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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.
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]
Mar
5
The Bike Summit is On!
Filed Under Advocacy, Industry News | Comments Off
The National Bike Summit is in full swing today. Just want to wish all of our advocates there a productive day full of meetings with influential people.
A site to visit for coverage of the event is Jonathan Maus’ (or is that Maus’s?) BikePortland.org site. If you know of any others, let me know.
Lance, Robert and Andria from Interbike are there. Don’t be shy about going up to them and saying hi.
Update:
I found a nice list of bloggers that will be attending the Summit at the Commute by Bike site. Didn’t see any coverage there yet – just the “We’re heading off to the Summit this week” posts. Hopefully the posting will kick in soon.
Feb
29
Article: Year of the Bike in 2008?
Filed Under Advocacy, Cycling, Industry News, Interbike | 1 Comment
I hate to re-hash something that another site has already covered (very nicely, btw), but in this case I think the topic merits another mention in case anyone missed it – especially with the National Bike Summit taking over the Capitol next week.
The article that Jonathan Maus of the awesome bikeportland.org blog discovered recently was written with the Summit in mind by columnist James Peirce of the Washington Post Writer’s Group. Mr. Peirce goes through a list of issues that have been in the headlines recently that all point to a very favorable atmosphere for the growth of the use and acceptability of the bicycle as a legitimate form of transportation and dynamic solution to many of these problems. (That last point also eloquently brought up by Interbike show director, Lance Camisasca, back in 2006, btw.)
Jonathan does a great job of describing the article and has some nice pull-quotes, so I’ll avoid echoing here. Of course, you should read the whole article itself, but one snippet at the end where he describes the significance of Portland’s Bike Boulevards seems an important point, so I’ll excerpt it again here:
“But perhaps most importantly, they’ve marked a major shift from meeting needs of expert and intermediate cyclists. The focus, instead, is on making cycling welcoming for everyone — kids, families and novices included.”
We “expert and intermediate” cyclists in the industry can tend to forget the needs of the masses of non-riders (the 161 million, as I’ve often heard quoted as their number) that we are trying to encourage to leave their cars in the garage. It may be tough to paceline in a bike way or path, but that’s not really the point, is it?
Have fun at the Summit – and go do some good!