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May
19
The Art of Bike to Work Day
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Green Efforts, Interbike | Comments Off
On my commute to work, I ride through two counties, San Diego and Orange, each with their own government and transportation authority agencies tasked with promoting Bike to Work Day. I’ve signed up in that past with both the San Diego Association of Governments’ and Orange County Transportation Authority’s BTW programs, so I receive postcards and emails inviting me to participate each year. Being a marketing guy, SANDAG’s effort this year stood out as especially nicely done. They definitely have a real graphic designer work on it, and it made me think about how other regions do on the design front for bike to work day.
Here’s this year’s San Diego County logo from a postcard they sent out to promote the day. I also like their tag line for the program: “Bike to Work Day: Give it a Spin!” Cute, right? Local SD bike company, Electra, is a sponsor.
Orange County has a more generic, on-going bike to work theme. They seem to do nicely with the local OC-based bike industry sponsors, though, with Jax Bicycle Center, Nirve and Oakley on board. Not the most stellar of efforts from a design standpoint, but I’ll give them props for past efforts where I’ve received buttons from them along the lines of those “I Voted” stickers you get on election day letting you feel smug and superior among your coworkers. At least in the bike industry your coworkers will consider you superior for biking to work.
And let’s not forget our friends just south of us in Tijuana who are also promoting bike to work day this year in conjunction with San Diego’s. About 90,000 people cross the border into San Diego on their commute to work every day. Some of those must be on bikes. Judging by the border wait times I hear on the radio each morning, I would definitely try to ride as much as possible to avoid the 2 hours sitting in traffic. Anyway, back to the design element, I think TJ’s work is great. Very clean and professional:
Have you seen any other good design efforts for Bike to Work promotions in your area? Let me know and I’ll share and help recognize and celebrate the quality work on our behalf.
Mar
17
Economic Advocacy at the National Bike Summit
Filed Under Advocacy, Deep Thoughts, Events | 1 Comment
There was a shift in focus at this year’s National Bike Summit and the bike industry stands poised to play an even larger advocacy role.
For ten years, the Summit has made the case to the Federal government that cyclists are deserving of more transportation infrastructure funding and other bicycle friendly legislation. The bicycle is an efficient mode of transportation, we say, and it can have a positive impact on many of the greatest challenges that we face: our health, the environment and energy usage among them. But with the economy recently joining this unfortunate list, some in government see investment in cycling infrastructure as frivolous or a spend we can’t afford right now. Add to this the fact that most of the recently elected officials would more readily describe cycling as purely recreational and would not consider cycling a legitimate form of transportation, a change in tactics was in order for this edition of the Summit.
This reality was not lost on Summit organizers, the League of American Bicyclists. There was an enlightening moment at this year’s Summit during one of the final sessions prior to unleashing us all on Capitol Hill. With all of the nearly 800 delegates gathered, League executive director, Andy Clarke, asked members of the bike industry to begin speaking and pure advocates to remain quiet. To me it seemed as if nearly half the audience was talking. While an impressive display of industry support for advocacy, Andy’s next statement made his point. He suggested that this was exactly how the meetings with Congress should go: let the delegates in the business of bicycles lead the conversation to describe the economic impact of cycling in their district. Let the bike industry make the economic case for cycling.
The League provided us with reports with the number of bicycle related retail businesses, jobs and sales in each district. While a powerful resource, I believe they fell short by leaving out the impact from other economic sources such as bicycle manufacturers, events, tourism and reduced health care costs. I was proud to tell my congressman of the importance of the bicycle industry in his district, home to brands like Electra, Haro, Canari Cyclewear, RavX and some 48 retailers. As an industry, we can do a better job making our importance felt by our elected officials.
USA Triathlon recently reported that the annual impact of their sport on the US economy was $2.4 billion. That’s an impressive number, yet cycling could dwarf that. Sales of bicycles and related gear through specialty retailers, alone, is nearly $6 billion. The Wisconsin Bicycle Federation made news last year by reporting that the bicycle adds $1.5 billion to their state’s economy each year. Congressmen are famous for doggedly supporting the military, tourism, corn, steel industry or other interests in their districts. We can do a better job convincing our government officials that the business of bicycles is worthy of the same support and have the numbers to prove it.
Aug
30
U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer to Speak at Opening Day Press Conference
Filed Under Advocacy, Attendee News, Cycling, Events, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | Comments Off
In case you haven’t seen the news yet, we’re pretty excited to have cycling’s biggest advocate and ally on Capitol Hill coming to Interbike this year to speak and visit with the industry. The focus of his talk will be on the future of cycling related legislation, especially important now that the next transportation bill is being worked on.
If you’ll be at the show, you should really come down to see this. It’s before the show floor opens and we’ll be serving coffee. Think of this as bringing a small slice of the National Bike Summit to you.
Here’s the full press release:
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – Interbike today announced that it will open its 2010 International Bicycle Expo in Las Vegas with a special press conference featuring keynote speaker U.S. Representative and Congressional Bike Caucus founder Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. Interbike Show Director Andy Tompkins and Bikes Belong Coalition (BBC) President Tim Blumenthal will introduce the congressman and make a few brief remarks.
The purpose of the press conference is to welcome the industry to Interbike 2010, share information about the industry’s show and its future direction, and hear from Blumenauer and Blumenthal on the state of cycling legislation and future government activity on behalf of bicycling.
Blumenauer’s visit comes at a critical time as the U.S. government continues to work on the next transportation bill, which will set the tone for cycling infrastructure investments during the next six years. The Congressman will outline where bicycling stands, and where it’s going. He will pinpoint what the industry can do to support the cause. Following the press conference, Blumenauer will spend the day at Interbike visiting with the industry.
The press conference will be held Wednesday, September 22, 8:00 a.m. in Casanova Room 603, which is on Level One of the Venetian Las Vegas. All show attendees are invited to attend.
Blumenauer will also be the guest of honor at the BikesPAC fundraising reception hosted by Bikes Belong on Tuesday, September 21, the night before the press conference.
Blumenauer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, where he quickly established a unique role as a leading proponent of Livable Communities–places where people are safe, healthy, active and economically secure. He continues to lead the Congressional Bike Caucus and he makes most of his daily trips in Washington by bicycle.
Before moving to Washington, Blumenauer was the Commissioner of Public Works in Portland, Ore., and helped the city earn an international reputation as one of America’s most livable and cycling-friendly cities.
Aug
11
SoBi – The Social Bike System Wireless Bike Share Program
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Green Efforts, Interbike, Video | Comments Off
According to an article I read today on social media news site Mashable, a new bike sharing program – the Social Bike System (SoBi for short) – is set to debut in New York City this Fall. What’s unique about this bike share program is that the system uses a wireless Android or iPhone-based mobile phone app to find and unlock the bikes. The finding part is not new, though, since I remember playing around with the app from the French Velib bike share system when I first got my iPhone almost two years ago. I always chuckled when it would inform me that the nearest available bike was located just 5,767 miles away in a neighborhood in Paris.
The wireless unlocking part – or how you access the bikes themselves – is interesting and, allegedly, cheaper and easier to manage than other existing systems.
Watch founder Ryan Rzepecki explain the system in the video below and read more about the program in the original article here. SoBi themselves can be found at www.socialbicycles.com
If you like what you see, you can vote for them in the Pepsi Refresh Competition.
The Social Bicycle System from Ryan Rzepecki on Vimeo.
Jun
28
Taiwan Bike Industry Makes 3 Year Commitment to Bikes Belong
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Industry News, Interbike | 1 Comment
Just a quick post today resulting from some the good news I just received from Bikes Belong concerning Taiwan’s bicycle Industry announcing today that they have made a three year financial commitment to support BBC’s efforts to grow cycling in the US. Good for society and good for business.
The Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association (TBEA) has committed $50,000 per year for three years to the Bikes Belong Foundation. The investment will go toward Bikes Belong’s Bicycling Design Best Practices Project, which works to increase bicycle use in America by adapting and implementing state-of-the art international best practices in infrastructure and urban design to make bicycling safer, more comfortable and more appealing. The SRAM Cycling Fund has matched this $50,000 contribution for 2010.
Read the rest of the news release here.
May
17
It’s (the official) Bike to Work Week! I know a few cities and areas have already held their own BTW days, but according to the League of American Bicyclists, this week is the real deal. As long as we’re talking official, Bike to Work Day is this Friday the 21st of May.
For most Americans, it’s time to break out the 10-speed or the old mountain bike for their annual bike commute effort. For most readers of this blog, though, I would assume either an existing regular or occasional bike commute or, as is the case with me, the kick-off event to “bike commute season.” My bike commuting is not so much weather influenced (San Diego/Orange County weather anyone?) as it is by the distance and kids’ schedules. School summer vacation schedules typically make my 44.8 mile (according to Google’s biking directions) each way commute possible. I throw in a Metrolink train between Oceanside and San Juan Capistrano to trim some time off Google’s estimated 4 hour and 8 minute ride to work (and actually enjoy the ride up the coast with views of the Pacific and the surfers and dolphins playing in it).
Speaking of Google biking directions, below is Google’s widget that you’re able to embed on your website. In the spirit of Bike To Work Week, I have it pre-populated with our office’s address in case you happen to be coming down to visit us and can use a bike. The widget’s also there to motivate/assist my co-workers planning to ride to work this week who don’t normally do so and help us do well in the Specialized Commuter Cup challenge. You can do it team!
May
14
NBC’s Today Show Commuter Challenge Video
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Green Efforts, Interbike, Video | 5 Comments
I think we all know who wins all the annual “commuter challenges” put on by various media companies. Here’s NBC’s Today Show’s “Ditch the car for a healthy commute” challenge for this year with Al Roker turning the pedals (on a folding bike!), Matt Lauer taking the subway and a bus and Meredith Vieira braving the New York City streets in a car.
It’s a decent show of the common sense aspect of using a bike to get to work. They even have an “expert” on who highlighted some important stats such as how most Americans live within 5 miles of work. The focus is more on the health benefits, but I’ll take whatever positive mention of cycling the mainstream media give us.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Self Magazine, featured in the video, has a “Biking Guide” up on their site with tips and product suggestions for new cyclists.
Also interesting to note that near the beginning, Roker says it’s time to “break out the Schwinn” when referring to bikes. I wonder if “break out the Trek (or Specialized) would mean more to people under 40?
May
13
Video: IMBA Public Lands Initiative launch at the BLC
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Industry News, Interbike, Video | 3 Comments
Been working on this one a while. Gosh, the BLC took place almost a month ago at this point. But for those of you who have dabbled in video editing and posting online, it’s a few orders of magnitude more time and effort than just writing a blog post. Add in some still unresolved (and very frustrating) technical issues that prevented me from uploading this video in any format from any of three different computers at work (both Mac and Windows) and you have a video that’s a little past its prime in the timeliness category.
BUT, the content more than makes up for it. I’d heard going into the this morning session at the annual spring gathering of the bike industry’s leaders that there was going to be an announcement made by one of the advocacy groups. When I saw Tim Blumenthal of Bikes Belong, Jenn Dice of IMBA and then the CEO’s of the two largest US bike companies, Mike Sinyard of Specialized and John Burke of Trek, walk up onto the stage, I had a feeling it would be something big. I reached for my little Sony point-and-click digital camera that also shoots video and captured the proceedings. Who knew it would be so compelling?
If you didn’t read the coverage or were not fortunate enough to be present, here’s the background. The BLC this year hosted about 200 “heads of state” of most of the major bike manufacturers and suppliers in the United States. Pretty much a who’s who of the industry including the presidents, CEO’s, general managers, owners and/or marketing directors of companies like the two listed already, plus Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, Raleigh, Dorel, Performance, Scott USA, Ritchey, Giant, Haro, Crank Brothers, SIDI… you get the idea. They all gather to network, improve the business climate, discuss the state of the industry and work on areas to improve conditions for cyclists and ultimately grow sales of bikes. It’s really an amazing event and, as is the case with many conferences, the time during the meals and breaks in between sessions are some of the most beneficial and gratifying. I make it a point to find a table during the meals with no one I know to force myself to make new acquaintances and contacts. With essentially everyone in the room being a client of ours in some way, you can understand the value in attending for us.
So, apparently, in the weeks leading up the BLC, Jenn Dice from IMBA had been discussing with John Burke about some serious new challenges that they were facing on access issues. John asked what IMBA needed to mount an effective defense and he in turn committed to supporting it. He also told her to reach out to “Mike over at Specialized.” With that base of initial support from the two big guns in the industry, they decided to formally announce the new Public Lands Initiative at the BLC and to take advantage of all the assembled people with enough authority to write big checks on behalf of their corporations to try to reach the funding goals for the program.
Following the introductions and speeches by Dice, Burke and Sinyard, was an amazing sign of industry solidarity, belief in the role of advocacy in growing the industry and more than a little peer pressure. While many companies committed right there on the spot, many more joined in throughout the rest of the day and the conference (after a quick call to their CFO back home, perhaps?), and the $300,000 first year goal was surpassed and approached the two-year $600,000 goal finishing up at $587,000. Pretty amazing.
The quality of the video is not great as a result of the device and the indoor lighting and sound, but the spirit is inspiring. I caught a number of companies making their on-the-spot pledges of support and tried to note them all during the video. I added the complete list of 38 companies (including us, of course!) at the end. And remember, it’s not too late to email Jenn and make a pledge if your company hasn’t already. Retailers: note in the video that your peers at Wheel & Sprocket and Performance join in with support in the video so don’t feel like this is only a supplier issue!
Here’s a link to IMBA’s official news release about the initiative.
Sep
9
Advocacy Meet & Greet Hosted by Planet Bike
Filed Under Advocacy, Attendee News, Industry News, Interbike | 1 Comment
All Interbike attendees are invited to an Advocacy Meet & Greet at Planet Bike’s booth, #1425. Join industry and bicycle advocacy leaders to meet, share ideas and relax.
This is an ideal opportunity to network and discuss bicycle advocacy best practices. Join the conversation that makes our communities bicycle friendly and our industry stronger.
Refreshments will be served.
Date: Wednesday, September 23
Time: 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Location: Planet Bike booth #1425
presented by: Planet Bike, Bikes Belong and Interbike
See the invite/event on Facebook here.
Jul
13
Bike sharing and retail bike sales
Filed Under Advocacy, Industry News, Interbike | 2 Comments
Here’s a mini-post (not micro enough for Twitter) on something that I heard at the Bicycle Leadership Conference back in April. I was cleaning my desk off and found my little Embassy Suites notepad with some things I jotted down that caught my attention during the sessions. This one is from comments made by Gilles Vesco of Lyon’s urban mobility government agency presentation during the bike sharing panel.
I’ve heard some discussion of the effect that a bike sharing program would have on local retailers. Would the availability of free or low-cost loaner bikes cause less people to buy bikes for themselves?
Not so, according to Mr. Vesco. “Bike sharing spurs retail sales of bikes,” he stated emphatically. Paraphrasing his reasoning, he said that all of the additional bikes on the road as a result of a sharing program “rebalance” the public space and the relationship between bikes and cars. Bike sharing places a critical mass (in the most positive and sharing sense of the term) of bikes onto the streets causing people to see cycling in the city as safer.
And safety, as we’ve all heard from so many non-cycling friends of ours, is one of the major points of resistance for more mainstream adoption of cycling. With more bikes on the streets, though, drivers are more aware of and are more accepting of their right to be there. The perceived added safety of so many other fellow cyclists encourages more people to get into cycling and to buy a bike.
Here’s a recent piece of local bike sharing news for those of us in Orange County, California: “European style” bike-sharing to begin in Newport Beach.”
As Mr. Vesco said at the beginning of his presentation: “Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come.” Amen.