With Cleveland Bicycle Week ending on a glorious day to ride, we offer a look back at the main event, the city’s first bicycle conference. On paper the highlight was supposed to be League of American Bicyclist’s Andy Clarke acknowledging Cleveland with a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) honorable mention.

But, we think those riding to work every morning (including GCBL staff) were the real shining light. We enjoyed starting new friendships during the group rides, and take away a sense of pride for showing its possible (and fun) to bike commute in Northeast Ohio.

Back to Clarke for a moment. He commended Cleveland for its progress, and explained that becoming a finalist includes more than plans and miles of bike lanes.

“It’s not just about what the City is doing, but what the community as a whole is doing,” he said. “(City policy) is a key part, but it takes more to create a cycling culture.”

And, the policies themselves don’t have to be expensive for the city. “They don’t have to be big ticket items. There are a lot of very inexpensive ideas, from where you put paint down to look at development that’s going on all the time that could be more conducive to cycling if the right policy was in place.”

Clarke offered the League's technical assistance and experience working with cities like Louisville, Kentucky, which took a Gold-level BFC award for their work reshaping their streets and bridges but also turning out thousands of cyclists to events.

“Cyclists and pedestrians are a great indicator species of quality of life in a city.”

See more Cleveland Bicycle Week coverage here.

And help bike week organizers by filling out a brief survey on bicycle issues in Northeast Ohio. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered to win free bicycle accessories, courtesy of NOACA.