By every measure, the 10th annual National Bike Summit, held March 9-12 in Washington, D.C., was the biggest and best yet. More than 725 people attended - shattering the previous record of 610. More than 420 formal meetings were held with members of Congress. On Tuesday and Wednesday, more than a dozen well-attended special events were conducted by all of the leading national bicycling organizations.

Numbers tell only part of the story of this Summit. For Bikes Belong, the event's title sponsor, each day was successful and memorable. At the Tuesday night opener, we launched peopleforbikes.org, our campaign to unite one million voices for the future of bicycling. Our presentation drew across-the-board positive reviews: In the five days that followed, more than 3,700 people pledged their support and close to 6,000 people viewed our "If I ride" video on YouTube.

At Wednesday's lunch, Bikes Belong announced the five 2010 winners of REI Bicycle Friendly Community Grants - a program we administer. Bike advocacy groups in Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Seattle will receive a total of $90,000 to help make their cities more bike friendly.

On Wednesday night, Bikes Belong welcomed close to 100 guests and 10 members of Congress to our BikesPAC fundraiser on Capitol Hill. An impressive, bike-partisan mix of U.S. Representatives joined us, including Earl Blumenauer and Peter DeFazio (both of OR), Charlie Dent (PA), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) and Thomas Petri (WI). Our guests from the U.S. Senate were Scott Brown (MA) Tom Carper (DE), Bob Corker (TN) and Chuck Grassley(IA). We raised more than $27,000 for BikesPAC.

Following a full, productive day of meetings with members of Congress and committee staffers, the Summit hit a high point Thursday night during a rousing speech by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. Read more about LaHood's speech and important followup announcement in LaHood's blog.

In sum, the Bike Summit was a great success. Thanks to all the suppliers, retailers, advocates, journalists and government officials who provided the energy, enthusiasm and hard work. Congratulations to the League of American Bicyclists for orchestrating a top-notch, professional show that will propel bicycling forward.

For more information about the 10th annual National Bike Summit, visit the host of the event - the League of American Bicyclists - website.