Florida Bicycle Association
2025 Summit
November 14 – 16, 2025 in Winter Garden
Pedaling Forward: Shaping the Future of Cycling
The Florida Bicycle Summit was held on November 14, with events continuing through the weekend in Winter Garden. This offered a unique opportunity to interact with state and national leaders collaborating with Florida Bicycle Association, including Bill Nesper, Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists (bikeleague.org) and Ned Baier, President of the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation (FGTF.Org).
River-to-Sea Loop Alliance President Maggie Ardito and Directors Jeff Shepherd and Joe Cona took part in the multiday event. Courtney, outgoing President, presented the amazing work FBA is doing to advance the mission to “Make Florida better for people who want and need to bike” and incoming President Rich Garrett shared his priorities for the 5-year road ahead which are perfectly aligned with the River2SeaLoop Alliance mission. Maggie said “It was a great honor to be named FBA Board Member at the event.”
Throughout the day Courtney received multiple ovations and demonstrations of gratitude and appreciation for her outstanding leadership and accomplishments in making FBA more welcoming and impactful for cyclists of all ages and abilities.
FBA’s incoming President Rich Garrett shared his priorities for the 5-year road ahead:
• Shaping the future through partertships with FDOT and MPO/TPOs and strengthening pro-bike legislation
• Education & Safety
• Community engagement & Events
• Membership growth and retention
• Partnership development and deeper alliances
• Data and measurement
Serendipitously these are a perfect match for River2SeaLoop Alliance priorities in our region of East Central and North Florida, so the time is perfect and we are doubly proud to announce that River-to-Sea Loop Alliance President and Co-Founder Maggie has been named to the FBA board of directors. Maggie says “FBA’s mission to make Florida better for people who want or need to bicycle to bicycle shares huge overlap with the River2Sea Loop mission to connect our multiuse trail network for safe, equitable, sustainable active transportation and recreation and to enable more cycling, walking, and alternate mobility modes. Cementing our relationship with FBA will help elevate our visibility and impact.
Bill Nesper presented an inspiring talk on all the Bike League doing to create Bike Friendly Communities and a Bike Friendly America. As Bill says, “the bicycle is a simple solution to many of the problems we face”, “Bike Friendly Communities create livable places people want to live and visit”. He emphasized the message that “Slow roads save lives” and reducing speed limit needs to be a top priority.
Ned Baier brought the focus back to Florida presenting the evolution and impact of the FGTF across Florida advancing the Florida Greenways and Trails System and our national leadership on the evolving SUNTrail System that includes the top-priority trails Coast to Coast and River-to-Sea Loop.
Ned said the multi-million acre Florida Wildlife Preserve represents a huge opportunity for environmentally friendly firm surface trails. The bipartisan 2023 Senate Bill 106 states that approved trails can be intergrated into the FWC state conservation land.
He said “the green network of trails provides opportunities for tourism and economic development. It’s important for all of us to work to communicate the value of trails and form collaborative partnerships especially with regional MPOs and TPOs to get funding approved.” The proposed Monroe to Okeechobee Lake to Lake Trail is a great example.
Michele Avola Brown of the Naples Pathways Coalition and Hands Free Florida (HandsFreeFlorida.Org) spoke passionately about the need for stronger hands-free cell phone use laws in Florida. 34 States already have these clear laws that result in reductions in deaths, crashes, and insurance rates.
Leaders from all over the state took part in the program and learned from others.
Wrapping up the impactful event, Jeff said “the event highlighted just how many committed people are working collaboratively to make Florida a safer, healthier, more connected state for cyclists, pedestrians, and trail users. I was especially impressed by Michele Avola Brown’s campaign for Hands Free Florida and Eugene Rider’s Bike Rodeo toolkit. I hope to launch a Bike Rodeo program in the River-to-Sea Loop region this winter or spring. I believe this is an essential skill for community engagement and safety education.”
Jeff took part in the hands-on workshop led by Eugene Rider, LCI, FBA incoming Vice President. Eugene has led more than 80 youth rodeos and community events, reaching nearly 4,000 riders and creating a repeatable process and toolkit for “How to host a kids bike rodeo”. His expertise helps communities create safe, engaging learning spaces for young cyclists.
On Saturday Maggie, FBA Immediate Past President Courtney, and Bike League Executive Director Bill joined dozens of other volunteers at the Bike Rodeo led by Eugene Rider where over a hundred kids improved cycling skills and increased safety awareness. On Sunday Joe volunteered at Florida Freewheelers classic Horrible Hundred ride.
