Youth Bike Summit: Q&A with Liz Johnson

Liz Johnson is a former Cascade staffer, and during her time here she worked as an AmeriCorps Volunteer with the Major Taylor Project. Although Liz will not be joining us at this year’s Youth Bike Summit (YBS), Liz sent some reflections from last year’s YBS in New York City. 

Liz is currently traveling around North America. Last year she decided it was time to take a hiatus from working with bikes and devote some serious time to riding them. Along with her boyfriend, they pedalled from Seattle to L.A. last fall (and brought the rain most of the way down the coast with them). After ditching their bikes in San Diego, Liz and James headed to Mexico to extend their journey. 

What was a memorable moment from Youth Bike Summit 2014?

A memorable moment that comes to mind from last year's YBS was the opening dinner. The evening before the workshops kicked off, their was time for all of us to make bike related signs, get an overview of what the weekend would look like and mostly mingle. I remember feeling really excited because the opening dinner was already living up to what YBS had promised to be: action focused, predominantly lead and attended by youth, with plenty of time to connect with others there.

What inspires you about YBS?

Uhh, EVERYTHING! But that's too easy an answer, so I'll elaborate. I felt particularly inspired to learn that there are radically organized youth bike organizations all over the country. There were countless examples of youth taking the reins of an organization and working toward great success. As someone working with youth at the time, I knew that youth are more than capable of taking on leadership roles. Seeing so much evidence of that was awesome.

Why is gathering youth around bikes important to you?

Oh my goodness, where do I begin? Empowerment, bikes, riding bikes, learning to fix your own bike–are all so empowering. Things bikes have brought to my life include health, friends, jobs, adventures, confidence using tools...I could go on! Everyone should have access to bikes, and the younger people can get that access and tap into the empowerment, the better.

If someone asked you why they should attend the Youth Bike Summit, what would you tell them?

If you're young, go to get inspired by the work your peers are doing and share your own stories. If you work with youth or are raising some of your own, go to get your gears grinding about the incredible things they too might accomplish with the right encouragement. If you like bikes, go because you'll leave with even more reasons to like bikes. Oh, another reason to attend: if you're 24 and feeling old, you'll be delighted that they count you as a "youth"!

Early-bird registration deadline for the Youth Bike Summit has been extended through Sunday, Feb. 1! Get your ticket today.