Provide encouragement and education for comfortable and safe bicycling and

walking in Loudoun County on shared-use paths, trails, and suitable roads for all

ages and abilities.

Soon after moving to Loudoun over 30 years ago, BikeLoudoun founder and Co-chair, Pat Turner recognized that the County lacked on-road bicycle accommodations. With help from the Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA), she led an effort to educate local officials about the need for, and advantages of bike lanes and trails. In 2002 the Board of Supervisors appointed a Citizens’ Advisory Committee to create a first-ever Loudoun County Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Master Plan. Pat represented her district on that committee. As the county developed, the bicycling community grew and became more active. In late 2008, Pat organized the first meeting of BikeLoudoun.Pat is a retired federal employee who lives in Sterling. She has toured Quebec and the northern Rockies by bike, and now is frequently seen on the W&OD Trail. She is Vice President of the Friends of the W&OD Trail, and volunteers part-time at Inova Loudoun Hospital. In July 2010, Pat was appointed to the Technical Advisory Committee of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. In April 2011, the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, recognizing her bicycle advocacy efforts, named her as “Outstanding Civic Activist of 2011.”

Dennis recently joined Bike Loudoun after 35 years in the international telecom industry in which he lived in many different cities of the US, Frankfurt, Germany and Brussels, Belgium. Born and raised in the rolling hills of Iowa, he has always aspired to bigger challenges in other parts of the world. He has hiked, biked and mountaineered in Europe, Africa, and of course here in the US. A resident of Leesburg VA since 2004, Dennis is now President of Bike Loudoun. He has been very active in establishing much needed, new bike routes in Leesburg and the county of Loudoun, with a special interest in finally connecting the W&OD Trail and the C&O Canal Path via White’s Ferry. Dennis is also eager to have others join Bike Loudoun in the pursuit of safe routes and sharing the road to experience the natural beauty of Loudoun County.

As Loudoun County has experienced rapid suburban growth over the past decade, residents have been regularly asking their elected officials for bicycling and pedestrian accommodations. Recent development has been auto-oriented, and many new roads were built without bike lanes or sidewalks.In 2003, the County adopted the Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Master Plan, whose recommendations have been largely ignored. The current Board of Supervisors, however, has shown interest in environmental and transportation issues, including bicycle and pedestrian mobility. Thanks to the W&OD Trail, Loudoun has a large contingent of bike commuters, such as the 100+ regulars at Orbital Sciences in Sterling / Ashburn. Moreover, recent County outreach projects and surveys have revealed that many Loudoun residents are eager to safely bike or walk to shops, work, schools, and recreation centers.This interest in cycling has prompted the formation of Bike Loudoun, a countywide network of bicycling advocates. An initial meeting in December 2008 was announced by email to Loudoun members of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and to bicyclists identified from recent County outreach. The group holds regular meetings at locations in the county, open to all.  Bike Loudoun’s short-term objectives are to establish a Loudoun County Bicycle Advisory Committee, convince the County to designate a competent Bicycle Program Manager, update the 2003 Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Master Plan, and include the latter as a component of the revised Countywide Transportation Plan.