Biking experts and advocates from around the country who met at the three-day Boston Bikes Summit this week praised Boston’s new bicycle-friendly focus and mapped out the direction they hope Mayor Thomas Menino’s recent initiative will take.

Speakers addressed notoriously poor biking conditions in the city and the need to connect already existing biking trails scattered throughout Boston — points all detailed in Menino’s Boston Bikes initiative last month.

League of American Bicylists Executive Director Andy Clarke said the recent focus on bicycles has provided a great venue to explore “what bicycling can bring to Boston in the future.”

“It’s clear right now that we have political momentum, and we need to capture that,” said Nick Jackson, deputy director of Chicagoland Bicycle Federation.

Former State Rep. Anne Paulsen said filing pro-bicycling legislation was one of her proudest achievements on Beacon Hill.

“Making our streets accessible is the only way to make bicycling safe,” she said.

Paulsen commended the work of Luisa Paiewonsky, commissioner of the Highway Department, for bringing bicycling issues to the consciousness of government by rewriting the highway design manual to include problems the cycling community faces.

Paulsen also praised the state’s recent acknowledgment of the problems faced by bicyclists, citing bills emphasizing the importance of bikes and cars sharing the road safely.

Philip Keyes, executive director of the New England Mountain Biking Association, said the diversity of bicycling in Boston is “an incredibly vibrant scene,” and the city should work toward improving space for bicyclists to travel.

“All they need is a bit of land, a bunch of dirt and some shovels, and they can get to it,” he said.