California Bicycle Summit in San Diego Delivers Inspiration, Excitement

The California Bicycle Summit held in San Diego, April 18-19, 2024, was filled with information sharing, coalition building, networking, and new ideas. A group forming to advocate for bicycle education in K-12 classrooms gathered steam. Large groups visited San Diego’s biking and walking infrastructure. And plenaries and breakout sessions delivered thought-provoking discussions.

We asked CalBike staff and some San Diego partners to share their favorite moments from the Summit.

Kendra Ramsey, CalBike Executive Director:

What a whirlwind! Hosting my first California Bicycle Summit as Executive Director felt like prom and final exams all rolled into one! It took a tremendous amount of work with our local partners, with our great speakers from throughout the state, and with our staff to get the Summit to fruition, and I think the results speak for themselves. Everyone I saw was either smiling, in deep conversation, or listening raptly to speakers. Everywhere I looked, people were connecting over shared successes or challenges, the love of the bicycle, and the love of the work that we all do. 

We had serious and challenging conversations, but I also felt so much optimism hearing the good things that are happening in our communities and through strong partnerships. I made many new connections and re-connected with friends and colleagues I’ve only seen virtually for the past few years. All in all, the California Bicycle Summit was perhaps one part professional conference, one part party, with a big dash of hope for the future mixed in.

Laura Keenan, Families for Safe Streets: 

As families who have lost loved ones to traffic violence or have survived crashes ourselves, Families for Safe Streets members support each other and share our stories to save lives and other families from our pain. The California Bicycle Summit was an incredible opportunity to meet key people and organizations working to make our streets safer across California, learn about their work, and empower them to partner with crash victims. We were even able to meet several crash survivors, assure them that they aren’t alone, and give them an outlet to share their stories to improve street safety for all road users. I look forward to working with many of these groups and individuals going forward to help humanize traffic deaths.

Andrew Wright, CalBike, Individual Giving Manager:

As a relative newcomer to the movement, having joined CalBike in the fall of 2022, I relished the opportunity to attend the California Bicycle Summit and be fully immersed in emerging tactics and trends from the best and brightest in active transportation. 

I was lucky to be the designated staff for the mobile sessions, including SDCBC’s wonderful walking tour, which helped to orient me to San Diego. My favorite session, though, was the ride around San Diego’s bike facilities, with input from San Diego city officials, SANDAG, and Eco-Counter, whose combined perspectives gave a fully informed view of how effective bike infrastructure is possible and the rigorous approach taken to assess its effectiveness. I was struck by the dedication and expertise of the local leaders and left with a renewed determination to see these excellent facilities deployed across a broader cross-section of California. 

The closing plenary, featuring young artists who bicycle from across San Diego (see their work here), was the perfect send-off.  

Chloé Lauer, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition Executive Director:

The 2024 CalBike Summit was an incredible success, thanks to the visionary and organizational leadership of the CalBike Staff and Board; our local San Diego mobility organizations, grass-roots cycling groups, agency staff, and elected officials; and our incredible partners from across the state who brought their local know-how to us through engaging workshops, panels, and talks.

As a first-time attendee, I was thrilled to connect with more California leaders in the space. I felt at home seeing many familiar faces, some of whom I had just recently met in Washington DC during our California delegation meetings on lobby day on Capitol Hill at the National Bike Summit.

It was an honor that the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition was entrusted to play a key role in several events, including a downtown walking tour leading to the Welcome Event at our offices, opening remarks at the first-day plenary session, and a lunch-time plenary panel discussion featuring local grass-roots cycling groups that employ visual art to move culture. Our staff engaged in many breakout sessions and returned recharged and inspired with new ideas and a fresh commitment to the cause. 

I was heartened to see CalBike’s commitment to diversity and inclusion realized with panels made entirely of people of color and sessions led in both Spanish and English. Of course, there is more to be done, and I hope that next time, we can have even more community members in attendance and provide additional scholarships and accessible pricing.

Laura McCamy, CalBike Communications Specialist:

I love hearing new ideas that change the way I think about something, and that happened so often at the Summit that I left overflowing. For example, at a session on design, a presentation about the role of street lighting in pedestrian safety highlighted the fact that pedestrian fatalities have stayed flat during daylight hours; the entire increase in deaths has come after dark. The role of new lighting technologies and what we can do to create safer street lighting are concepts I’ll take with me.

It was also great to see in person people I often communicate with over Zoom or via email. I loved the energy of the participants and the terrific questions that pushed the discussions into new territory. I’m already looking forward to the next one!

Kevin Claxton, CalBike Director of Advancement:

What a joy to return for my third California Bicycle Summit and second on staff at CalBike. While I wasn’t able to attend many sessions as I ran around managing the event, I heard from many attendees about the high-quality presentations and fervent conversations happening around the venue. 

Thanks especially to our speakers, local partners, and steering committee for shaping an outstanding and diverse program. I’ve had the honor of producing several major events in my career, and the California Bicycle Summit truly stands out as the most rewarding. I know that not only are we offering a fantastic event experience, but the passionate conversations and ideas sparked throughout the Summit have the potential to transform California’s communities for the better.