Bicycle Champion Awards

BSCPA is pleased to announce that there were two winners of the Bicycle Champion Award recognized at the 2022 Statewide Active Transportation Summit held on Nov. 12 in Lancaster.

This award honors outstanding leaders, advocates and organizations that made significant contributions to improving and encouraging bicycle transportation in South Central PA.

SAMBA, the Susquehanna Area Mountain Bike Association, received the award because of the work they have done to build and maintain mountain bike trails throughout the region and their success with getting more young people involved in the sport of mountain biking.

These accomplishments include:

• Coleman Park pump track and trail in Lebanon County.
• In Dauphin County, they have created the trails Parkway Trails that join with the Capital Area Greenbelt and rehabbed Paxtang Park. They also built trails at Hershey Medical Center and expanded the trails at Rattling Creek in Lykens.
• Their involvement in Cumberland County includes being partners for the Hearth Tender Trail project in Micheaux State Forest and building trails at Mechanicsburg Middle School
• Building Lancaster County’s bike park in Ephrata and Camp Mack.

SAMBA members also work closely with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League whose motto is “Let’s Get More Kids on Bikes”

SAMBA also offers several special events to promote and enjoy mountain biking.

The award was accepted by SAMBA member and BSCPA Board member Bob Johnston.

Jim Buckheit is a volunteer advocate who is receiving this award because of his dedicated work with the engineers and agencies to make the I-83 expansion inclusive of bike and pedestrian friendly facilities. Without his knowledge and expertise, not only would opportunities for improvement have been lost, but the bridges, access roads and rampways would have become much more hazardous for vulnerable users like bike riders and pedestrians. Because of his ability to communicate effectively with agencies and engineers, Jim has also helped Bicycle South Central PA and the Lebanon Valley Bicycle Coalition with efforts to make roadways safer for cycling. He has also had valuable input on the I-81 improvement project.