RAGBRAI Roadshow - High Trestle Trail Madrid

Answers to the most common questions around our newly revamped ranking system for bicycling cities, now simpler and international.

Ahead of the release of our annual City Ratings this June, we wanted to answer some commonly asked questions about the program, show you what’s new for 2021 and set cities up for success when it comes to improving bicycling locally.

The PeopleForBikes City Ratings is a data-driven approach to evaluate and compare bicycling in U.S. cities and towns. From there, we help city leaders pinpoint improvements to make biking better for everyone.

This year, we expanded to feature more than 600 U.S. cities, including 150 brand new to the program. We’ve also gone international! Although the City Ratings aren’t completely global (we don’t rate cities in Africa or Asia, for example), we rated more than 100 international cities in 11 countries worldwide, including Canada and Australia. 

Whereas last year’s scores were rated out of five, we’ve switched to a 100 point scoring system. While a score of 52 might seem low, cities with scores of 50 or more demonstrate higher ridership, improved safety and greater access than their peers. That being said, most U.S. cities will fall short of world-class examples of integrated bicycling in places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam. By offering a comparison to some of the world’s great bike cities, we hope to inspire and motivate others to accelerate their bike infrastructure and programs that get people on bikes.

The 2021 City Ratings showcases a new way of calculating scores that emphasizes the importance of building safe, comfortable and connected bicycle networks. We also tweaked our formula to make things simpler and more consistent.

The revised City Ratings incorporates only two inputs: the quality of a city’s bicycle network through its Network Score, and community perceptions of bicycling via the Community Score. The Network Score comes from the PeopleForBikes Bicycle Network Analysis and the Community Score comes from the PeopleForBikes Community Survey.

The Bicycle Network Analysis, or BNA, is a data analysis tool that measures the quality and connectivity of a city’s bicycle lanes — in other words, its bike network. A bicycle network is defined as the system of paths, trails and streets that someone riding a bike can use to access everyday destinations, like:

Neighborhoods — access to parts of the city where residents live.

Opportunity — access to jobs and schools.

Essential Services — access to places that serve basic needs, like hospitals and grocery stores.

Recreation — access to recreational amenities like parks and trails.

Retail — access to major shopping centers.

Transit— access to major transit stations.

Interested in improving your city’s bike network? Here’s how:

Every year, PeopleForBikes conducts an online survey to capture perceptions of biking from people that live, work and play in the cities we’re rating.

The Community Score is based on a 100-point scale derived from four equally weighted scoring categories: Ridership, Safety, Network and Awareness. Answers to questions in these four categories provide valuable insight into how often people ride bikes for transportation and recreational purposes, how safe they feel riding a bike in their community, whether the local bike network helps them reach useful destinations and if they are aware of nearby bicycling resources.

I don’t think my city is included. How can I get involved?

We evaluated a record number of cities across the U.S. for this year’s City Ratings, but there’s always room for more. No matter how you’re involved with bicycling in your city, you can request to have it included in our next round of data collection and analysis.

Are you a city leader? Sign up to be notified when our City Snapshot opens to tell us about your city’s existing bike network and planned improvements.

We’re glad you asked! We created an entire video series through our Advocacy Academy outlining the necessary steps to improving bicycling in your city. From city leaders to bike enthusiasts, we all have a role to play in making biking better for everyone.

How can I benchmark my city’s progress?

We will post a printable scorecard customized for each city on our City Ratings website. While your city’s overall score determines its place in our annual ranking, the scorecard dives into the details of the data to reveal actionable steps local leaders can take to benchmark progress and make improvements.

What can I learn from highly rated cities?

We have an entire Advocacy Academy series dedicated to sharing lessons from some of the best bike cities around the world. In the coming months, we’ll profile even more top-ranked cities based on this year’s scores.

The 2021 City Ratings are almost here — join our email list to be the first to know when this year’s results are released.

Everything You Need to Know About 2021 City Ratings

Through the personal bicycle history of Roshun Austin, we highlight the physical, cultural and societal barriers that exist for women in the U.S. 

Roshun Austin grew up poor in Memphis, Tennessee, the middle of five girls raised in the Pentecostal Holiness Church. “Religiously, there were a lot of things that girls could not do,” said Austin. “In the Holiness Pentecostal tradition, whistling was considered sinful, as was skipping. We couldn’t even wear pants, so riding a bike wasn’t that acceptable.”

When Austin was young, her father was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, forcing her mother to return to the workforce. The burden of childcare for her younger sisters fell on Austin, as did a lot of the household chores. 

“I never really got to be a kid,” said Austin. “I was the 11-year-old that had to get home and make sure the roast was cooked and the cornbread was made — dreaming of a bike just didn’t come up for me, even at Christmas.”

While Austin would walk and take the bus everywhere, she remembers seeing groups of boys who rode bikes around the neighborhood and away from it, empowered and carefree. 

“In the African American community, especially low-income communities, you haven’t arrived if you don’t own an automobile,” said Austin, explaining that her first desire was for a car rather than a bike. “In the ‘80s, the guys still riding bikes in our neighborhood were hustlers, probably with a substance abuse problem — you didn’t want to be like them. It was never a woman riding a bike.” 

When she did see bicyclists, it was kids, mostly boys, who got bikes for Christmas or white men in suburban, wealthier areas wearing spandex and riding fancy bicycles with curved handlebars. When Austin eventually left Memphis, attending Middlebury College in Vermont on a need-based scholarship, she remembers seeing her wealthy classmates riding around campus. It wasn’t until decades later, at the age of 44, that Austin finally learned how to ride a bike. 

In March, we released “Where Do We Go From Here? Breaking Down Barriers to Bicycling in the U.S.,” a report based on research conducted in 10 cities across the country. The report is extensive, running more than 100 pages, and contains a lot of qualitative data on people’s experiences bicycling. While managing the focus groups, lead researcher Charles T. Brown, of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at Rutgers University, heard from women that experienced or were currently experiencing physical, cultural and/or societal barriers to biking. 

“Across the board, women were more likely to say that their family members, friends and others felt that bicycling was much more so for boys, and not so much for them,” said Brown. “We heard that more so from minority women.”

Brown and his team identified marketing as a major factor when it came to societal influences preventing women from bicycling. In particular, the way marketing materials tend to represent women as a “shero,” or an above-average female hero, often clad in spandex and other technical gear. Instead of mothers bicycling with their kids to work or school, promotional materials often depict a road cyclist riding for recreation. More often than not, the women portrayed will be stereotypically fit and white. 

“This image of a female cyclist as a shero is great in terms of boosting the confidence of women,” said Brown. “However, it does make cycling appear out of reach. To be able to cycle, or want to cycle, you have to be able to take on this insurmountable task.” 

Male participants in the study, when responding to what they thought of female bicyclists, reiterated that they thought women had to be “independent” and “confident” to be able to bike in public. For women who don’t see themselves as exceptional or simply have less confidence in the bicycling space, riding becomes all the less accessible. 

In terms of cultural barriers, something that repeatedly emerged in Brown’s research among some Hispanic female respondents was the perception of bicycling as a sexualized activity. “Women have said they were prevented from riding bicycles as a young girl because they were deemed to be promiscuous,” said Brown, noting that the association had to do with one’s proximity to the seat. “In a way, these girls were shamed from riding because they didn’t want to appear as sexually active.”

Stereotypes like this are only further exacerbated by the difficulty women have when riding in skirts or dresses, as well as the catcalling almost all female bicyclists have experienced. In Memphis, where Austin still lives, many female focus group respondents noted harassment as a chief concern. One expressed a “sense of envy that [male bicyclists] feel comfortable enough to ride and feel safe enough. That’s something that I cannot get over — feeling safe to ride.” Fear for women exists on a spectrum. While it may seem harmless to one woman, eliciting a whistle from an adjacent pickup truck might prevent another from biking at all.

For women like Austin, who were raised in strict faith traditions, gendered barriers persist in different ways. While conducting a focus group in Portland, Oregon, Brown spoke with a Muslim family that saw bicycling as more dangerous for its female members, not because it went against Islam, but because they believed society at large perceived hijab-wearing Muslim women to be weaker and thus, an easy target. In the United States today, biking while being a Black or Asian woman can likewise be dangerous.

Appearance is another factor that often prevents women from biking. According to Austin, for Black women with relaxed hair, anything that involves sweating or getting caught in the rain is not on the table. For those that wear their hair natural, in braids, dreadlocks or afros, helmet sizes can be problematic. Throughout Brown’s research, respondents also shared that as women — particularly minority women — showing up to work sweaty would be an issue. As one female participant indicated, “There is a big gender element to [presentation]. Men can show up a little sweaty. It’s kind of okay. There is definitely an element of women needing to show up in the professional context looking pretty much perfect.”

The number one barrier women face, however, is safe, protected places to bike. While focus group respondents across the board emphasized the importance of protected bike lanes, women did so more, noting the need for LED lights for nighttime travel. Catcalling becomes a lot scarier when you’re alone, at night, on an unprotected and unlit bike path and you don’t speak English. As with almost all the barriers noted here, some women are affected more than others. 

“When we’re thinking through solutions, we should target all women,” said Brown. “But at the same time, we also need specific solutions that take into consideration the differences between racial, ethnic and religious minority groups.”

Today, Roshun Austin is the President and CEO of The Works, Inc., a nonprofit that serves South Memphis and runs a farmer’s market. Since many local residents didn’t own private automobiles, in 2016, the community organization began exploring what bikeshare in Memphis might look like.

“I still had some fear, or trepidation, about getting on a bike. It was just never going to be at the top of my list,” said Austin. “I was all for getting community voices involved in bikeshare, but I still wasn’t talking about me riding.”         

That same year, PeopleForBikes’ VP of Local Innovation Kyle Wagenschutz, who knew Austin from his days working for the City of Memphis, called to extend her an invitation for a bike study tour in Amsterdam. At first, Austin didn't quite realize the tour would necessitate her actually biking. Although she pushed back at first, Austin eventually decided that she’d learn to ride a bike. In one of the informational sessions for the study tour, Austin met a woman who biked to the meeting wearing a skirt and wedge heels, the opposite of the lycra-clad cyclists who’d come to annoy her. It was that woman, Sylvia Crum of Revolutions Cycling Co-op, who became her first teacher.

“I learned how to ride in a parking lot in about a day,” said Austin, who caught on quickly. “By the end, Sylvia took me onto the streets. It was baptism by fire.”

Austin started joining Crum for slow-roll group rides around Memphis, but by the time the group landed in Amsterdam, biking still felt more forced than fun.

In European countries like the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, the gender split among bicyclists reflects the population as a whole — hovering around 50-50 — or in some instances skews female. In the U.S., however, the majority of bike commuters (about 72%) are men, according to the 2019 American Community Survey census data. For recreational riders, the split is slightly better: 56% male and 44% female, according to a PeopleForBikes study. 

Encouragingly, the pandemic has been good for female riding stateside. Data from the bicycling app Strava shows that more U.S. women than ever are uploading rides. In 2020, women uploaded 47% more bike rides than they did in 2019. In New York City, the number of women using the app increased by 82% over the previous year (a trend that holds for other major U.S. cities). A 2020 PeopleForBikes study of bicycle participation during the pandemic found that new riders were evenly split male and female. 

There are also more organizations than ever working to break down barriers to biking from a young age. The Youth Cycling Coalition, which PeopleForBikes is a part of, brings together a variety of programs that specifically target girls, including Trips for Kids, GRiT and Little Bellas. World Bicycle Relief, a global bike charity, is committed to gender equality, with 70% of its bicycles for education going to girls. Black Girls Do Bike, which serves women of color of all ages, is growing the community by hosting meet-up rides and promoting skill sharing across more than 70 chapters nationwide. 

“These social groups are successful because women find comfort in the company,” said Brown. “Groups promoting sisterhood in cycling are what’s needed to keep breaking down barriers.”

Bike education programs have also expanded in the last decade and range from membership-based programs such as Get Women Cycling to national advocacy initiatives like Women Bike. All share the goal of using bicycles as a tool to empower females. In Europe, Berlin’s #BIKEYGEES has offered bicycling training for refugee women and girls since 2015. At the nonprofit, origin, religion and status are unimportant — bicycling is seen as a necessary, sustainable approach to ensuring mobility among an often marginalized population.  

In Amsterdam, Agartha Frimpong, best known as Mama Agatha, has taught more than 1,500 female immigrants to bicycle using donated bikes. Mama Agatha’s 12-week course is run by volunteers and covers a lot more than just bicycling, with topics that include fears, health outcomes, family dynamics, financials and crucially, how bicycling offers independence. Many of the women come from places like Syria, China, Somalia, Nigeria and Iraq, know little-to-no Dutch or English, and occasionally, weren’t even allowed to ride bikes in their home countries. While on the bicycle study trip in the Dutch capital, Austin’s group got to meet Mama Agatha.

“Until I met Mama Agatha, I was still thinking biking was for younger people and mostly men,” said Austin. “But when I saw her, a 60-something-year-old woman, an immigrant, teaching other women like her — that changed things for me.”

When Austin returned to Memphis, her organization started hosting slow-rolls and bike to work days, and she even invested in bicycles for herself and other staff members. The more she biked, the more Austin began to find joy in it — and the more comfortable she found the seat. Today, Austin owns a Peloton, two road bikes, one hybrid bike, a “granny” cruiser and a whole lot of spandex. Eventually, she plans to start “clipping in,” attaching her shoes to her bike pedals.

“I went from not knowing how to ride a bike to being the person that yells at people to share the road,” said Austin. “When I’m most stressed, I jump on a bike and it makes me happy.”

Because Austin didn’t know how to bike, her daughter never learned, so her organization now partners with local schools to hold bike rodeos, ensuring there’s gender parity amongst bike ambassadors and encourages women of all ages to join community rides. Austin has noticed that her story, as well as her physical presence as an older Black woman on a bike, inspires others. 

As the research shows though, the reasons why some women choose to bike and others do not vary considerably based on location, culture and lived experience. Therefore, all solutions must account for these differences — what works in one community might not in another. What’s clear is that in a country where women are paid less, their bodies are policed by men and societal double standards persist, bicycling can offer a release.

“Those boys I’d see as a kid, riding their bikes, they were so free,” said Austin. “It comes down to freedom.”

Baltimore’s Mayor Brandon M. Scott has set ambitious goals for his first term, highlighting a commitment to equitable transportation.

For decades, transportation planners have made a lot of assumptions about users — who they are, what they need from public infrastructure and importantly, what neighborhoods are worthy of investment. Bike advocates are no different. Occasionally, in an attempt to “look out” for the needs of historically marginalized and low-income communities, we promote ideas about what people want and don’t want without first doing the crucial work of actually engaging communities to solicit opinions. 

In our recent report, “Where Do We Go From Here? Breaking Down Barriers to Bicycling in the U.S.,” a research team set out to understand the reasons why some people bike and others don’t in 10 cities across the country. Based on the common experiences and concerns illuminated by the study, five recommendations and implications for future research were outlined. Chief among them: “Meaningfully engage with historically marginalized communities where they live, work and play.”

In Baltimore, one of the 10 cities included in the study, a new administration, led by Mayor Brandon M. Scott (pictured below), already started taking those recommendations to heart. Nationally, the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation, led by Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also committed to improving racial equity in transportation, a process that involves acknowledging historical harm and investing in radically different policies and infrastructure plans. It’s a refreshing change considering that new administrations often require a fair amount of onboarding, or proving there’s a problem before starting on solutions. 

“What's really exciting about Mayor Scott's administration is that we do not have to teach up,” said Liz Cornish, the former executive director of the bike advocacy group Bikemore and an advisor on Mayor Scott’s transition team. “We started on the same page around inequities in transportation in Baltimore and how these inequities came to be.”

In his first 100 days, Scott committed to adopting the Complete Streets Manual, ensuring design standards for promoting safer streets, slower speeds and increased walkability. “The manual will be used throughout all city agencies so that any time there are changes into the roadway, they have to be put back together in a way that prioritizes people,” said Cornish. Although a commitment to complete streets isn’t a commitment to miles of new bike lanes, it’s critical to creating a legal backstop when it comes to the “two steps forward, one step backward” pattern that’s plagued Baltimore’s infrastructure planning for years. Even more important, it's a commitment to cities that work for people rather than just cars.

“There is a huge demand across our city for traffic calming to make our streets safer, and bike infrastructure, alone or paired with other treatments, can address that need,” said Mayor Brandon Scott, noting that safer streets are better for businesses, neighborhoods and people who drive. “You don’t need to bike to appreciate that.” 

The second thing Scott committed to was moving forward with the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network, a 35-mile bike trail around the city. Despite there being just under 10-miles left to complete, it’ll take an estimated $28 million and navigating the real estate acquisitions, utility companies and partnerships needed to make it happen is going to require political will. 

“I’ve been proud to support the Greenway Trails Network since its inception because it spreads equitable access to open space, recreation and safe alternative means of transportation — including walking, biking and riding scooters — to more of our neighborhoods,” said Scott.

Crucial to Scott’s vision is his commitment to equitable transportation, which requires thinking beyond just bike lanes to include access to transit. The Mayor believes in alternative modes of transportation as a way to ensure people can access jobs, education, health care and grocery stores. In Baltimore, nearly 30% of households do not have consistent access to a personal vehicle — three times the national average. In formerly redlined neighborhoods, the number jumps to as high as 70%. 

“Baltimoreans rely heavily on public transit, and that’s why I have made transit a huge priority for my administration, including coordinating and expanding service with MTA and our free bus circulator system,” said Scott. “Improving mobility options increases access to jobs and other opportunities that can be life changing.”

For bike advocates like Cornish, the Mayor’s viewpoint can be a welcome challenge to the assumption that bike lanes should take precedence over other city services. “Seeing a bike lane prioritized over things you’ve identified as being a significant need in your community can feel like a slap in the face,” said Cornish. “That’s something Mayor Scott understands and his administration has pushed bike advocates to think differently.”

In historically marginalized neighborhoods, bike lanes are often seen as being a thing for affluent people, the telltale sign of a gentrifying neighborhood. Bike lanes aren’t a cure-all but they’re also not just for the wealthy. For a relatively inexpensive investment, bike lanes can provide connectivity for neighborhoods that need it most, leading to opportunity and even helping build equity in long-depleted home values. Comfortable networks of bike lanes help relieve congestion and, when done right, actually make streets safer for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers. All too often, however, decisions about bike lanes in historically marginalized neighborhoods are made with little to no input from those who live there. 

“When [a bike] investment first comes to a neighborhood that has long been underserved and disinvested, it comes with skepticism of how that will impact our communities,” said Scott. “This is why my administration will be focused on more proactive communication and collaboration with our communities.”

Charles T. Brown, lead researcher on the report noted earlier in this article, believes this type of meaningful engagement is crucial when it comes to breaking down barriers to bicycling in any city. For Brown and Mayor Scott alike, meeting people where they are and remaining flexible is a crucial component of the work. 

“A lot of times we’ll go out to talk about bike lanes and the community wants to talk about crime,” said Brown. “If you're not well versed in the various ways in which this work is intersectional, you may not see the importance of addressing a crime question within a bicycle discussion.”

It’s a lesson almost all U.S. cities could stand to learn from: To move forward with bike lanes and infrastructure, we must first address the systemic inequity that has created distrust in the first place.

“We need to address the root issues and acknowledge the historical legacy of racism on the city’s built environment, our infrastructure and how that’s impacted our communities — and be proactive in addressing those inequities by investing in our people and neighborhoods that have long been disinvested,” said Scott. “That’s how we move towards justice.”

On March 31, President Biden released his administration’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, the American Jobs Plan, offering a wide-reaching policy and funding package including everything from transportation, broadband, water resources, manufacturing, clean energy and more. The numbers are big and bold, and the vision for more sustainable systems and communities are in line with our 2021 Federal Agenda for Active Transportation. 

It’s important to know that this is only a proposal — what the administration would like to see Congress prioritize in their legislative work to address America’s many infrastructure needs — not a final product. At PeopleForBikes, we’re working with policymakers and our partners to fill in the details. Much continues to be debated in Congress, namely the scope of the plan and how they’ll fund such a broad infrastructure package. 

The sections of the American Jobs Plan that would support bike infrastructure, the bike industry and increased bicycling: 

1) $621 billion for transportation overall, with a fixing them right policy to enhance safety and resilience with all users in mind and a focus on limiting emissions and reducing congestion. 

This includes $20 billion to improve road safety for all users, including increases to existing safety programs and a new Safe Streets for All program to fund state and local vision zero plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians. The funding for vulnerable road user safety is critical, and if the Safe Streets for All program comes to pass, it should be used to fund protected biking and walking infrastructure that separates vulnerable road users from cars. 


Also included is $174 billion to help grow the electric vehicle market with a national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030. As policies to support electric vehicle adoption expand, we’re pushing for the inclusion of electric bicycle incentives (like the E-BIKE Act) to support an efficient, zero-emission mode of transportation that also helps reduce congestion. 


2) $10 billion towards a Climate Conservation Corps, putting a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters, bolstering community resilience and advancing environmental justice. PeopleForBikes supports the expansion of a modern conservation corps because of the potential to create jobs while building better bike trails and infrastructure. 

3) $50 billion to establish an office within the Department of Commerce dedicated to monitoring domestic industrial capacity and funding investments to support production of critical goods, plus $52 billion to invest in modernizing America’s supply chains and existing capital access programs, with a focus on rural manufacturing and clean energy. Given the myriad of positive economic, health and environmental benefits communities experience when bicycling increases, we see bikes as a uniquely important product for the federal government to invest in from a manufacturing standpoint. You can read more about how we’d like to work with this administration and Congress to support bicycle manufacturers and the push towards more domestic capacity in our 2021 Trade Agenda. 

There’s a lot more detail that we’d like to see included in a visionary transportation bill and infrastructure package, so we’re working with policymakers and our partners at the federal level to turn these asks into law. Check out the letters we’ve sent and signed outlining our priorities: 

PeopleForBikes Reauthorization Requests to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

PeopleForBikes Reauthorization Requests to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Signed the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s letter in support of the Connecting America’s Active Transportation System Act

Bikes support economic recovery, connect people to essential services and their communities, reduce emissions, promote positive health outcomes and enhance mobility for all Americans — but only when we choose to invest in safe infrastructure and commit to equitable access.

What Could Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Mean for Bikes?

We spoke with Esther Walker, Ph.D., about the research work Outride and its university partners are doing to advance youth bicycling. 

Esther Walker was pursuing her Ph.D. in cognitive science at the University of California San Diego when she became a bike commuter. As she studied elements of psychology, computer science, statistics and neuroscience, her bike rides to and from campus became a time to destress and relax. By the time Walker graduated and was working in tech, she’d become a passionate bike racer.

When Walker saw that Outride — a nonprofit dedicated to providing evidence-based bicycle programs for youth — was hiring a research manager, the position felt tailormade to her background and interests. “Data really drives decisions, so being able to collect, analyze and interpret data is super important,” said Walker. “That’s the perspective I have brought to Outride.”

Walker started with the nonprofit in June of 2020, working to build up its research programs and serve as a resource for the bicycling community at large. In February of this year, PeopleForBikes announced a new partnership with Outride to support its mission and expand youth bicycling nationwide. We recently spoke with Walker about Outride’s research, the importance of centering historically-marginalized communities and the ways in which the nonprofit is making its data actionable.

PeopleForBikes: How does research fit into Outride’s larger vision?

Esther Walker: In addition to our Riding for Focus program and the Outride Fund, research is our third main programming area. We are constantly learning from our school and community partners, as well as working with a number of university partners. We’re using all of that data to inform our programs and bicycling initiatives in communities across the country.

For example, if there’s a school that wants to specifically focus on those with ADHD, then we work closely with our university partners to answer those questions and provide evidence-based recommendations in terms of how to implement programming. On the flip side, we also have a big focus on sharing back what we learn from communities.

What has Outride’s research shown so far?

At a high level, we know that physical activity is one of the best things that you can do for your health. So we know bicycling is good for your body, but it really goes beyond that. It’s good for your mind and a really great way to build social connections and community. Youths who regularly engage in physical activity report less depression and anxiety symptoms, have higher self-esteem and also perform better academically than kids who are inactive. We also know that despite all these known benefits, kids today are more inactive than ever.

Physical activity during school represents one of the few environments where kids have the opportunity to get moving but we also know all kids aren’t fans of traditional P.E., and in many cases, they have negative associations and try to avoid it. What we’ve seen is that bicycling really represents an activity that kids are excited about and that it can become a lifestyle.

As we’re teaching more kids to ride that didn’t have access to a bike before, we’re starting to see an increase in self-esteem and confidence, not to mention excitement around physical activity and the joy that comes with riding.

What has the research shown in regards to historically marginalized communities?

One thing that's been made very clear in our data is that there are huge disparities in access to bikes and safe places to ride. So many low-income and marginalized communities have less access to bikes and also less access to repairs, essentially living in bike deserts. So, fewer kids learn how to ride and see it as a safe option, contributing to poor mental and physical health outcomes. What we’re seeing is that communities that could benefit the most from access to bicycling are the ones that have the least amount of resources to support it.

Knowing all this, how does Outride act on the research to make things actionable and lead to change?

When it comes to structural inequities such as infrastructure, access to bike repair or access to equipment — this is where Outride wants to make a difference and help support and create connections within these communities. We’ve really focused on building up communities through bicycling through our Riding for Focus program and our Outride Fund. We specifically grant our programs to communities that are low income or historically marginalized. 

For those who may not know about bicycling or our programs, we do a lot of outreach to let people know that Riding for Focus is available to come to their school for free. Then later, through the fund, we can help build up bicycling ecosystems in those communities. We always want to make sure that our work is done through the voice of the communities and that they’re the ones building up these programs and deciding what works best within each ecosystem. 

Do you always collect a mix of qualitative and quantitative data? Why is that important?

We do collect a mix. The quantitative numbers really help us to track the impact over time that we're having on these schools. The qualitative side really helps us put that hard data into perspective by allowing us to hear directly from the students and communities about what they found effective. The best way to learn is often to just ask someone their perspective.

How do Outride and your university partners solicit research volunteers? Are participants compensated in any way?

Before conducting any research (whether with youth or adults), all projects by our university partners are reviewed by an Institutional Review Board [IRB] to ensure the rights and welfare of any research participants are prioritized. Youth must voluntarily agree to participate in the studies (and also have the consent of their parents), and they can stop participating at any time, for any reason, no questions asked. Each university partner determines how to compensate their participants for their time while ensuring not to coerce participants into participating with excessive compensation.

As for our Outride programs, in order to continually monitor the impact of our school-based physical education programs and identify areas for improvement, schools are provided with pre and post-program surveys. Participating in the surveys is optional for students, and all surveys and data collection processes have been reviewed and approved by an external IRB.

What are some areas you want to dig in or focus future research?

We really want to hear back from communities. Aside from working with our university partners, we’re really interested in learning how we can sustain and support interest in biking and physical activity beyond the classroom. How do we build up sustainable bike ecosystems in prior bike deserts? What are the long-term impacts of introducing bicycling to youth?

Outride is hosting its 2021 virtual research summit this July. What should people know?

Outride’s 2021 Research Summit, “Advancing Youth and Community Well-Being Through Cycling,'' will be on July 28. For the first time, we’re going to be opening up submissions and inviting people to share the great work that’s being done in the world of bicycling. The summit will be a space where those doing the work around the benefits of bicycling can learn from one another and put that research into practice. The larger goal is to capture it all and share it back with our communities to help make an impact locally.

Outride’s 5th Annual Research Summit: Advancing Youth and Community Well-Being Through Cycling will take place on July 28, 2021. Attendance is free and open to the public. Click here to register to attend.

Researchers, community organizations, youth and students engaged in relevant research are strongly encouraged to submit work pertaining to the theme “Advancing Youth and Community Well-Being through Bicycling” and present at the 2021 Research Summit. Submissions are open through May 31, 2021. More information about the call for proposals can be found here. 

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April 13-15, 2021

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