Membership

Earlier this year, the Kansas City Metro Bike Club released a PSA on the importance of sharing the road and safety for all on Kansas City roadways. We caught up with Steve White, President of KCMBC, to talk about the PSA’s reception in the community and also about how bike clubs can get involved in advocacy.

Craig Dawson presents on Spoke Insurance. Spoke offers comprehensive coverage for you and your bike against theft, damage, liability claims, and uninsured motorists 24/7. You and a friend can even get a free ride home when you unforeseen circumstances derail your ride. Spoke offers a 10% discount for League members, and is a corporate supporter of the League’s work to build a bicycle-friendly America.

“Our riders are energetic; our event calendar boasts more than 10 rides per week; our ranks are swelling; and the pulse of the club is active and alive.” That’s how John Berman, MD, the president of the Boca Raton Bicycle Club, describes one of the largest cycling groups in Southern Florida. We checked in with him for our latest club spotlight and found out what’s driving the evolution and excitement at the BRBC.

With growing interest in bicycling from all sectors, Memphis, Tennessee, is becoming more bicycle-friendly — thanks to folks like Tulio Bertorini, a longtime leader with the Memphis Hightailers Bicycle Club. We checked in with him to learn a bit more about his background and the push for better bicycling in the Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

When Hamzat Sani, Alison Graves and I were establishing the League’s first Equity Advisory Committee back in 2012 there was one name that was at the top of all of our lists: Keith Holt. Long before equity became a buzz word in bike advocacy, Holt was a visionary voice for change. The Milwaukee-based advocate and southeast region director of the Wisconsin Bike Federation was among the first leaders to convene and speak on panels related to building an inclusive movement. He was among the first to be tasked, in Chicago, with targeted outreach around bicycling to traditionally underrepresented communities. And, through his progressive but constructive vision of greater diversity in bicycling, he has helped to spark and shepherd a national dialog on who is served by and who has power to impact local, state and national advocacy efforts.

Here at the League, we believe that when more people ride bikes, life is better for everyone. But all the benefits and opportunities of bicycling hinge on one thing: YOU. You bring the benefits and opportunities of bicycling to life — and we’re grateful to you, not just this week, but every single day.

Event management is not my gig. I have the utmost respect for ride and event directors who place themselves in the hands of the weather gods and face countless uncontrollable variables with aplomb… but that just isn’t me. And recently I got a stark reminder of why that’s true. I was having dinner with a colleague in New York City when the phone rang. It was a ride director who had just been told, within two days of their main event of the year, that their insurance company had let them down and they basically had no insurance for the event.

Senator Rodney Ellis may represent thousands of Houston residents when he takes his seat at the Texas capitol in Austin, but when he gets on his bike, he’s an advocate for safe and healthy communities on a much grander scale. A past speaker at the National Bike Summit and bicycle proponent at the annual gathering of the Congressional Black Caucus, Ellis is a leading cycling champion.

Joining the League is a way to share the love of bicycling. Joy Hancock is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Freewheel and a member of the Bicycle Tour Network Board of Directors. In short, she knows the ins and outs of organizing great bike tours. We connected with her last year for a magazine interview about what’s ahead for the Freewheel and BTN. The BTN’s national conference is coming up in November in San Diego, Calif.