Lisa Nutter, cycling advocate
Lisa Nutter is getting some much-deserved press in the bicycle world this week. Amid a League of American Bicyclists announcement that Philadelphia’s first lady will be speaking at the National Forum on Women & Bicycling in March — specifically on gender equality in competitive cycling — Nutter was featured in stories on both the Bicycle League’s website and at USA Cycling.
Nutter has been a competitive cyclist for the last 13 years, according to a recent interview with USA Cycling. An avid runner, her knees began wearing down in the early 2000s and a friend suggested she take up cycling, as it’s obviously much easier on your joints.
Since then, she’s become an advocate for bicycling, and is currently a volunteer board member of the Philadelphia Bicycle Advocacy Board alongside numerous advocates and leaders throughout the city, including Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Executive Director Alex Doty. Via the Bike League:
And her advocacy extends beyond racing. She has promoted access to bicycling for all Philadelphians, regardless of age, race or class.
“Much of cycling is about access,” Nutter said in the interview. “Some people of color may not have opportunities for equipment or training, or even grow up riding bicycles.” That’s one of the reasons that Nutter and her husband have championed programs to promote bicycling among people of all ages and ethnicities.
The National Women’s Bicycling Forum’s agenda this year is Bikes + Women Leaders = Big Ideas. “We believe in empowering women to take on positions of leadership in bike advocacy,” according to the Bike League’s website. “By creating more diverse leaders, and proposing new systems of leadership we invite more creativity and innovation into the bike movement.”
For more details on the Bike Forum, click here.