With the help of just 20 donors and Bike New York, Reycle-A-Bicycle sent our second team of young people to the National Bike Summit in 2006. We sent four teens to the National Bike Summit in Washington DC: Isamar and Sandra attended their second summit, while this trip to the Summit was a first for Jonathan and Zuri.

The students learned firsthand what it takes to move Washington, and how to get results from legislators. They learned that, when talking to congressional aides, you have to know your acronyms and the details and history of legislation you want them to support. They learned how to get their foot in the door and make themselves heard, and how to relate pending legislation to their own neighborhoods and experiences.


Once again we are already seeing the impact that the RAB youth had in Washington. Shortly after her staff met with our youth delegation, Rep. Nydia Velasquez decided to join the congressional bike caucus and support the Bike Commuter Act, which would "extend the transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters" -- meaning, roughly, that bicycle commuters could get the bike equivilent of a transit check.
For more information on the Bicycle Commuter Act (HR807), and other legislation that impacts cyclists, keep an eye on League of American Bicyclists.
To support innovative programs like this, make a donation to Recycle-A-Bicycle today.

2005 Summit Notes

In 2005, Recycle-a-Bicycle sent the first ever delegation of high school students to the League of American Bicyclist's National Bike Summit in Washington DC. Four top students travelled to Washington where they met with leaders of America's bicycling movement and with legislators from New York State who have the power (and the pursestrings) to make a difference in conditions for bicyclists in New York City.
Sandra Garcia, who returned from Washington and was hired by Transportation Alternatives the following summer, wrote a report for her Civics class about her experience at the Summit. Read Sandra's report here.
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