Hi all—I’m writing to let you all know that the national Youth Bike Summit is back, and is coming to the Lehigh Valley, PA, this June 14-16!  Details are below. We expect to open registration within the next several days. For updates, you can sign up for the YBS email list at https://linktr.ee/youthbikesummit.  It’s really shaping up to be a great event--Hope to see you all there!

--Kim Schaffer, Community Bike Works, Allentown PA

YOUTH BIKE SUMMIT 2024

Community Bike Works is thrilled to announce that we will host the 2024 national Youth Bike Summit, which is scheduled for June 14-16, 2024, at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. We expect the event to bring together 400 youth and their advocates from Earn a Bike and youth cycling programs across the country, with a focus on engaging youth from communities who have historically been excluded from cycling. YBS2024 will be the 10th Youth Bike Summit. Since 2011, YBS has served as a supportive and inclusive space designed to transform our local communities and strengthen our national movement by empowering bicycle leaders. YBS believes in the capacity of youth to lead and in the importance of a diverse, multi-cultural and equitable movement.

The theme of YBS2024 is Youth Lead the Way. During YBS2024, youth and their adult advocates will participate in a range of plenary sessions, workshops, and rides designed to help youth grow as leaders through the power of the bicycle, all while showcasing the range of riding opportunities in the Lehigh Valley. Environmental sustainability will be a secondary theme, and a conference track will be devoted to the intersection of youth, bicycles, and sustainability.

An exhibit area, including national and local sponsors from the bike industry and beyond, will be open throughout the conference.  The draft schedule includes the following activities:

FRIDAY:   Guests arrive at Muhlenberg College and head out for nearby recreational rides. An evening welcome reception at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome will allow youth to connect while cheering on that night’s riders.

SATURDAY:   An opening plenary session will focus on youth cycling leaders. Then, attendees will choose from riding workshops, including Try the Track at the Velodrome, or a range of classroom workshops. Workshops could include creating safer streets or developing girls' cycling. An evening reception will offer additional networking.

SUNDAY:  YBS2024 will culminate with a large group ride across the Lehigh Valley, from Muhlenberg College, through downtown Allentown, to the historic Steel Stacks in Bethlehem. A closing visioning session will allow students to reflect on the future of youth cycling.

More Information is at: https://communitybikeworks.org/youth-bike-summit-2024

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Kim Schaffer, Executive Director

Community Bike Works

www.communitybikeworks.org

cell: 484.554.8971