Next week, BikeArlington and friends head across the river to join with more than 800 bike advocates and enthusiasts from around the US who are all taking part in the National Bike Summit, which is put on by the League of American Bicyclists. This year’s theme is "Bicycle Means Business" and will examine the economic benefits of bicycling.

The Bike Summit kicks off on Monday with the entire day focused on women and cycling in the National Women’s Bicycle Forum with a theme of "Women Mean Business." Long time business woman and advocate Georgena Terry, Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, and New York City Tranportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan head the keynote addresses and there will be small break-out sessions afterwards.

Tuesday opens with presentations from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Representative Tom Petri of Wisconsin, and many others.  These presentations will be followed by workshops with titles like "Bicycling Means Business; Getting the Facts Straight" and "Bringing Businesses on Board."

Wednesday is the final day of Bike Summit and is one of the most important and will find bike advocates from all over the US meeting directly with their elected officials in Washington to lobby for change. The "asks" this year are fairly simple and include 1) Join (or re-join) the House or Senate Bike Caucus, 2) Endorse a "Dear Colleague" Letter asking Secretary LaHood to establish national performance measures for pedestrian and bicycle safety, and 3) Invite Representatives and Senators to a local bicycling event or site visit.

While registration for the Summit is limited, YOU can take part in the conversation by following along on twitter and Facebook.  We’ll be tweeting from the @BikeArlington account and you can follow the hashtag #NBS13 to see what everyone else is saying.  For more general information on the National Bike Summit, visit the League’s webpage.

Tim Kelley is the Marketing Manager for BikeArlington and will be attending the National Bike Summit for the fourth time in row.