Blog Post

This blog is cross-posted from the Advocacy Advance site, and was written by Christy Kwan, Advocacy Advance Outreach Coordinator for the Alliance for Biking & Walking. Thanks to generous support from SRAM Cycling Fund, Advocacy Advance will award $100,000 total in Rapid Response Grants in 2014. Rapid Response Grants help state and local advocacy organizations take advantage of unexpected opportunities to win, increase, or preserve public funding for biking and walking.

In her recent TEDx talk, Elysa Walk, General Manager of Giant Bicycles USA (and Women Bike Advisory Board member) described “how the simple act of riding a bicycle can make you laugh like a kid again.” Watch her inspiring story and call to action — and get ready for more at the National Women’s Bicycling Forum!

One word sums it up best: incredible. I am absolutely amazed at your response to the Match Challenge my husband Jim and I proposed at the beginning of December. As long-time supporters of the League, we wanted to inspire members and supporters to give a bit more. Our $100,000 match goal was a big stretch, but we were hopeful we’d raise a few extra dollars for the League’s incredible programs.

More than 34,000 riders can’t be wrong: The 2013 National Bike Challenge succeeded in uniting Americans to pedal 18 million miles. But we listened to your feedback and we’re working behind the scenes to make the 2014 Challenge even more engaging, dynamic and user-friendly. We’re building on that momentum for 2014 — and bringing you an enhanced platform and more user-friendly interface.

UPDATE: Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio named Polly Trottenberg to head the city’s Department of Transportation. Trottenberg will be leaving her post as US DOT Under Secretary for Policy. While designing the TIGER program, Trottenberg did something extraordinary when she broke down silos across agencies to ensure the program funded much needed multi-modal projects — and oversaw the creation of a cost-benefit analysis that takes into account the benefits of biking, walking and transit to a community.

I take away one simple message from our 2013 successes: League members and supporters are engaged. You are on the ball, ready and willing to act, whether that means writing to Congress, sharing your love of cycling through teaching, or challenging your work colleagues to ride further and more often.

We’re making sure the 2014 National Women’s Bicycling Forum is a venue to share proven, effective campaigns from across the country that can give you a boost in your community. So don’t miss the opportunity to “steal ideas” from the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s Women & Bicycles campaign, Girl Scouts on Wheels from Women Bike PHL and Mujeres en Movimiento from WE Bike NYC.

This blog is cross-posted from the Advocacy Advance blog, and is authored by Christy Kwan. Read the full post here. Somerville, MA and Marin County, CA may be on opposite sides of the country, but bicycle and pedestrian advocates in both regions gained major successes with engaging their communities to champion for bicycle and pedestrian accommodations in local bridge projects. In both cases, bridges were planned to be removed or repaired as is without public input.

League President Andy Clarke was in Puerto Rico this weekend for Bici Marcha, a ride to remember fallen bicyclists and to bring the issue to the attention of lawmakers. Below are Andy’s remarks at the ride, of which 4,500 riders took part. Josue Torres lost his life enjoying the simple pleasure and joy of a bike ride.

In August, we released Women on a Roll, which included a wealth of information on the power and potential of female bicyclists. But we didn’t stop with the report. We hosted an infographic contest, calling on bicycling creatives to make the information visually compelling. Well, we have our Grand Prize Winner!