On July 28, tune in for evidence-based ways to advance youth and community well-being through bicycling. While the event is totally free, registration is required.

After students in her class began riding bikes more frequently, Lacey Munden saw a noticeable improvement in their confidence and mental health. Munden, a classroom teacher at RL Clemitson School, was impressed, attributing the change to Riding For Focus, Outride’s middle school bicycle education program. “The increase in confidence I have seen on and off the bike has been shocking,” said Munden. 

To date, Riding For Focus has been established in 200 schools throughout 44 U.S. states and Canada. The program provides schools with everything they need to get their 6th-8th grade students riding, including bikes, helmets, curriculum and intensive teacher training. Students participating in the program consistently self-report stronger peer relationships and better focus at school. 

Outride’s 2021 Research Summit, "Advancing Youth and Community Well-Being through Cycling,” will showcase similar findings from the Riding For Focus program, as well as more general bicycling research from organizations around the world. The conference will take place on July 28, 2021, and although it’s completely free and open to the public, registration is required. From 11:30 am - 7:30 pm EST, Outride’s own research team and others will highlight the impact of bicycling on health, equity, happiness and community well-being, with a specific focus on youth. 

“The summit will be a space where people doing the work to strengthen their communities through cycling can learn from each other and put that research into practice,” said Esther Walker, Outride’s research program manager. “Our bigger goal is to create a space for sharing and empower people to make an impact locally,” 

Each summit presentation will feature actionable research insights so that attendees will come away with applicable, relevant lessons for their communities. Attendees can expect virtual presentations covering a wide range of topics from the impact of bicycling on cognitive function and mental health, to presentations on women’s empowerment through bikes and gendered barriers to bicycling. The research summit's full agenda can be previewed here. 

PeopleForBikes’ team member Rebecca Davies, a product manager and data analyst, will highlight the PeopleForBikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis tool and its potential to measure how accessible school locations are by bike. We’ll also hear directly from youth about how bicycling impacts their lives and communities, including representatives of the National Youth Bike Council, a group of teenagers organizing young leaders in bicycling communities around the country. 

As a leading national youth bicycling organization, Outride is working to get more kids on bikes and build more diverse, equitable and healthy cycling communities in partnership with schools, communities and researchers around the country. We’re proud to partner with Outride and hope you’ll join us at the 2021 Research Summit.

Click here to learn more about the 2021 Outride Research Summit and register to attend.