Thursday, April 16, 2009

Getting Pumped For A Full Day Of Bicycle Advocacy

Monterey, Calif. -- Want to know how big the Sea Otter Classic is?

Lee Anderson, an internet bicycle writer from England, came across the Atlantic to attend the weekend of bike races, demos, exhibits and vendors here in northern California.

He shared a van shuttle ride from San Jose Airport to Monterey with me yesterday and I plan to catch up with him after the bicycle leadership conference here. Lee also knows Tampa Bay -- had a former girlfriend from Tarpon Springs, he tells me.

First up this morning is a session on Bike Sharing, then a session on the economics of bicycling with some of the biggest names in the biz -- Jim Thompson, CEO of Performance; Stan Day, who founded SRAM; Steve Flagg, who founded Quality Bicycle Products; and Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists.

This afternoon it's a session on Bicycle Advocacy 101, moderated by Tim Blumenthal, executive director of the Bikes Belong Coalition in Boulder.

I'm looking forward to a full day of re-charging my bicycle advocacy juices.

Early this morning -- as in 5 am local time -- I strolled to the Pacific. The shore is more rugged than our Atlantic, and the brisk winds were refreshing.

No comments: