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In bicycle advocacy, we often cite the troubling statistic that, while women make up 51 percent of the American population, we accounted for just 24 percent of U.S. bike trips…

By Lindsay Plante, BFA Communications Intern Thanks to the support and collaboration of advocates, government officials and recreational riders, the Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of Highway and…

Tonight at a Gala event in Portland, Ore., local residents will say thank you to one of the nation’s most important champions of bicycling: Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Since he arrived on Capitol Hill in 1996, Blumenauer has been one of the strongest congressional leaders on cyclists’ rights and bicycle funding. But his 40 years of public service — and visionary support of bicycling — started long before he arrived in Washington, D.C.

As Jonathan Maus from BikePortland summarizes: “During his four decades of leadership, Blumenauer has presided over much of the bicycle and transportation legacy that our region is so well known for. From his position as head of the City of Portland Department of Public Works (what we now call the Bureau of Transportation) from 1987 to 1996, Blumenauer (with Mia Birk as his right-hand woman) oversaw an explosion in bikeway miles. From his office in Washington D.C., where he’s served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1996, Blumenauer is without a doubt the most influential and well-known champion for bicycling on Capitol Hill.”

Of course, League members know Blumenauer has also become a well-known presence at the National Bike Summit. In fact, the Congressman has participated in every single Summit, since the event’s inception in 2001. Thank you, Congressman, for your leadership and support over the year. Here’s to many more Bike Summits to come!
Blumenauer (left) and Congressman Jim Oberstar at the 2001 National Bike Summit
See more pictures of the bike-partisan Congressman from past Bike Summits…

If you read the League blog, you got to know Heather Towers last week. When the Maryland resident started commuting by bike last year, she just hoped to save a…

There’s no question that John Pucher (Rutgers) and Ralph Buehler (Virginia Tech) are two of the most prominent researchers on bicycle issues here in the U.S. So it’s no surprise…

Washington, D.C., is a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community, with great local advocacy groups (WABA, F.A.B.B.), several top notch bicycling-related blogs (Greater Greater Washington, WashCycle), some of the highest bike commuter…

Bill Nesper and I were recently invited to host separate Bicycle Friendly Community workshops in Rockhill, S.C. and Salisbury, Md. If you live and cycle on the east coast, both…

The U.S. House and Senate are negotiating right now to produce a final federal transportation bill and 20 years of progress on biking, walking and Safe Routes to School could…

By Lindsay Plante, BFA Communications Intern Bicycle advocacy is on the move in Ohio. Last month, the League released its 2012 Bicycle Friendly States Ranking and the Buckeye State came…

When you think “bike club,” I’m sure there’s an image that comes into your mind. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I found a bike club that…