Feb
28
Go To the National Bike Summit in DC
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Industry News, Interbike | 2 Comments
That’s not the most elegant or creative title I could have written for this post, but it’s to the point: make an effort to attend the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC in March. In our recent annual post-Interbike surveys to retailers and exhibitors, someone wrote back to the effect that Interbike needs to do more for advocacy efforts than simply writing checks. While I plan to address that issue in an upcoming post, here’s one response to that: in addition to sponsoring the Summit, we will also be flying representatives to DC to attend and participate in the Summit again this year. What are you doing?
The Summit is well attended by advocates and passionate cyclists from all over the country, but having the collective business/economic weight of the bike industry there can truly have a positive effect on our community’s efforts in Washington. So much that happens in government is tied to the economic realities or potentials in any given legislation. Being able to have first-hand evidence of the economic impact of the cycling industry to each congressmen’s region with industry representatives in attendance is key. Advocacy and bike-friendly legislation is good for business.
I saw this on the Bikes Belong Coalition’s website and didn’t think I could say it any better:
“The National Bike Summit is a crucial opportunity for the bicycling community to communicate with top-level government leaders who have the power to dramatically improve bicycling in the U.S.
With a new Congress in session, the time is ripe to strengthen our Capitol connections to ensure a strong future for bicycling.
You are the voice of the bike industry and you should be there to represent bicycling. Click here to register or learn more.“
If you’ve never attended the Summit and think it’s just another gathering of advocates discussing issues, you couldn’t be more wrong. Be prepared to be totally immersed and connected to our American legislative process and putting the pedal to the metal to make our issues into action. At the very least you will come away with a new understanding of government having just walked the halls of Congress and met with Senators, Representatives, and/or staff members in their Congressional offices. I had no idea of the access that we have to our representatives in Congress. From the many years that the League has been working on improving the influence and awareness that bicycle interests have in DC, we are noticed and recognized during this annual trip to Capitol Hill. You can truly make a difference in a few days at the Summit. It really is an amazing civics lesson and a fantastic event that the League of American Bicyclists organizes. Be a part of it!
Feb
16
For some reason I was listening to ESPN Radio on the way home from work last night. The station usually only comes on during baseball season in my car. I guess I was still morbidly interested in hearing more about the latest scandal from the NBA: the Tim Hardaway “I hate gay peoples” reaction to John Amaechi’s coming out announcement debacle. Two points on this before I move on to what it is that I heard that prompted this post. The first is that it’s amazing that someone like Hardaway, who has been in the public spotlight for over 10 years, could make statements like his. It’s bad enough that he thinks that way, but the fact that he would make those beliefs public truly baffles me. My last takeaway on this topic: has there ever been a more articulate professional athlete than Amaechi? I don’t think it’s just his English accent because even reading some of his responses are impressive. His well thought out, reasoned comments and impressive vocabulary really stand in stark contrast to the all the typical banter from the likes of Hardaway and John Rocker.
So while trying to hear more about that affair (I’m tiring of the Anna Nicole Smith story…), the big story in the radio was actually about cheating in NASCAR leading up to the big Daytona 500 race. Being a big Formula 1 fan, I’ll admit to not getting NASCAR, but I thought that the parallels to the problem of doping in pro cycling interesting. There were several instances of cheating by the teams of some of the biggest names in the sport. Blogger Sprinter della Casa has a great analysis and explanation of what happened and compares it to the problems in our sport:
In the cycling world, if such things happened, the next time you’d hear about that racer in a race would be two (or four) years later.
Not NASCAR.
As you might expect, the response to the cheating has been in a typically American fashion typical of what we have seen in Football, and baseball. Amazingly, while the drivers have been penalized financially and pushed back on the starting grid, they have been allowed to start in the races in which they cheated to qualify!
Just in case you hadn’t heard about it, during the post race inspection (doping controls, if you will), one of the cars was allegedly found to have what they believe is illegal fuel additives in his gasoline. Even cars are doping, now…
Feb
15
The BLC in San Diego and Helmets in Marketing
Filed Under Cycling, Industry News, Interbike | 2 Comments
I had the pleasure to spend last Monday and Tuesday (Feb 5 & 6) with 200+ best and brightest the bicycle industry has to offer at the 2007 Bicycle Leadership Conference in San Diego, California. I have to admit that I came away from the 2 days very impressed by my fellow industry members. We have an intelligent, passionate and fun group of leaders in our industry.
The conference had some great sessions and keynote speakers, but to me the highlight was the meals. In a return to a previous practice, the new organizers decided to have assigned seating for the meals. By doing this, it forced everyone to sit with a random mix of attendees from manufacturers, retailers and advocates – not just their friends and coworkers. This setup really facilitated networking and interactions during the meals.
Some of the people that I had the pleasure of dining and chatting with were Pat Cunnane, the president of Advanced Sports (Fuji Bicycles), Mark Graff of SmartEtailing.com, Andy Clarke, Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists, Peter Gilbert of Cane Creek, Chris Conroy of Yeti Cycles, Skip Swain of Norco, Gary Sjoquist, Advocacy Director for Quality Bicycle Products, Jerry Hiniker of Superior North Outdoor Center, Ian Cross of the Hawley Company, and Beth Annon, owner of B&L Bike Shop. That’s quite a mix of people that spans the spectrum of industry company types.
A topic that stands out in my mind that I had with a few dinner companions the first night was that of the unwritten rule that all cyclists that are featured in photographs – whether in a magazine or catalog – must be wearing a helmet. I think we all understand the motives of those that push for their ubiquity in these images, but I heard a legitimate, in my mind, argument against this. This counter argument is related to a topic that seems to rear its head at any industry gathering: how do we encourage more people to buy and ride bikes?
Representatives from Shimano had given a presentation earlier in the day at the BLC about their new Coasting project. One of the key elements they found from their research and numerous interviews with non-cyclists was that they needed to remove their “points of resistance” to cycling. Now this could be a topic worthy of many future posts, but it boils down to perceptions of cycling in the eyes of those that choose not to ride. These range from the complexity of bikes, their technology and using them to the commonly held notion (that the industry has apparently created) that cycling is an activity for fitness or sport only – not for fun or transportation. This last one is interesting in that cycling is perceived to require significant work and effort to practice – you can’t just go out and ride for fun or down to the store. You are either supposed to be trying to be the next Lance Armstrong or working out (much like riding a stationary bike in a gym).
So how does this relate to helmets use in photos, you ask? It was someone’s contention that helmet use was one of these points of resistance to potential riders. Someone interested in buying a hybrid or beach cruiser to ride along the beach or on a bike path might feel that they do not need a helmet. They remember just getting on their bikes and riding as kids. The helmet is seen by some as an inconvenience and as unattractive or with the ability to mess up one’s hair. While it may be foreign to us bike enthusiasts with our high-tech helmets, they are perceived by some non-cyclists as adding a level of geek-ness to the activity.
I personally feel naked whenever I ride my bike helmetless. And that’s usually just around my neighborhood to test an adjustment to my bike. I couldn’t imagine riding without one on a longer ride on open roads. But I can also understand some of these negative reactions to helmet use. The contention that helmets are not necessary for certain “low intensity” types of riding also seems reasonable. I survived years of riding helmetless as a kid and millions ride bikes for transportation throughout Europe and Asia without helmets. And don’t we hold up European countries like Holland as examples of bike use that we should aspire to?
There always seems to be a quick and angry response anytime a magazine runs a picture or ad that features a rider who is not using a helmet. I can now begin to understand why we maybe shouldn’t be so knee jerk in our reactions to this. Is this such a far-fetched notion? Living near the coast in Southern California, I see lots of people riding beach cruisers to and near the beach in their bathing suits. They look like they are having a perfectly good time cruising along slowly. Would they be safer wearing a helmet? Probably. Would they be as inclined to ride as much if they had to use one? Should we give them a hard time because they aren’t? Should we promote bikes to people like them using images of their peers as they themselves are likely to ride (i.e. probably helmetless)? I think we should give this some thought.
Feb
13
Bob Hegney was one of my outside sales reps when I first entered the bike industry as an inside sales rep. As the new guy, I was intimidated by this industry legend who had been serving the New York metro area for decades for such big lines as Shimano. He was a New Yorker in every sense: he was blunt, he talked fast, was funny and he drove a hard bargain. Now, having been born in The City myself, I mean that description as a compliment. Bob was a real contrast to the reps from the more, shall we say, relaxed regions of the country like Southern California or Colorado. Last week while at the Bicycle Leadership Conference, I learned that Bob had died of a heart attack on Feb. 3rd. A bunch of the attendees of the conference left a little early to attend his services.
As busy a guy as Bob was, he always had time to come by my booth at Interbike to say hi. He was never short of jokes. One year, he gave me his business card and it was in the baseball card style you see in the image above. I think that the card really shows that he had his priorities in line since it emphasized the importance that he placed on his work as a volunteer fireman. The back had all of the contact info for his sales rep gig, but showed his pride for his “real” job helping others in their times of need. I love his quote at the bottom of the back of the card:
“Busting mine to save yours.”
Mr. Hegney was 53 when he died. He was a sales rep in the bike industry for 30 years and joined the fire department in 1973. You can read more about him here.
According to his fire company’s website, in lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions may be made to the Se-Wy-Co Fire Company, care of the Heintzelman Funeral Home. Check out their tribute page for him – there are some kind words there about him from other industry members. Bob was a good guy and will be missed.