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Attending the National Bike Summit gave the folks from the Peach State a juicy idea.

In March, a group of bicycle advocates from Georgia traveled to Washington, DC for the 10th annual networking and lobbying event hosted by the League of American Bicyclists. They didn’t just meet their bike-ped peers from across the country; they also recognized a need within their own state borders.

“When the dust settled after a hectic schedule of running the halls of both the Senate and the House, there was a general consensus among the Georgia delegates that once a year just ‘ain’t enough,’” Ali Mangkang of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition wrote last month. “From there, an idea took shape, though mentioned casually at first, that Georgia should aim for its own statewide summit — a meeting of enthusiasts, retailers, advocates and policymakers representing Georgia’s many bicycling communities.”

Well, the folks at Savannah Bicycle Campaign found a venue in their fair city and Georgia Bikes took the lead in organizing the agenda. Joe Seconder, a board member for Georgia Bikes, had the wind at his back from the start. “Here in Georgia there has been an up swelling of grassroots efforts through individuals and organizations to encourage greater bicycle accommodations in a holistic and systemic fashion,” he says.

The summit on October 9th isn’t exclusive the grassroots organizers, though. In addition to the advocacy track, the event has workshops targeted to government officials and trail riders. “Advocates, elected and public officials, business leaders and concerned bicyclists will come together in a forum; setting the stage for statewide bicycling gains,” Seconder says. “We’ll network, collaborate, educate and empower advocates and attendees, identifying common issues in our local communities and setting priorities for the statewide efforts of Georgia Bikes in 2011.”

If other events are any indication, the gathering could mean big gains for the southern state.

“Georgia joins a growing list of states that are holding their own statewide bike summits, in addition to participating in the national summit,” Mangkang wrote. “Most notably, Oregon and Wisconsin have produced highly successful models for state bike summits. Both states also rank among the most bicycle-friendly states in the country. States with far lower rankings have seen the benefits of holding a statewide summit, too. In 2008, West Virginia ranked last in the LAB annual survey of bicycle friendly states. After holding a statewide symposium their ranking increased by eight spots in the 2009 survey.”

Read more or register for the event here.