Regional leaders to gather for three days of discussions around improving bicycling
Summit to include breakout sessions focused on diversity, gender in the bicycling landscape
San Diego CA— For the first time, the San Diego Bike Coalition will host a Regional Bike Summit to uncover strategies to improve bicycling in all communities of the San Diego region.
“With the rise of bicycling in San Diego, we saw an opportunity to bring together a diverse group of advocates, leaders and elected officials to discuss real solutions for better biking,” says Bike Coalition Executive Director Andy Hanshaw. “Our goal for this summit is to break down common barriers to bicycling in order to get more people on bikes regardless of gender identity, race or income.”
The Regional Bike Summit kicks off at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) with a half-day Women/Femme/Trans Summit to celebrate bicycling within this population and to give a voice to those within the bicycling community who aren’t typically heard. Highlights for the three-day summit include:
- Thursday, June 21 – 1 – 5 p.m.: Women/Trans/Femme Summit, Summer Solstice Bike Ride
- This half-day summit features powerful female speakers such as Keynote Speaker Dr. Adonia Lugo, UCLA Urban Anthropologist and workshops that focus on female, trans and femme empowerment in the bicycling community.
- The Bike Coalition’s annual Summer Solstice Bike Ride will also depart from MOPA at 6 p.m., and ride to Mission Brewery in East Village.
- Friday, June 22 – 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.: Regional Bike Summit
- The full day of bike-focused discussions and workshops includes panels on important local and regional topics such as bikesharing, e-bikes, bike and transit integration and trail riding.
- Saturday, June 23 – 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.: Mobile/Field Workshops, Velobration
- Following a morning of mobile (on bike) workshops led across San Diego and Tijuana, the Bike Coalition and the San Diego Mountain Biking Association will host a fundraiser at the Velodrome complete with New Belgium beer, costumes and live music.
According to Hanshaw, this summit has the potential to change the bicycling landscape in San Diego.
“We want this summit to break through to diverse populations so that we can cultivate a strong voice for better biking and get rid of the stereotypes associated with San Diego’s bike community,” says Hanshaw. “By uniting all communities and people, we can truly shape the future of bicycling in our region.”
The Regional Bike Summit welcomes all those interested in the future of bicycling in San Diego to attend. For more information on the San Diego Bike Coalition and making San Diego County a better place to ride bikes, please visit www.sdbikecoalition.org.