Having been around bicycle advocacy for so long, I’ve attended countless public meetings where the public has spoke in favor of bicycling.

I’ve seen some home runs, but I’ve seen quite a large number of strikeouts and a couple ejections.

Too often bicycle advocates feel the need to repeat the big story. Yes, bicycling is good for the environment. Yes, it’s good for people’s health.

All too often these generalities just don’t connect with the decision makers.

Some of the best public comments are the first-person stories from locals and residents.

For example, there was a largely unnecessary meeting to discuss equestrian and mountain bicycle access at Pontiac Lake. It was mostly a public venting which didn’t move the ball forward — except for one commenter. It was a young teen who explained how he enjoyed riding his bike on the trails — and he couldn’t afford a horse. This wasn’t a horse vs. bike argument. This was a young kid with the gumption to publicly speak to share his desire to simply keep enjoying the trails.

I also have an old VHS tape of a city council meeting in some California city. A grandmother explained the circuitous and unsafe route she must take when she bikes with her grandson to a city park. After her long explanation, she asks, “Is this park intended only for people who drive cars?”

And here’s one additional example in a similar vein. It’s a somewhat cheeky yet light-hearted video of how difficult it is to commute by bike between Marblehead and Boston. Enjoy!

Tags: video

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 2:13 pm and is filed under General bike news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.