League of American Bicyclists

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The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) is a non-profit membership organization which promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education.[1] A §501(c)(3) nonprofit, the League is one of the largest membership organizations of cyclists in the United States.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

Founded in Newport, Rhode Island on May 30, 1880 as the League of American Wheelmen, it soon became the leading national membership organization for cyclists in the United States. The League was also governing body for bicycle racing in the U.S. during the late 1800s. Membership peaked at 103,000 in 1898.[3]

The League was a prominent advocacy group for the improvement of roads and highways in the United States[4] long before the invention of the automobile. The Good Roads Movement in the late 19th century was founded and led by the League, which began publishing Good Roads magazine in 1892 (10 years before the founding of the American Automobile Association).

In 1894, the League voted to prohibit membership by black people. Since the League was the governing body for bicycle racing at that time, the League's action effectively banned blacks from most races in the United States.[5] In 1999, the League disavowed the 1894 action.[6]

The League continued to play a leading role in cycling issues into the 20th century. One example was the promotion and distribution of John Forester's Effective Cycling education program to clubs and educational institutions across the United States from the 1970s through the 1990s.

In the late 20th century, the organization was criticized for its name: League of American Wheelmen. Also, the term Wheelmen was becoming an increasing obscure term. In response, the League began doing business as the League of American Bicyclists in 1994.[7]

[edit] Advocacy

LAB is the voice for cyclists at the national level, and organizes an annual National Bike Summit to bring professionals and advocates in Washington, D.C., together with government representatives. A major event supporter is the Bikes Belong Coalition (BBC), a §501(c)(6) trade association for the bicycle industry which lobbies Congress for funds to build bicycle usage in the U.S.

In addition to BBC, LAB works in partnership with other organizations such as America Bikes ("leveraging federal transportation dollars for bicycling"), Thunderhead Alliance [1] (lobbies governments to encourage bicycle usage), FHWA, NHTSA, NCUTCD and NCUTLO in order to "create a more bicycle-friendly America".

[edit] Education

The League offers cycling education for adults and children in many locations across the U.S. Originally the education consisted of a single 30-hour Effective Cycling (EC) course developed by John Forester was poorly attended due to its extraordinary length. After Forester withdrew permission for the League to use the EC name (in a dispute over shortening the curriculum), the name of the League's education program was changed to "Bike Ed".[8]

In addition to sponsoring the biennial Bicycle Education Leaders Conference, the League is active in Safe Routes to School programs at a national level.

[edit] Bicycle-friendly communities

As of May 2008, the League has formally recognized 84 communities across 31 states as bicycle-friendly communities for "providing safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists and encouraging residents to bike for transportation and recreation."[9] These are the cities:

Platinum-level

Gold-level

Silver-level

Bronze-level


[edit] Contact information

  • 1612 K Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006
  • 202-822-1333 (phone), 202-822-1334 (fax)


[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.bikeleague.org/about/index.php
  2. ^ http://www.bikeleague.org/members/magazine.php
  3. ^ Stanford Braff, Carolyn (Nov-Dec 2007), “The Perfect Time to Ride: A History of the League of American Wheelmen”, American Bicyclist Nov-Dec 2007: 18-23, ISSN 0747-0371, <http://www.bikeleague.org/members/pdfs/american_bicyclist_nov-dec_07.pdf> 
  4. ^ Highway Existence:- 100 Years and Beyond - The Federal Highway Administration at 100, Autumn 1993, Public Roads
  5. ^ Major Taylor - League of American Bicyclists Rights a Wrong
  6. ^ Major Taylor Association - Full text of the LAB resoloution
  7. ^ http://www.bikeleague.org/about/history.php
  8. ^ http://bikeleague.org/programs/education/
  9. ^ Bicycle Friendly Community Master List: May 2008 (PDF). League of American Bicyclists (May 1, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-01.

[edit] External links