Coming Soon - BSU Bicycle Congress

I got a mailing from the folks at ACHD, about the upcoming Bicycle Congress.

It's an all-day event, that day being Friday, April 25, at the BSU Student Union Building. It's open to the public - and free!

The agenda looks ambitious and interesting - a PDF document can be seen HERE.

They intend to introduce the Roadways to Bikeways ACHD bicycle master plan. I'm assuming they mean the latest reincarnation, incorporating changes that were discussed during a series of open house / workshops held over the past 12 months or so.

Of the scheduled presentations, these look most interesting to me:
- On-Road Bicycle Facilities for Children and Other "Easy Riders" (11am)
- Rural Bicycle Accommodation Plan and Decision Aid Tool (2:55pm)
- Active Transportation - Fitness and Motivation for Everyday Cyclists (3:55pm)
(Presented by Rebecca Rusch; apparently she's a world-class endurance mountain bike racer. Which is cool... my perception is that a large percentage of competitive cyclists would never dream of riding a bike for transportation.)

I've got mixed emotions about events like the Bicycle Congress.

I've attended many such events, sat on committees, etc., etc., over the years. And although they have the most lofty motives, I tend to get frustrated because of the perception that it's just "preaching to the choir," and not making much of a difference in the diverse "real" world.

Another point... how many attendees will ride a bicycle to the event? I would hope that 100% of the participants, except for maybe the out-of-town guests, would arrive on bicycles. If not, why not?

I also ride a motorcycle, and for a while the Missus and I belonged to the local chapter of the Harley Owners Group. I quit after about a year, because I figured I had limited time, and I could spend that time either: 1) riding my motorcycle, or 2) sitting around talking about riding motorcycles. I kinda feel that same way about "talking about bike riding."