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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.
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.
Mar
16
National Bike Summit Trip Thoughts
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Industry News, Interbike | 2 Comments
I’m not much of a blogger, actually I’ve never offered a thought to digital space before, but I was so impressed by the recent National Bike Summit that I decided to write my first Interbike Times post this morning.
While I have been to other lobbying events in DC before, this was first my first experience with the bike industry. From the moment the Summit opened on Wednesday with inspiring words from House representatives Earl Blumenauer, Dan Lipinski and Doris Matsui, it was easy to see that cycling is getting a lot of government attention. This theme continued as several politicians made personal appearances over the Summit to thank the industry for its efforts and to outline new cycling-related legislation. At a Bikes Belong Coalition reception, Republican Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania was so close he actually grabbed my badge lanyard – now that’s personal interest from Washington’s elite. This slew of celebrity sightings really caught my attention, as my previous trips to Washington haven’t provided as many photo opps – most of the meetings and parties I had been to in the past were attended by aides and staff members, with only polite invitation declines from major leaders.
The cycling industry, though, seems to be able to attract the Hill’s firepower – which is an exciting position to help direct change. From California’s Diane Feinstein to Utah Oregon’s Jeff Merkley, it seemed that everyone was eager to put a bright bicycle pin on their lapel. I think this suggests two critical success factors for the industry – we have excellent advocacy leadership in Tim Blumenthal and Andy Clarke, and they have led Bikes Belong and The League of American Bicyclists to be at the forefront of cycling policy and have forged numerous relationships with key policy makers. Congratulations to both and all that supported them to produce such a world class event.
Furthermor, the political attention suggests that the cycling industry has an amazing opportunity – with all of the modern problems of traffic congestion, pollution, obesity and more – the bicycle really has an opportunity to be a tool that is used to literally change the world. Many prominent leaders already have the bicycle in mind to help drive agendas toward a more positive tomorrow with expanded bike paths and road infrastructure, less carbon emissions and children riding to school once again.
Next time the Summit rolls around, I highly encourage you to join the crusade. The more solidarity the industry can show Washington, the more chances we have to influence change. I think you’ll be proud to join industry colleagues and you really have the opportunity to be part of the legislative process – our timing couldn’t be any better to ensure that the bicycle continues to play a critical role in American history.
[Editor's Note: Andy is Interbike's Show Director]
Aug
18
Video: Freewheleein’ At the Democratic National Convention
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Green Efforts, Industry News, Interbike, Video | 2 Comments
Saw a link to this video from the local Denver NBC television station on Twitter this morning. Forgot that the DNC is already next week. If you hadn’t heard, Bikes Belong and health insurance company Humana (along with a few bike manufacturers) have partnered to provide 1,000 bikes on free loan to conventioneers. Republicans will also get a chance to borrow a bike at their convention in Minneapolis in early September. I’m really curious to see how the bikes end up being used – and which party will use them more. At the risk of getting too political here, I know which party I’d put my money on to ride more.
The website for the Freewheelin’ program is here and you can also follow them on Twitter under the bikesharing account name.
In the video, Avery Stonich from the BBC and Dan Oftedahl from Humana talk about the program and you get to see the wareheouse where the bikes are all being assembled. Hopefully you won’t see the pre-roll ad for a truck like I did. Gotta love contextual advertising.
Here’s the link to the original article that goes along with the video.
Jul
11
LA Times Business Section on Commuting By Bike
Filed Under Advocacy, Attendee News, Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | Comments Off
I’ve been a bad blogger by going on 10 days since the last post… And it’s not for a shortage of topics – I’ve got a stack on interesting articles piled on my desk waiting for 30 minutes free time to write something coherent and marginally enjoyable to read about them (I gave up on being profound in my posts a while back…). More often than not, posts get written at home after the kids are in bed.
Case in point is this article in the LA Times by staff writer Leslie Earnest on commuting by bike that Lance pointed out to me on Tuesday (I live in San Diego County so I don’t get the LAT): “Bikes Help Commuters get around gas prices“. Now there’s been no shortage of articles in the mainstream, non-endemic media lately about the growth in cycling as a response to rising energy costs, but I think it’s important to highlight this exposure that our industry is getting – especially when it’s the cover story of the business section of such a widely read paper such as the LA Times.
Customer being helped at Cynergy Cycles in Santa Monica, California
The gist of the article is pretty typical: more people are riding bikes because of high gas prices. The quality parts of the article are that it focuses on the business aspect and how sales are up as a result of the energy situation and features quotes from a variety of industry members on the subject including Tim Blumenthal of Bikes Belong, Amanda Schulze of Burley Design, Fred Clements of the NBDA and Bruno Maier of Cannondale Sports Group.
The article is accompanied by a couple of photos taken at Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles, and also has interviews with retailer Rock N’ Road Cyclery of Orange County. Matt Ford of RNR comments at the close of the article that bike sales are “up double digits.” Jim Whitsett of Cynergy states similarly that he’s seen a jump of 20% just over the last 30 days. Good news for the industry for sure, but Clements of the NBDA cautions that the majority of sales in shops are still from recreational purchases and that segment is sensitive to the bad economy and people watching their spending more carefully.
Similar situation across the country?
Apr
21
Sea Otter Video – Tim Blumenthal of Bikes Belong
Filed Under Advocacy, Deep Thoughts, Interbike, Video | 1 Comment
In light of my recent introduction into local bicycle advocacy, I thought I’d go to the source for some expert advice. As I mention in my intro in the video, I have some experience with some pretty big advocacy efforts like the National Bike Summit, but when it came to actually effecting some advocacy close to home, I really had no idea where to start. I guess the nitty gritty of the work had been left to the professionals at the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong or IMBA, to name a few, in the advocacy that I had been a part of.
Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong, kindly accepted my request for an interview during his busy schedule at the Sea Otter Classic when I called him a few days prior to the event. Tim is always a pleasure to speak with and I’ve been lucky to be able to spend time with him at the last two Sea Otter events now. He’s a great advocate and representative for the industry. And he tells a great story.
The theme of this interview is advice for cyclists wanting to effect bicycle advocacy on a local level. Good stuff.
Technical note: I need to figure out how to turn my left channel only sound (from my mono microphone plugged into the stereo input on the camera) into left and right mono. Not so bad through speakers, but very noticeable with headphones. Maybe I just need to invest in some better video editing software.