Five Two-wheeled Reasons to Visit Pittsburgh This September

August 27, 2014

What happens when you put 1000 active transportation advocates together for a week in one city? They plan lots of fun bicycling events of course. We'll see you there!

Pro Walk/ Pro Bike/ Pro Place Conference, Sept 8-11th 

Over 1,000 active transportation professionals, including city planners, transportation engineers, public health advocates, elected officials, community leaders, and walking and bicycling advocates will convene in Pittsburgh during the second week of September for the national Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place conference. Adventure Cycling staff Ginny Sullivan, Saara Snow, and Jim Sayer will be presenting on bicycle tourism, U.S. Bicycle Route System best practices, and bicycle travel best practices for state parks. Check out the exciting lineup of speakers and sessions! 

A cyclist tours the C&O Canal Towpath near DC.

Bike tour from DC to Pittsburgh for Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place, Sept 3-8th 

Adventure Cycling staff Saara Snow and Ginny Sullivan will be joining representatives from Nelson/Nygaard, an active transportation consulting firm, for a bicycle tour to the Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place conference. The ride will start in Washington, DC, and follow the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath and the Great Allegheny Passage trails to Pittsburgh for 310 miles total. The group is inviting conference attendees to join them in Homestead for the final celebratory two-wheeled entrance to the conference. If you’d like to join, you can find more information and register here. 

An early member gathering: these participants rode in the original 1976 Bikecentennial tour across the U.S.

Adventure Cycling Member Gathering Event in Cumberland, Sept 4th

If a bicycle tour and an active transportation conference aren’t enough to whet your appetite, Adventure Cycling will be hosting a member gathering in Cumberland to meet local members and cyclists and share exciting updates on bike travel and tourism in North America. We’ll talk about Adventure Cycling’s work on Bicycle Route 66, the new Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route, the latest developments for the U.S. Bicycle Route System, and national advocacy projects. Refreshments will be provided!

If you plan to attend please RSVP at info@adventurecycling.org or (406) 532-2751 by September 2. You can find more information here. 

Champe Burnley, Amtrak Bicycle Task Force member, unloads his bike during an Amtrak roll-on test run last October.

Amtrak Bicycle Task Force Announcement

Adventure Cycling will be making a special announcement about the Task Force’s selection of a pilot project route to test roll-on bicycle service at the Pro Walk/Pro Bike/ Pro Place conference. Read up on the progress the Task Force has made so far and stay tuned! 

Alliance Leadership Retreat, Sept 5-8th

The Alliance for Biking and Walking is hosting a biennial retreat in the three days before before Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place. Active transportation advocacy leaders from state and local organizations will convene at the retreat to learn, share, and connect. A great opportunity to network with other advocates and, in the words of the Alliance, 'Be prepared to meet, be awed by, and awe your peers around North America. We'll see you there!'” 

Top photo by Laurel Hamilton | Middle photo by Greg Siple | Bottom photo by Malcolm Kenton.

—

BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM is posted by Ginny Sullivan and Saara Snow of the Travel Initiatives Department and focuses on news related to the emerging  U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance and Mississippi River Trail, Inc