More than 50 youth, ages 14–22, attended the first-ever Chicago Youth Bike Summit, where they shared their bicycling experiences and learned advocacy skills to improve mobility in Chicago.
With the theme “Developing the Next Generation of Leaders,” Blackstone Bicycle Works hosted a daylong summit on September 19, 2026, aimed at empowering youth in bike advocacy.
As a youth-led Summit, six alumni on the BBW Youth Leadership Team helped bring the Summit to life from prep to execution. Beyond event setup and meal service, they helped design attendee kits, plan the run-of-show, manage registration and AV, lead breakout sessions, serve as emcees, and give a live media interview.
With support from BBW staff and volunteers, youth leaders Nigel and Richard led bike-experience sharing sessions while fellow youth leader Ojas led a bike-repair skills competition.
Another highlight of the day was hearing from Anna Tang, a leading bicycle advocate from the League of American Bicyclists in Pittsburgh. She shared her journey in bike advocacy and helped youth understand what advocacy means, how it works, and how they can use their voices to create change.
As an advocacy exercise, youth wrote open letters to the Mayor of Chicago and the aldermen, sharing how bikes give them freedom to explore their community and requesting more safe bike lanes, particularly in their neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side. Repairing potholes or building more bike trails were among the most requested changes in the youth open letters.
At the end of the Summit, youth participants received a $50 stipend and a one-year Divvy bike-rental benefit, providing tangible support for their participation and ongoing mobility.
The Chicago Youth Bike Summit was made possible through the generous support of SRAM, Divvy/Lyft, and Lime, as well as partnerships with Ride Illinois, The Recyclery Collective, CDOT, and the Active Transportation Alliance.
“I liked that we got to talk about the problems bikers face in Chicago, especially on the South Side where some streets don’t feel that safe to ride on. I learned how important bike lanes and safe streets are, and that people in the community can push for changes.”
—Rasheed, 16
