A record 375 advocates, bicycle industry leaders, retailers, and transportation and health officials gathered in Washington, D.C., March 1-3 for the sixth annual National Bike Summit, organized by the League of American Bicyclists. Bikes Belong was the title sponsor. Building on momentum from past successes, attendees brought a high level of energy and enthusiasm to the event. Previous years’ summits helped gain $4.5 billion for bicycling and walking in the federal transportation law passed last August. The 2006 conference focused on how to make sure this money is spent effectively on bicycle projects throughout the country. Two themes of the summit were creating bicycle-friendly communities and implementing Safe Routes to School programs. The highlight was a coordinated lobbying day on Capitol Hill, where attendees met with more than 350 members of Congress to push for additional federal support for bicycle facilities and programs. “The level of professionalism in our movement keeps improving,” said Bikes Belong executive director Tim Blumenthal. “We are getting better at making our case, and this is helping us gain respect on Capitol Hill.”