It's less than a week till the National Bike Summit kicks off! We can't wait to see you there. And we can't wait for these fantastic sessions, led by Alliance members and staff! If you're looking for a guide to the don't-miss sessions of this year's summit, look no further. Here are our official recommendations:

Monday, March 9

If you'll arrive in time, don't miss this essential advice session on lobbying from two people who should know: Rep. Earl Blumenauer's former legislative aide, now the policy director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (Tyler Frisbee, right), plus the national bike movement's lobbyist-in-chief in Washington, Caron Whitaker of the League of American Bicyclists. 

5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Lobbying 101
Renaissance Hotel
Sign up here

Tuesday, March 10

National Forum on Women and Bicycling

I know, west coasters, it'll feel like 5:00 in the morning. But nothing gets your blood moving like an inspiring story of local bicycle mentorship?

8:00 a.m. - 9:30 am  
Opening Plenary
A Case Study in Leadership: How Mentorship and Bold Leadership is growing the mission of Tulsa Hub

Ren Barger, Tulsa Hub CEO
Barbara Bannon, Tulsa Hub Board Immediate Past President, President of Human Resource Investments 

In addition to a bicycle co-op that gives transportation options to people in need, Tulsa Hub provides bicycle education in area schools and leads the city’s bicycle advocacy efforts. We'll learn how they cultivate leadership, create organizational change, and relate to power and strong leaders without destructive competition.

Now that you've had your coffee, join Barb Chamberlain of Washington Bikes (pictured below) and other powerhouses of the movement for a discussion of women's bike advocacy: Does it lead to big ideas or limit our thinking? Learn from these local leaders how to design effective women-specific encouragement initiatives driven by results.

12:00 p.m. -1:30 p.m.
Lunchtime Panel Discussion
Advocacy Through A Gender Lens

Barb Chamberlain, Washington Bikes
Karen Bliss, Advanced Sports International, UCI Women’s Committee; Philadelphia Bicycle Advisory Committee Board Chair
Laura Kling, Greaserag
Rio-Jill Contreras, Multicultural Communities for Mobility
Maryann Aguirre, Ovarian Psycho-Cycles

And straight from there to:

1:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Workshop
Building the Movement: Constructing a plan for Women Bike Advocacy in Your Community

Kim Foltz, City of Boston
Nelle Pierson, Washington Area Bicyclist Association
Amy George, Women & Bicycles Richmond
Lesly Jones, Black Women Bike D.C
Tyler Frisbee, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition | Women Bike SF
Casey Ashenhurst, WE Bike NYC

That evening, make sure to meet up with your state delegation, get your schedule, and learn more about the Thursday lobby day.

5:00 - 6:00 p.m. 
State meetings

And then, the moment we've all been waiting for: the 2015 Advocacy Awards ceremony! Join all your friends and colleagues at the Alliance's social event of the year, honoring the greatest accomplishments of our movement in the last year and the people who made them happen.

8:30 - 10:00 p.m.
Advocacy Awards ceremony
RFD (810 7th Street NW, Washington, DC
See the complete details here.

Wednesday, March 11

National Bike Summit

10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Skills-Building Sessions

Here it gets tougher. Alliance members are presenting at many competing sessions Wednesday. In the morning skill sessions, for example, you could learn about the Cascade Bicycle Club's 10-week Advocacy Leadership Institute, a program that has given graduates the tools to start new bicycling organizations, be featured in national news outlets, serve on bike advisory boards, and even manage a bike-share program. Or you could join Cynthia Armour of Bike East Bay for a session on Get Out the Vote best practices for bike advocacy. Or Sam Ollinger of Bike SD (pictured, right) could elucidate you on "How to Talk with an Engineer… and be Persuasive." 

And that's all before you even consider the workshop on Fundraising for Local Advocacy, led by Alliance Deputy Director Brighid O’Keane and a panel of other experts.

11:45 - 12:45
Big Idea Pecha Kucha Sessions

Whether you pronounce it PEH-cha KOO-cha or pe-CHA ku-CHA, these fast-paced presentations -- 20 slides, 20 seconds each -- will get your creative juices flowing with Big Ideas from around the country, including from many other Alliance member organizations. Want to hear what the Bicycle Transportation Alliance is doing to bring protected bike infrastructure to the suburbs? Interested in Transportation Alternatives' book-bike partnership? Excited to bring storytelling into your bike advocacy? Want to know what the Wisconsin Bike Fed means by "Starting at the Local Level and Leveraging Up?" Intrigued about advocacy for low-stress networks, a la Bike-Walk Alliance of NH? Think your organization might want to try a “Bike to Shop Day” like Janet LaFleur of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (pictured, left)? It's all there, before lunch. 

And if six-minute slideshows aren't your thing, come learn how to raise money for bike projects by crowdfunding with ioby, or you can give Federal Highway Administration officials an earful during their listening session with bike advocates. 

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Thought Leaders

So, we're honestly of no help for these afternoon sessions either. Do you hear Leah Shahum of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition talk about "What is Vision Zero and How Do We Get There?" or the Alliance's own Naomi Doerner's panel on "People and Policies Successfully Addressing the Root Causes of Inequity?" Or do you just head out for an early happy hour before the state meetings? It's 5:00 somewhere! (In Brazil and Greenland.)