Bicycle Friendly America Summer 2017 - 12

2017 NATIONAL BIKE SUMMIT

LESSONS ON BUILDING THE BIKE
(ADVOCACY) COMMUNITY FROM
THE NATIONAL BIKE SUMMIT
MAX HEPP-BUCHANAN

W

hen Caron Whitaker asked me if I
could present on the topic of "Attracting New Bicyclists" at the 2017
National Bike Summit, I stopped her
right there. I knew I probably was not
the best person to talk about getting new
butts on bikes, but I was willing to discuss
ways in which a program of Sports Backers, Bike Walk RVA (RVA=Richmond,
VA) works to grow the bicycle advocacy
movement locally.
While we do have two established
bike events (a family-friendly night ride
called the Anthem Moonlight Ride, and
a two-day excursion from Richmond to
Washington, D.C.-appropriately titled
RVA to DC), bicycle education and en-

couragement is not our core focus. We
are mission driven in our pursuit of more
and better biking and walking infrastructure. In order to achieve that mission,
we identify, recruit, and train communities of advocates throughout the region
to carry the advocacy banner. Our Bike
Walk RVA Academy is the primary way
in which we do that, and something I will
talk at length about to anyone who will
listen.
I asked Caron if we could expand the
topic to include "Attracting New Advocates," and she said yes.
Our panel discussion, which was
moderated by Dan Hoagland from the
Washington Area Bicyclist Association

(WABA) and included fellow panelists
Nedra Deadwyler from Georgia Bikes
and Civil Bikes and Nancy Grant from
the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, was one
of the most popular break-out sessions
of the Summit. Over 50 people attended
the session, and there were a number of
questions for each panelist-always a
good sign.
In addition to moderating, Dan gave
an insightful presentation about WABA's
D.C. Bike Ambassador program (presentation can be accessed here). One of
the big takeaways from that presentation was how to find a balance between
infrastructure advocacy and community
outreach. As Dan puts it in his presenta-

Attracting New

The Commu

ATTRACTING NEW RIDERS

Through education and other
sorts of fun!

Nan
Na/on
12 BICYCLE FRIENDLY AMERICA

http://www.sportsbackers.org/program/bike-walk-rva/bike-walk-rva-academy/ http://www.sportsbackers.org/ http://www.sportsbackers.org/program/bike-walk-rva/bike-walk-rva-academy/ http://www.sportsbackers.org/ http://www.sportsbackers.org/program/bike-walk-rva/ https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0B6PxuOHBMQh_MDF3Q2ctaXRZQkE http://www.sportsbackers.org/events/moonlight-ride/ http://www.sportsbackers.org/events/rva-to-dc/ http://www.bikemaine.org/ https://georgiabikes.org/ https://georgiabikes.org/ http://www.civilbikes.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bicycle Friendly America Summer 2017