The Iowa Bike Expo takes place on January 24 in Des Moines and the event offers free learning sessions and meetups for every level of people who ride bicycles.

The event kicks off with a statewide Safe Routes to School meeting. Attendees will earn about walking school buses and how to start a safe routes to school program in their community. Registration is free and encouraged. You can learn more at www.iowasaferoutes.org.

A new session will present a hot trend in bicycling - bikepacking. Bicyclists are finding different ways to carry gear and a variety of terrain to cover. Bikepacking has become a new means of bike tourism. Steve Fuller, veteran bicyclist, will be on hand to share tips, stories, and advice.

A panel of RAGBRAI Charters will be available to present Charters 101. If you are new to RAGBRAI and want to learn about the amenities each service provides, this session will help answer your questions and make your ride more enjoyable.

Back again this year, is the Iowa Women’s Bicycling Meetup. Women are definitely a growing segment of bicycling. This is an unstructured session that allows women to meet and discuss trends and opportunities in the Iowa bicycling. Sarah Shipley formerly of Bike Walk Kansas City and organizer of their women’s bicycle summit will be on hand to facilitate.

Finally, the Iowa Dirt Strand has been a staple of the Iowa Bicycle Summit since the beginning. The Dirt Strand is organized by mountain bike groups throughout Iowa. Jake Carstens and Mike McIntyre from Austin Texas will be on hand to discuss bike parks and opportunities in Iowa.