The 2009 National Bike Summit is underway!

Yesterday begin with a great presentation on Copenhagen, include an introduction from the Danish Ambassador to the U.S.

Some of the key points are:

• Most Danish do not consider themselves cyclists.  They’re just people riding bikes and most everyone is doing it.
• They typically don’t publicly address safety. When you do, it makes people think cycling isn’t safe. Although they didn’t directly tie this to bike helmet promotion, almost none of the bikers in their presentation wore them.
• 36% of all trips in Copenhagen are by bike.  That’s a higher percentage than cars or mass transit. Their goal? 50%.
• Having a Bike-free day in Copenhagen would cause a bigger protest than car-free.

Congressman James L. Oberstar, the father of Safe Routes to School followed.  He mentioned:

• A new aviation bill will ensure more bicycling facilities at airports.
• “Bicycling is going to be available everywhere.”
• “We need to make bicyclists a standard transportation mode by law.”  He will make sure the next transportation bill explicitly designates bikes as a mode of transportation.
• Now going to be a mode of transportation.
• Is cycling going to be in the transportation bill?  That’s not even a question.  The question is how much.
• “We’ve got a generation of mobility-challenged children.”

In a few hours I’ll be on a plane to Washington D.C. for the National Bike Summit.

I believe this is my fourth trip to the Capitol to meet with legislators and their staff, so it’s becoming a little easier to know what you need to do and say.

I’ll primarily wear my Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance hat to:

• Introduce the Detroit Greenways Coalition
• Share our vision for building trails and greenways in the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.
• Present Detroit?s Active Transportation 2010 proposal
• Advocate for continued Enhancements funding within the next federal transportation bill

I recently purchased a netbook so I will try blogging from the Summit.