I realize I haven’t said much about the Bike Summit here at Ride Boldly! Which, let’s get down to it: It’s been bloody nice. I’ve been working something that semi-resembles a normal job during human hours. One that requires the wearing of pants. I’ve been busy, okay?
But. I provided a recap to our friends at BikeMN of this year’s event.
A few things I left unsaid in that piece:
- I’m glad BikeMN found the resources to schedule legislative meetings for attendees. This is a LOT of work for them. But in 2011, it was up to attendees, many of whom were novice citizen-activists. Making the appointments means more people ended up speaking to their legislators. This is good.
- Smaller crowd this year. I’m kinda delighted about that, because while the site for the Summit is the best available, with too big a crowd it sets off a slight case of claustrophobia, truly. The downside of a smaller crowd is, of course, a smaller crowd. Even as a delicate snowflake among delicate snowflakes, I have to grant that one.
- I was able to meet with my state Senator, Pam Wolf. I mostly spoke about the state Safe Routes to Schools proposal, which would make $3 million in state funds available for SRTS infrastructure projects, including for high schools. High schools are currently not provided for in federal Safe Routes (although some campuses benefit if they share facilities with elementary and middle schools, as is not entirely uncommon in smaller communities).
I did have a lot of fun this year. I think the shorter presentations and smaller crowd helped in that regard for me.
Anyone else in attendance is welcome to comment about what they thought.
