The 2018 New York State Bike Summit was the premier event for sharing ideas and insights on advancing bicycling across the empire state.
We were delighted to see more than 200 diverse panelists and registrants exchanging information and ideas in sixteen exciting panels, two plenaries and one artisan beer award reception. From the advancement of the Empire Trail to empowering women to bike to getting into the nitty gritty of applications of New York State law to bike crashes, the summit encouraged a productive discourse between planners, policy makers, advocates, and every day cyclists, setting New York State on course to become one of the most bicycle friendly states in the country by 2020.
Summit Highlights:
- On Thursday, we hosted a NYSERDA-funded Active Transportation workshop to provide education on complete streets planning to urban planners and transportation professionals from across New York State
- Our opening Bike and Beer ride was held in honor of Saratoga Springs-bike builder Ben Serotta, who joined us on the ride
- The summit opened with comments from Megan Kelly, City of Saratoga Springs Mayor, Matthew Driscoll, Executive Director of the New York State Thruway, and a Rob Limoges from NYSDOT.
- Our lunchtime plenary featured Empire State Trail planners and project managers providing updates on the 750-mile Empire State Trail (on track to be completed in 2020)
- The energy of the summit was carried to two bike rides on Saturday —Adventure Cycling’s #BikeYourParkDay ride in the Saratoga National Historical Park and Saratoga Greenbelt Committee-guided 20-mile tour of the city’s premier bike path project
Award Recipients
Each year, we honor those who have compelled New York State towards becoming a safer, more comfortable and more connected place for residents, tourists and visitors to ride their bikes. This year, we honored the following individuals and organizations:
Ben Serotta – Lifetime Achievement & Innovation in Bicycling
Doug Haller – President Emeritus Bikeatoga, Lifetime Achievement Award
Bike New York – Organizational Excellence & Innovation Award
Susan Levin - Women's Cycling Champion
Harvey Botzman - Lifetime Bicycle Champion
Richard DeSarra - Lifetime Bicycle Champion
Lois Chaplin - Lifetime Achievement in Bicycle Education
Gabriella O'Shea - Safe Cycling Fighter
Special thanks to our generous roster of sponsors—their financial support allowed us to drive down registration cost to far below the per person cost of a statewide summit at the luxurious Gideon Putnam—and ensure folks under our tent represented every segment of the bike world in New York State, including everyday cyclists and students.
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The 2018 New York Bike Summit was a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and insights on advancing bicycling across the Empire State. Sessions included updates on the 750 mile Empire State Trail, the new Shared Use Path on the Mario M. Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge, e-bikes, bike share, mountain biking, and bicycle tourism. Topics included, hearing advocates' concerns about autonomous vehicles, why public health officials are bullish on our bicycling future, and outreach efforts to engage more women and people of color in cycling.
The format and venue encourages networking and idea exchanges with over 300 planners, policy-makers, advocates, educators, public officials, and cyclists who are building a bicycle-friendly future in New York State.
Set at the historic Gideon Putnam Resort & Spa, nestled in the heart of Saratoga Spa State Park, The 2018 New York State Bike Summit showcased how education can help transform communities into safe and inclusive, multi-modal networks.
The 2018 NYBC Bike Summit At A Glance
View the New York Bike Summit 2018 schedule & directory.
Ride On! (at the NYS Bike Summit)
The 2018 Bike Summit wasn't all talk, attendees also joined in fun pre- and post- Summit rides.
Bikes & Beer: Thursday night scenic ride through Saratoga.
Saratoga Greenbelt Trail Tour: Saturday guided two-wheeled 20 mile tour of the city’s premier bike path project plan to create a figure-eight loop around and through the city with a mix of multi-use pathway and on-street treatments that residents and visitors alike can use for both transportation and recreation.
Cycle Adirondacks Harvester Ride: Two day tour of the pastoral agricultural landscape and rich history of Fulton County, the Mohawk Valley, and southern Adirondacks.