In September 2011 Bike Cleveland gathered over 200 people in a banquet room in the Flats with wide windows that offer sightlines across the Cuyahoga onto antique riverside architecture, and bikes were on everyone’s mind.

The room was full of people from all over the region, and we were well into the second day of an intensive strategic planning process. We’d been slinging around ideas and opinions for hours on end. And we were collectively teetering on the brink of a new direction for bicycling in this city.

In the year before this group gathered in the Flats, a smaller assortment of people got together to plan that two-day planning process, which came to be called the Bike Cleveland Summit. The Summit’s goal: charge an array of Clevelanders with designing the mission, vision and strategy for a new bicycle advocacy organization, of the sort that has been active in other cities around the country for years.

To facilitate the Summit, we hired a consultant from the Washington, D.C. -based Alliance for Bicycling and Walking. We invited speakers from impressive bicycle advocacy organizations in Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago. And by the end of that weekend in the Flats—that most unique of Cleveland localities—we came out with a plan and a strategy that is distinctly Cleveland.

While this is an exciting time for biking in our region and for Bike Cleveland, it also comes with great obligation. Dedicated members, volunteers, our Board of Directors and executive director are working strategically to deploy the work plan that came out of the wonderful and inspiring direction we received from last September’s Bike Cleveland Summit. This work plan includes advocating for policies that will protect cyclists on the road, working to get more trails and bikeways built in our communities, and growing a truly sustainable organization to serve you. We believe cycling is absolutely vital to our region’s health, wellness, environment, equity and quality of life.

If you haven’t yet become a member, join us today. Members are essential in helping Bike Cleveland accomplish the communities vision for a more bicycle friendly region. We can only accomplish this vision together. In addition membership comes paired with excellent membership privileges all over town (plus, think how slick you’ll look waving around that flashy membership card). You can become a member atBikeCleveland.org/membership.

If you’re looking for a way to get involved with Bike Cleveland beyond official membership, we already have three actions committees that would love more volunteers.

The Events and Programming committee helps create the social fabric that brings cyclists together. This committee plans and implements events that are effective, successful and help meet the mission of Bike Cleveland. We also partner with existing events that help meet the mission of Bike Cleveland.

The Advocacy committee helps frame how Bike Cleveland gets its voice heard. This committee crafts advocacy campaigns around issues that make the Cleveland area more bike friendly, and that meet the mission of Bike Cleveland.

The Membership committee helps to create a robust membership program. Membership is the spoke that keeps our organization’s wheels spinning; this committee works to ensure that Bike Cleveland has a strong and happy membership.

Please, call us or send us email if you’re thinking about getting involved in any of these committees, projects, or ideas. Jacob can be reached at 216-BIKE-101 or jacob@BikeCleveland.org.

We think it’s fitting that the vision for a galvanized cycling community was dreamed up in the Flats, our city’s original neighborhood and the birthplace of our regional manufacturing industry. Is it a stretch to think that another big thing was born last September on those historic riverbanks? Chew on that while you’re riding around town–We’ll see you out on the road.