The MassBike team recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for the National Bike Summit, where they joined hundreds of advocates representing 44 states across the country to learn, connect, and take action for better bicycling. This annual gathering, hosted by the League of American Bicyclists, is an opportunity to sharpen advocacy skills, explore new ideas, and meet with federal lawmakers to push for policies that make cycling safer and more accessible for all. With a mix of engaging workshops, networking sessions, and direct advocacy on Capitol Hill, the summit was a powerful experience that reinforced the importance of our work at MassBike.

Throughout the week, we saw firsthand the collective energy behind the movement for safer streets and equitable transportation, and we are coming back to Massachusetts with renewed energy and enhanced skills to continue our momentum for a better bicycling future. Read on for a deeper dive into the workshops, key takeaways, and how you can take action.

Educational Experiences 

From educational sessions on effective storytelling and expanding cycling opportunities for non-drivers to in-depth discussions on new infrastructure guidelines and mobility justice, the National Bike Summit offered fresh insights and strengthened partnerships. 

Emma, MassBike's administrative coordinator, attended several insightful workshops that covered valuable strategies for effective advocacy and community engagement. One standout session was "The Outsiders Guide to Engaging with Elected Officials." The workshop focused on navigating public meetings, specifically city council sessions and town halls. Participants were immersed in role-playing exercises, taking on various council member personas such as "The Diesel Guzzler" and "The Heartstrings," to understand diverse perspectives and how to effectively communicate with different stakeholders. Key takeaways included practical tips on and sustaining engagement beyond initial meetings, which are essential for newcomers building lasting relationships in their civic advocacy.

Another highlight was the opening plenary, "Scaling Our Efforts to Build a Bicycle-Friendly America for All, Faster," featuring Wes Marshall, PhD, PE, who presented on critical perspectives of how we analyze our transportation systems, and Hahrie Han, an expert in organizing movements and civic engagement who emphasized the urgency of collaborations toward a more inclusive and efficient bicycle-friendly infrastructure nationwide. Their insights underscored the importance of collective action, thinking outside the standard boxes of professional training, and strategic planning to accelerate progress in creating safer and more accessible cycling environments across America.

Galen, MassBike's executive director, participated in the “Breaking Barriers: Expanding Cycling Opportunities for Non-Drivers” which focused on cycling for people who have physical disabilities, such as seeing impaired riders riding with “stokers” on tandem bikes and electric-assist recumbent mountain bikes for people who are paralyzed. The goal for this session was to encourage organizations to be intentional about providing access to programming, especially for people who are unable to drive motor vehicles. This is inspiring MassBike's vision, and we will be following up to invite people to engage in the Week Without Driving later this year to understand the lived experience of folks who do not have the privilege of being able to drive to get around in their daily lives.

MassBike board members Doug and George also attended the conference, making connections with leaders from other statewide and professional organizations, and getting in to the weeds of how statewide advocacy impacts transportation policy. “I learned so much about transportation infrastructure advocacy and meeting incredibly knowledgeable people about the process of infrastructure,” notes Doug, our Board Chair. “Especially, the release of the new AASHTO manual on cycling infrastructure that is loaded with actual research for what works and doesn’t work. This is in comparison to prior manuals where engineers were basically making it as they went, and we have so much that doesn’t work because it wasn’t focused on data. The new guide is studying the right objectives, and this will make it safe not just for cyclists but also for pedestrians and drivers.”

On Friday, Galen took part in the Active Transportation Leadership Institute, an add-on day hosted by the Bike League to pull together leaders from organizations across the country in an “unconference” format to brainstorm and collaborate. Topics there included coordinating strategies for “Warriors / Builders / Weavers” that identified roles specific to certain campaign needs and storytelling to present a narrative to a resistant audience. Of particular importance was the breakout ad-hoc session with fellow executive directors of similar statewide organizations and the directors of the League of American Bicyclists where they charted a course to better collaborate and leverage our strength, networks, and influence to really push this movement forward for mobility justice.

Lobby Day on Capitol Hill

Along with the networking and conferencing, the National Bike Summit also includes a Lobby Day, where constituents meet with members of Congress and their staff to advocate for critical legislation and funding for projects. We had 11 residents from Massachusetts with us this year, canvassing both the House and Senate buildings to talk with our representatives about how better bicycling can come from the federal level.

Even though reasoned conversations in Washington are tough right now, the goal of this lobby day was to communicate to the offices that our state (indeed every state) is at risk of losing federal funding associated with bicycling, walking, transit, and shared-use paths. We made our way to each congressional office with a compilation of projects in every district that are at risk due to the executive actions taken by the Trump administration. On the day of our Hill visit, we received word of a memo that instructed the federal offices to pause any project that included the work “bike” or “bike lane.” This made our conversations with staffers in our congressional offices challenging, as we are in an administration so politically charged that it’s tough to thread the needle on bringing attention to the funding freezes while not positing our districts for retaliation. 

That said, we were welcomed into every office with a warm reception, as we have friends in every office, and we show up with smiling faces, real asks for forward moving, and of course, bike pins! As Tiffany Cogell, the executive director of the Bosoton Cyclists Union put it, “when you’re on fire, we show up with a glass of cool water.”

We also are pursuing the ask for a bipartisan effort to pass the Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act, named after Sarah Langenkamp who was killed in a traffic crash just weeks after she was relocated here from Ukraine as a diplomat fleeing Russia’s attacks. This bill gives local municipalities in all 50 states more flexibility in spending already allocated money for locally identified bicycle and pedestrian safety projects. We heard from every advocate who was with us with the Bike League that staying focused on Sarah’s law and making sure that grants that would improve public safety move forward seems to be endorsed by Congresspersons in districts all across the country.

Emma and Galen, our MassBike staff, led the meetings, but we had 11 constituents from across the state with us, and each one of us had stories to tell. We highlighted the community building work we are doing, the bike rides that bring folks together, and all the benefits that biking brings locally. Every office we met with shares in our belief of a better world through bicycling, and promised to help as they can, even given the political climate in Washington.

“It’s always amazing to see the gears of democracy in action, with hundreds of advocates for cycling there but also advocates for other causes,” said Doug.

Attending the Bike Summit is a rewarding experience. The summit itself is a great way to engage with folks from other states who are facing similar challenges and understand this work. It is also a great way to zoom out and see the big picture of how collectively we move the country forward. Participating in Lobby Day is a wonderful way to engage with federal staff and legislators in a supportive group environment. 

For those who didn’t have a chance to come to DC, there are still ways you can take action on the Federal level! The League of American Bicyclists has a petition to the Department of Transportation regarding funding and a guide for taking action. 

Take Action

• Sign this petition asking the Department of Transportation to fund awarded grants for crucial transportation projects and circulate it in your network

• Review the League’s guide for taking action.