, helmets, and safety vests for both youth and adults, along with curriculum, materials, and maps. Remarkably, the program is entirely cost-free for the school district thanks to the dedication of volunteers and generous support from numerous donors and community partners who have helped make the program a success.

When Whorton first started HSBC in 2008, the original vision for the organization was to give children access to bicycles to help bring the joy of biking into more people’s lives. In that initial year, the organization gave away 22 bicycles. Since then, HSBC has distributed over 17,000 bikes to Tulsa-area families. Bike Club was added to the HBSC portfolio a few years later, after Whorton was introduced to Mike Wozniak, co-owner of another Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Business in Tulsa, bicycle-themed bar Soundpony.

Wozniak had recently joined the local Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and had some ambitious ideas to change the world by getting more people on bikes. Fellow BPAC member

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Gary Percefull, who was also a former TPS board member, suggested starting a “Bike Club” at nearby Emerson Elementary as a first step. The rest is history.

Today, Bike Club and the 106.1 Bikes for Kids holiday giveaways are just two of many initiatives supported by HSBC. There is now: a summer camp program for kids ages 9 to 14, in-school bicycle mechanics curriculum for high schoolers through Project Bike Tech, a NICA Race Team competing in Oklahoma’s neighboring Arkansas League, and in-school learn-toride curriculum in 3rd grade P.E. classes at 20 of the participating Bike Club schools.

In addition, HSBC is working with local partners and volunteers to develop and maintain Tulsa’s growing number of hiking and biking trails, which serve as experiential learning environments for Bike Club students and others. These trails include beginner-friendly paths and adaptive mountain bike trails accessible to cyclists with disabilities.

But again, despite all this, Whorton reiterated, “Humble Sons is not a bike nonprofit, we’re in the human connection business.”

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BFA IN ACTION

FOUR YOUTH-FOCUSED PROJECTS FROM THE LEAGUE’S 2023 COMMUNITY SPARK GRANTS

In 2022, the League challenged advocates to reimagine how they can reclaim and transform streets to create more Bicycle Friendly Communities, awarding 11 organizations $1,500 each towards their innovative bike-related projects. This year, the Community Spark Grant program will expand its reach, awarding 18 grants of $1,500 each to organizations seeking to improve their communities through biking.

ST. LOUIS, MO

SACRAMENTO, CA

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READING RIDERS BOOK AND BIKE R I D I N G C L U B S T. L O U I S , M O The Reading Riders is a book and bike club for youth from the 3rd to 8th grades. Club members have weekly pages assigned and gather on Saturdays to discuss the readings and go on a group bike ride. It culminates in a two-day adventure that includes a ride and an overnight campout followed by biking back to the starting point. The Reading Riders Book & Bike Riding Club offers youth and their families a safe means of developing an interest in biking and a means to build self confidence in order to consider cycling as an everyday means of transportation.

T I G E R S P E D A L F O R WA R D S A C R A M E N T O , C A The bike fix-it cafe and mechanic courses at John Still Middle School serve not only the students’ growth but also the Meadowview neighborhood, a historically underserved area of South Sacramento. The community’s closest bike shop is more than five miles away and is unaffordable for most residents. The Spark Grant will allow for the needed tools, helmets, locks and lights to provide for successful riding.

The League’s Bicycle Friendly America program awards grants that spark change and catalyze a community’s ability to create places where bicycling is safer, easier, and more accessible.

These grants help build Bicycle Friendly Communities and capacity for local leaders and influencers by uplifting the community and by creating inclusive coalitions that can shed new light on current issues.

Community Spark Grants support the growing number of local grassroots changemakers and organizations nationwide working to improve their communities through better bicycling. Generous support for these grants comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative which aims to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027. Generous support for the grants also comes from General Motors.

MATTAPAN, MA

1 3 T H A N N U A L M AT TA P A N O N W H E E L S : T H E M U S I C A L F L AV O R S O F M AT TA P A N M AT TA P A N , M A

Mattapan on Wheels (MoW) is a youth-led biking event created to encourage Mattapan residents to engage in physical activity, bring the community together, bring awareness to the city of Boston that Mattapan and black/ brown people do bike, and provide route options about where riders can go on their bikes from Mattapan.

MIAMI, FL

P O P - U P P R O T E C T I O N = S A F E C YC L I N G FOR ALL MIAMI, FL The Pop-Up Protection = Safe Cycling For All project will bring pop-up protected bike lanes to schools in neighborhoods that reflect the culturally rich and diverse population of Miami-Dade County. An overarching aim of the project is to serve as a template for permanent safe infrastructure for the youth who walk, bike or scoot to and from school.

Find the full list of 2023 Community Spark Grants and learn more about how to apply for your community project next year at bikeleague.org/spark.

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TRASH YOUR E-BIKE BATTERIES Meet the dynamic duo teaming up to end e-bike battery waste. Alongside his new friend Rey, our battery-hungry friend Watts needs your help getting riders to recycle their old e-bike batteries.

Join the effort to keep e-bike batteries out of landfills and help Watts and Rey spread the word!

Learn more at hungryforbatteries.org

Make it count.

ZELT Evo - The world’s

most trusted bike counter

+ Measure speed + Detect direction + Count e-scooters

Data to support safe mobility

WE KNOW BIKE PARKING. Inside and out.®

Download our free bike parking guides at www.dero.com Pocket Guide to Bike Parking • Bike Room Design Guide • Elevate Your Campus Bike Program

Do you want safe and connected streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes in your city?

CityThread.org

YEAR IN REVIEW

LOOKING BACK AT

B Y

L E A G U E

S TA F F

2023 2024

EMERGING STRONGER IN

2023 HAS BEEN A MONUMENTAL YEAR FOR LEAGUE PROGRAMS. Not only have we expanded bicycle education, built support for policies and funding that support more and better bicycle infrastructure, and worked directly with Federal agencies, cities, universities and businesses in all 50 states—we also expanded our youth engagement work by acquiring the Trips for Kids National Office!

As the year comes to a close, we want to offer a special word of thanks to the tens of thousands of League members and financial supporters who propel our work to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.

Everything you’ve read about in this magazine is thanks to members like you. We could do all that we do to make biking better without your support.

THANK YOU! 32

AD

ACY EF FO R VOC T

ADVOCACY

S

TRANSPORTATION EQUITY Our advocacy efforts are focused on building a foundation for safer streets that not only make bicycling better, but also encourage more people to bike.

250

CONSTITUENT MEETINGS

Legislatively, the League made inroads on Capitol Hill as we organized 250 constituent meetings with Members of Congress and their staff as part of the National Bike Summit.

SECURED

42 CO-SPONSORS Helped secure 42 bipartisan co-sponsors to the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act.

AMTRAK

Co-Chaired the Transportation Equity Caucus’ Federal Policy working group. A key campaign has been pushing back on legislative language that would prohibit the US DOT from using equity as a factor in grant criteria and reporting.

TRUCK SAFETY Successfully advocated for report language in the Senate Transportation appropriations bill directing US DOT to include testing of truck side underride guards with vulnerable road users. The next step is getting similar language in the House of Representatives bill and report.

‘S BIKES

Revitalized the Amtrak Bike Task Force after a yearlong hiatus. Successfully worked with the task force to identify needed Amtrak website improvements, and supported Amtrak’s work to make their website more bicyclist friendly.

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EDUCATION

EMPOWERING PEOPLE Our education program empowers people through education to be safer and feel more comfortable and confident to bike more.

LAUNCH OF

E-BIKE SMART CLASS

Released a new E-Bike Smart class in partnership with PeopleforBikes and Bicycle Colorado. The course delivers a five part video series and has quizzes on how to ride more safely and confidently on an e-bike.

200,000

Reached over 200,000 people with cycling education through our network of League Cycling Instructors.

300

Certified 300 new League Cycling Instructors to teach bicycling skills in their communities.

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POLICY

THE PUSH FOR SAFER STREETS Engaged many federal agencies as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to be implemented, submitting comments and getting agency responses on items such as how NHTSA grants will be administered, how crash reporting will be improved, and how vehicle technology will contribute to safer streets.

SAFE INTERACTION While automated vehicles feel perpetually some time in the distance, the League’s work led to Cruise endorsing our guidelines for safe interaction and helped NYU develop Principles for Autonomous Urbanism.

DATA MATTERS Continuous updates to data on biking and walking through data.bikeleague. org leading to Axios publicizing bicycle safety in national and local newsletters.

BIKE SAFETY Through our research, data analysis, and policy development, the League leads on issues related to vehicle technology, bicycle-friendly laws and regulations, and thought leadership to change the narrative around bike safety.

SLOW ROADS SAVE LIVES Launched our Slow Roads Save Lives campaign, which has been honed through extensive outreach to advocates, research, and presentations at the Lifesavers Conference, Safe States Alliance Conference, the IPATH Annual Meeting, and a Federal Highway Administration working group.

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BFA

EQUITY & ACCESSIBILITY

WE’RE BUILDING A

The Bicycle Friendly America program grows, expands, and strengthens the movement to make bicycling better in communities, at businesses, and on university and college campuses.

B I C YC L E F R I E N D LY A M E R I CA FOR E V E R YO N E

7 Bicycle Friendly COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS Hosted

We awarded

18 COMMUNITY SPARK GRANTS

Hosted seven Bicycle Friendly Community Workshops to help local leaders better understand what goes into making biking better in their town or city.

(out of 95 grant applications!)

314 BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY PLATINUM THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY GOLD

THE LEAGUE

OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY SILVER

BRONZE

36

BFA APPLICATIONS

Evaluated Bicycle Friendly America applications from 118 Communities, 154 Businesses, and 42 Colleges and Universities.

Visit bikeleague.org/bfa to see the results!

The BFASM program is a tool for states, communities, business and universities to make bicycling a real transportation and recreation option for all people and it recognizes those doing it well. There are:

OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS

506

1,451

220

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY

B I C YC L E F R I E N D LY COMMUNITIES

B I C YC L E F R I E N D LY BUSINESSES

B I C YC L E F R I E N D LY UNIVERSITIES

(as of May 2023)

(as of September 2023)

(as of October 2023)

THE LEAGUE

THE LEAGUE

OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS

BFA

RELEASED THE BIKE AUDIT TOOL KIT LAUNCHED INTERSECTIONS INITIATIVE

Released the Bike Audit Tool Kit, in partnership with AARP, a guide for individuals to use to determine how to make their street better for people biking.

Worked with the League Policy Team and our partners at America Walks and Safe Routes National Partnership to launch the Intersections Initiative, to offer communities guidance and technical assistance to help them take advantage of unprecedented federal funds available for local biking and walking improvements.

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY IDEABOOK

Developed the BFC Ideabook, with support from the CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative

TRAN S FO RM YOUR CO M M U N I TY I N TO

ENGI

NE E

HOW TO USE THE BFC IDEABOOK

RI E N CO U RA

IO AT

N

G

EM

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS PRESENTS THE

C

ED

U

NG

THE 5 E FRAMEWORK

EN

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY IDEABOOK

T AT

N &

PLAN

NI

N

E VA L U

IO

G

The BFA program relies on the “5 E Framework” to determine award levels and provide feedback to participating communities:  Engineering  Education E

UI

T Y & ACC

E

S

 Encouragement

Q

SI

BIL

 Evaluation & Planning

ITY

 Equity & Accessibility

A G REAT P LACE TO RIDE A BIKE!

Look for these 5 E Icons on each case study in the Ideabook to learn which "5 E" categories that case study falls under.

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CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance

EQUITY INDICATORS DASHBOARD TRACKS RACIAL DISPARITIES In Platinum-level BFC Fort Collins, Colorado, the city has developed a public Equity Indicators Dashboard showing disparities using data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and other demographic factors, which will be updated annually.

The City’s 2021 Report launching the project describes the Equity dashboard as “a framework for measuring and understanding the inequities that exist in Fort Collins and how they change over time.”

The effort will eventually track 110 metrics across ten “domain” areas: Civic Engagement, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Economic Opportunity, Education, Environmental Justice, Housing, Public Health, Services, Social Inclusion, and Transportation.

Under transportation, five indicators will be tracked including perceptions of ease of bicycling, transit use, and dependency on cars for transportation.

Under Criminal Justice, the city is tracking racial disparities in traffic citations, criminal citations and arrests, and use of force. The Equity Indicators project website acknowledges that it is “a work in progress” and that “more measures, explanations, and easy-to-understand graphics will be added, and the dashboard will continue to grow over time.”

Family in Fort Collins on Bike to Work Day. Photo courtesy of the City of Fort Collins, CO.

FO RT CO LLI N S, CO

EVALUAT I ON & PLANNING EQ U I T Y & ACCESSIB ILITY

Additionally, the City of Fort Collins has conducted equity trainings to better prepare staff to address and incorporate equity into transportation planning efforts and programs, and city staff are working to build capacity in-house and within the community to understand and address inequities. According to the city’s 2021 BFC application, “In-house capacity building is meant to ensure that an equity lens is applied to all City services, existing and planned. Community capacity building is intended to support long-term engagement of historically marginalized groups.”

This section details the changes made to the 2016 20 Year Streets Funding Plan scoring framework.

REFINING THE 20 YEAR STREETS FUNDING PLAN SCORING FRAMEWORK

20 Year Streets FUNDING PLAN 2018 Update

ability to seize opportunities and deliver projects that achieve larger City goals. Throughout development of the 2016 20 Year Streets Funding Plan, a list of process improvements was produced to consider as a part of the cyclical update process of this 20-year commitment. The recommendations focused on adjustments to the scoring process to better align scoring with City goals and policies. In the 2018 Update the City updated the scoring framework based on these recommendations as well as on the input heard through the 2017 community outreach process.

This section details the changes made to the scoring framework.

PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES Pedestrian Facilities points were increased to better align with the Complete Streets Policy’s modal hierarchy framework. In the 2016 Plan, within the Infrastructure Condition category, pedestrian facilities were worth a maximum of four points, while the existence of an on-street bicycle facility was worth a maximum of six points.

The 2018 Update increased the total available points for pedestrian facilities from four points to eight points.

WHAT IS THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP)?

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a five year outlook of planned City of Minneapolis construction projects.

2016 Points

Pedestrian Facility

The CIP is updated annually. CIP projects include street resurfacing, reconstruction, alley renovation, bridge maintenance, sidewalk maintenance, traffic signals, ADA ramp replacement, other safety improvements, and more.

The 20 Year Streets Funding Plan guides only a portion of

Street with non-compliant ADA ramp Street with pedestrian zone less than 10 feet

October - December Identify and Evaluate Potential Projects

2018 Points

4 2

1 point 2 points (not yet (not yet available) available) TOTAL

October - December City Council Mark-up and Budget Resolution

2 1

Street with sidewalk obstruction (criteria to be scored when data becomes available)

the total CIP.

4

8

UTILITY NEEDS

August - September Mayor’s Recommended Budget

CAPITAL PROGRAMMING:

The Utility Need scoring was modified to remove the distinction between public and private utility needs, and instead focuses on the number of overall utility needs. The goal of this criterion is to prioritize streets with utility projects to support coordination, whether a utility need is public or private does not change the need to coordinate. Coordinating utility and paving projects means fewer impacts to the street surface and the traveling public. Therefore the scoring framework was adjusted to give more points to streets with multiple utility needs, regardless of utility ownership.

January - March Develop Capital Budget Requests

A Continuous Process

April - May Presentation to the Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee (CLIC)

July Final CLIC Report

CHAPTER 1.1: EQUITY DATA & ANALYSIS TOOLS

CHANGES TO THE 2016 20 YEARS STREETS FUNDING PLAN SCORING FRAMEWORK

CAPITAL PROJECT PRIORITIZATION

The 2016 20 Year Streets Funding Plan laid out a data-driven process with a focus on racial and economic equity to prioritize street projects on an annual basis. The framework is data driven, but also is flexible to allow Public Works the

CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS

2016 Points

2016 framework: Utility Needs

2018 framework: Utility Needs

3

Street with a single private OR public utility project or need

Street with a private utility project or need

3

Street with two or more private OR public utility projects or needs

TOTAL

6

Street with a public utility project or need

AN ANNUAL PROCESS

2018 Points

3

PRIORITIZING EQUITY IN FUNDING DECISIONS

6 6

The capital programming process occurs annually, and involves Public Works, residents, the Capital Long-Range Improvements Committee (CLIC), the Mayor, and City

May 2018

Council to develop and adopt a plan for investments.

City of Minneapolis

20 Year Streets Funding Plan | 2018 Update

City of Minneapolis

20 Year Streets Funding Plan | 2018 Update

A P R I L 2018

A P R I L 2018

7

5

Beyond the city limits, Larimer County, where Fort Collins is located, is working with the City and several other local partners through a Data Working Group to create a Multimodal Index, which overlays health equity data with data on how easy it is to access active transportation like biking, walking, and transit systems, and creates a visual map and quantitative score by census tract to help prioritize investments in infrastructure and outreach activities across the county.

In 2016, the City Council of Gold-level BFC Minneapolis, Minnesota, passed the Neighborhood Park and Street Infrastructure Plans ordinance, a landmark agreement to equitably address funding needs that would allow for repaving city streets and maintaining neighborhood parks far into the future.

The ordinance provided $800 million over the next 20 years to help the city and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board keep up with needed maintenance and operations costs for city streets and neighborhood parks. The ordinance is supported by the city’s 20 Year Streets Funding Plan, which outlines the equity-driven process and criteria by which Minneapolis selects street improvement projects for inclusion in the annual Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

The 20 Year Streets Funding Plan, which was updated in 2018 with new data and scoring to reflect public outreach efforts done the year prior, details how street funding is prioritized in Minneapolis based on a variety of factors such as the physical condition of streets,

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY

community socioeconomic and demographic data, and modal needs (i.e. the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, etc.), while applying a lens of racial and economic equity to the prioritization process.

Some of the specific criteria outlined in the plan include: Streets with non-compliant ADA ramps Streets in areas with high percentages of residents with family incomes below the federal poverty threshold Streets in areas with high percentages of residents who are persons of color Streets in areas with low rates of households with vehicle availability As well as a number of physical characteristics of the streets or areas such as density, transit access, connectivity gaps in existing sidewalks and/or bikeway networks, pavement conditions, and crash rates.

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY

The Blaisdell Ave. S. Bikeway in Minneapolis.

Photo courtesy of the City of Minneapolis, MN.

PLATINUM THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS

M I N N E A PO L I S, MN 20

EVALUATION & P LANNING EQU ITY & ACC ESSIB ILITY

I : BUILDING A BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY FOR EVERYONE

Final Report - March 2021

I : BUILDING A BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY FOR EVERYONE

CASE STUDY Fort Collins Equity Indicators

GOLD

THE LEAGUE

OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS

22

37

SMART CYCLING

LEARNING TO RIDE AS AN ADULT: CLASSES FULL OF COURAGE AND JOY B Y A L I S O N D E W E Y , E D U C AT I O N D I R E C T O R

“It always felt like my strange little secret, that I never learned how to ride a bike as a kid,” Kathy, a student in BikeMN’s Adult Learn to Ride class, confided in us. “I always felt like I must be the only one who never learned how to ride a bike.”

38

going to fall down and skin my knee, which seems like a much bigger deal when you’re an adult than when you’re a kid,” Kathy described.

Kathy represents a growing population of adults that never learned how to ride a bike as a child. We heard from a few of them, including Kathy, this past March at the National Bike Summit. For many, it is not easy to admit they don’t know how to ride a bike. It takes a lot of courage to seek out an instructor or class and voluntarily take on such a daunting challenge. Learning to ride for the first time guarantees that you will teeter about on a bike, possibly fall, and most certainly feel awkward.

In response to this growing demand, the League recently partnered with Bike New York to create an Adult Learn to Ride curriculum, the newest addition to the League’s Smart Cycling education program. The new curriculum breaks down the steps of the balance-first approach specifically for how to teach an adult to ride a bike. We outline how to organize a class, key components of a good learning environment, helpful tips when teaching adults, and other useful considerations for teaching adults how to experience going places by bike.

“I always thought I was going to look silly, people are going to drive by and see this adult struggling to pedal a bike; that I was

Learning to ride isn’t rocket science, and we at the League think everyone can and should know how to ride (whether that’s

All images courtesy of Bike New York

ADULT LEARN TO RIDE MANUAL

THE ADULT LEARN TO RIDE MANUAL will be available soon in the League online store, in English and Spanish. League Cycling Instructors are covered under the League’s insurance when teaching the new curriculum. If you or someone you know would like to learn how to ride, find an LCI near you by visiting our Connect Locally map: bikeleague.org/map

2023 EDITION

“Going to an Adult Learn to Ride class, I saw that there were other adults that for various reasons didn’t know how to ride. I realized that riding a bike wasn’t something that after the age of 10 became impossible to achieve—there were ways for an adult to learn to ride a bike! I also learned that it wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be,” Kathy said. By the end of the class, Kathy did learn how to ride! She was eager to start riding with her family and in her community, seeing the world from the new vantage point of being on two wheels.

L E A R N T O R I D E I S N ’ T J U S T F O R A D U LT S The League’s Youth Learn to Ride curriculum is coming soon. We’ve created a manual, video, and parent/caregiver one-pager to help families and instructors teach young ones how to ride. All of this youth-focused material will be available in English and Spanish.

YOUTH LEARN TO RI

Through the balance-first approach, this step-by-step manual offers tips and suggestions for getting kids pedaling under their own power quickly and efficiently. From how to organize a class, proper helmet fit, games that promote bike handling skills, to information for parents, the manual has it all! The Youth Learn to Ride curriculum is supported by woom bikes and features photos and insights from our partners at Bike New York.



Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on its release.

DE MANUAL

LEARN TO RIDE CURRICULUM

LEARNING TO RIDE Learning Objectives 1. Comfortably get on and off the bike 2. Rest all of one’s weight on the seat 3. “Walk” or “Row” a bike 4. Eyes always looking ahead 5. Gain comfort when braking

Getting On and Off We recommend children learn to mount the bike from the left side.

If getting on or off from the right side, children will not be able to activate the kickstand, in addition to potentially getting grease on their clothing from the right “drive side” of the bike.

LEARNING TO BALANCE

2 Demonstrate how to “walk” or “row”. Have kids get on the bike and place their full It's time to get kids moving on bikes. First, weight on the seat. “Walking” means they will demonstrate how to get on and off the bike: alternate their feet in pushing off with one Instruct the children to stand on the left side foot, then the other foot, resembling a walking of the bike close to the handlebars, motion. “Rowing” means place both they are pushing with hands on the handlebars and lean the bike both feet at the same time.

Either motion is toward themselves. Swing the right leg over fine, as long as they are pushing the back of the seat and rear themselves tire and stand and moving forward on the bike. Emphasize in front of the seat and straddle that the child must have their the bike. full weight Next, have the children sit on the seat. Their sitting on the bike while in motion. It will be feet should both be flat on the ground with impossible for the child to pick up their speed knees slightly bent and both hands should and learn to glide or coast if their full weight comfortably reach the handlebars. is not on the seat. Also, double-check the seat To get off the bike, make sure the bike is stable height and ensure it’s not too low. and have children stand in front of the seat.

While they are walking and/or rowing their The rider should be straddling the bike. Have bike, instruct them to look ahead as they children step out with their left foot and lean move. It is common for new riders to look the bike to the left. Swing the right leg over down at their feet or at the ground as they the seat and rear wheel so that the rider ends move—this is counterproducti ve. Point up with both legs on the left side of the bike. out a large object ahead for kids to focus on.

Practice multiple times to gain consistency and A rider must be looking up for safety and to comfort with this movement. start learning a sense of balance that is essential for riding.

Stopping by Using the

Handbrakes

Once the children have mastered “walking” or “rowing” on the bike, ask them to start using their handbrakes when they want to stop.

Encouraging the use of handbrakes early on will help children develop the best reflexes to stop once they start traveling at faster speeds later down the road. Before they learn, kids may intuitively want to stop their movement by dragging their feet on the ground. Instead, reinforce that they should be using their handbrakes to slow or stop, not their feet.

2023 EDITION

100 FEET

on a trike, a recumbent, a handcycle, or what you’ve got in your garage), but it does take some helpful and encouraging tactics to efficiently and effectively teach an adult how to ride. Many adult students benefit from the support of an instructor and/or their peers. The fear that many adult learners have is real and can be overcome with the right approach, a patient teacher, and a supportive class environment. It can be helpful for them to see peers learning and know they are not alone in attempting to conquer a new skill.

Walk or Row

6

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LEAGUE SAG WAGON

WE CELEBRATE BEING A KID AT HEART W E ’ R E A L L S T I L L A K I D AT H E A R T. W E A S K E D O U R S TA F F , “ W H AT I S A WAY T H AT YO U C E L E B R AT E YO U R I N N E R YO U T H ? ”

ANNA

Growing up in the woods of Maine, and the Appalachian mountains in Pennsylvania, getting out in nature always makes me feel connected to my inner child. I loved getting to build forts, climb trees, and hike the backwood trails while I was young and it’s something that still brings me joy.

AMELIA

I grew up in the mountains in New Mexico, so spending time in nature connects me to my youth and helps me feel like a kid again. Whether it’s admiring flowers in the spring, hiking in the woods, or watching the sunset, slowing down and enjoying nature always nurtures my inner youth.

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JAMIL

I celebrate my inner youth by doing things that bring me joy. Whether eating my favorite ice cream, taking a week-long camping trip, or something in between, I always try to connect with my inner child and enjoy life.

KEVIN

Nothing brings out my inner youth more than seeing the world through my kids’ eyes. Whether we’re biking to school, soccer practice, or embarking on one of our big bikepacking trips, our bikes allow us to slow down and enjoy the adventure that is living one day at a time. It’s such a joy to live a car-lite lifestyle with my two boys.

MARLEE

One way I love to celebrate my inner child is by going to my local library. The stacks felt a lot taller when I was a kid, but it’s still a magical feeling to wind through a maze of stories.

PAU L

From an early age, I found freedom in art & creativity, imaginative play, and riding a bike for hours with my brother. I’m thankful to find that same energy in adulthood through graphic design & art-making, improv comedy, and the countless hours I have spent losing myself (and finding myself) on a bike.

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ALISON

I love doing handstands in the pool. There is nothing better than walking on my hands with my feet in the air and being an upside down flamingo. I also love to style my hair underwater and emerge with a sassy look.

Water is so fun!

CARON

Whether it’s swimming, kayaking or riding a beach cruiser, the beach still brings out that inner kid in me.

KEN

I recently volunteered at a local event to put in a new traffic garden which we created with duct tape and chalk. Nothing like sidewalk chalk to make you feel like a kid again!

LAUREN

Every week, we’d go to my grandparents house for dinner. The real treat was after dinner, getting to play with the Lincoln Logs and Legos. Today, my Lego building continues apace and it always makes my inner child smile to pick up a new set!

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RILEY

I’ve always been a gamer at heart.

Board games, card games, tabletop role-playing, and video games encourage me to find joy, connect with my imagination, and engage in various forms of play, especially when the pressures of adulthood otherwise encourage us to take ourselves too seriously.

A LY S S A

I celebrate my inner youth every day because I don’t think I’ve ever really grown up—I mean, I have blue hair!

Between bike rides, forest adventures, play dates with my friends, and frequent library visits, my life hasn’t changed much since childhood, and I hope it stays that way.

BILL

Biking with my kids reawakens my inner child. It also consistently reminds me that we as a society are simply not doing enough for young people to support their independence, health, and social connections by not breaking down the barriers to better bicycling.

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LOCAL HERO

PELOTON

CLIMBER

SPRINTER

BREAKAWAY

ELITE

THANKS TO OUR 2023 CORPORATE SPONSORS

City Thread

OUR MISSION is to lead the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.

We envision a nation where everyone, whether they bike or not, recognizes and enjoys the many benefits and opportunities of bicycling and where everyone can experience the joy of bicycling.

STAFF Kevin Dekkinga

Jamil Modaffari

Alison Dewey

Bicycle Friendly America Program Director

Director of Membership & Development Education Director

Lorna Green

Policy Specialist

Amelia Neptune Bill Nesper

Operations Director

Executive Director

Lauren Jenkins

Alyssa Proudfoot Siegel

Communications Director

Ken McLeod

Engagement & Programming Coordinator

Policy Director

Anna Tang

Bicycle Friendly America Program Specialist

Riley P. Titlebaum Education and Outreach Assistant

Marlee Townsend

Communications Coordinator

Caron Whitaker Deputy Executive Director

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Danielle Arigoni Chair

Jim Baross Ed Fendley Jimmy Hallyburton Melissa Lee

Kecia McCullough Ralph Monti Vivian Ortiz Ken Podziba Cadesha Prawl Lori Richman

Mike Sewell Torrance Strong Triny Willerton Karin Weisburgh Anna Zivarts

American Bicyclist magazine (ISSN 0747-0371) is published by the League of American Bicyclists, Inc. to help the organization achieve its mission to educate the public and promote awareness of bicycling issues. ©2023 League of American Bicyclists. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Article queries should be addressed to communications@bikeleague.org. Your submission of manuscripts, photographs or artwork is your warranty that the material in no way infringes on the rights of others and that the material may be published without additional approval.

Opinions expressed by writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the League.

GIVE

BETTER

FOR

BIKING

GIVE ONLINE

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 1612 K Street NW, Suite 1102 Washington, D.C. 20006

LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS

NON-PROFIT

BALTIMORE, MD PERMIT #5415

PAID

U.S. POSTAGE