By any measure, this event was a great success. 700 participants from bike shops to bike trails and to bike friendly communities sharing their accomplishments and their disappointments. We were agog over Google's neat new map application that allows a cyclist to choose routes best for cycling. Try it at the link included below.
We were treated to some great presentations, and some not so great. We met with our Congressional Delegation from CT (well, with one face to face; the other meetings were with aides), but Congressman Chris Murphy (D, CT 5th) said he had never received such a large group of constituents to advocate for one issue. For me a great highlight was seeing all these folks walking between and through the Capitol and the various Senate and House office buildings wearing these lapel pins. Various staff members admired them and recognized them as being part of the Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) effort to make the entire country more bike friendly, starting with Congress, and we would readily give them away. It will be an uphill battle to get various funding bills passed that will include the small fractional amount that passes for funding for trails and other bicycling initiatives. But, the culture is changing and Congress is listening, even if grudgingly. Now they need to hear it even louder from us in the cycling an walking community. Write 'em now.
Here's the link: http://googlemapsbikethere.org/
