Thanks Phil. Sandi and I love the "Amazing Race"

I have so much to write about, and this is the really busy season for me.  Thanks are in order.

First, to Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz and Earl Blumenauer.  I’m excited to see my Congresswoman team up with the esteemed Congressman from Portland, Oregon.  Below is a link of me with Congressman Blumenauer after we talked about bicycling to Baltimore and his upcoming trip to Philadelphia (and Jenkintown, I hope)

Short Video of Steve and the Congressman

Next, is the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and the League of American Bicyclists.  Sarah Clark-Stuart did a fantastic job coordinating things in DC.

Alex Doty, Breen Goodwin, and Hans Van Naerssen (the new League President)

Thank you to the Maryland State Bicycle Coodinator, Michael Jackson, for giving me a reason to bike 50 miles between DC and Baltimore.

En route from DC to Baltimore (a 4 1/2 hr ride)

Here is a link to the route I took:

Thank you to Pennsylvania’s First Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, Dave Bachman. Brian Sanders is the new Bike/Ped Coordinator. State Representative Rick Geist, from Altoona, presented Dave with a citation. He didn’t read the whole thing, but it probably says, “Dave, you’re a cool dude, and you did a great job” (in official-speak, of course). Dave did bike across the US one summer.

Rep. Rick Geist with Dave Bachman

Thanks to google for coming out with google maps for bicycling. I find it really useful. And I look forward to incorporating this into my projects.

Google maps team member demonstrating the new bicycle routing.

Tom Branigan  loaned me David Byrne’s book, Bicycle Diaries.  I ended up buying a copy anyway.  Byrne is coming to talk about bicycle advocacy next Thursday at the Academy of Natural Sciences.  So far, I’ve found his book enjoyable.  He shares a global perspective and writes well.

While ordering a copy of Bicycle Diaries for myself, I decided to also get Jeff Mapes’ book, Pedaling Revolution.  David Byrne reviewed Mapes’ book in the New York Times.  No offense to Byrne, but I can’t put Mapes’ book down.  Part of it is that I get to read about friends like John Dowlin.

John Dowlin was one of the creators of the 1974 Philadelphia Bicycle Map and was one of the founders of the Bicycle Coalition.  He has been an inspiration and has dedicated much of his life to promoting the joys of bicycling.  I’ve learned a lot from his Bicycle Network News books and Cycle and Recycle Calendars.  We’ve bicycled together and had conversations about Mapping Havana Cuba.  We’ve worked together on Neighborhood Bike Works.  In John’s calm, passionate way, he knows how to stick to his vision of improving the world.  Mapes quotes John as saying, “I really felt the bicycle could be for the world’s cities what the spinning wheel was for Ghandi.”

These two bicycle books have made their way in front of other books that are sitting in my pile.

Next on my list is Restructuring the Philadelphia Region, by Carolyn Adams, David Bartelt, David Elesh and Ira Goldstein.  Mark Mattson, my cartography instructor at Temple GUS Department, did the maps.

Gerry Krieg gave me the book:  You are Here – Why We Can Find Our Way to the Moon, but Get Lost in the Mall, by Colin Ellard.

I also bought copies of the WPA Guide to Philadelphia and the WPA Guide to Pennsylvania.  Every Philadelphian needs to check out a copy of the WPA Guide to Philadelphia (at the library).

An old photo of Steve, Kate and Congresswoman Schwartz

I signed up for the League of American Bicyclists Annual Summit, which is March 9-11 in Washington DC. Fortunately, my Congresswoman, Allyson Schwartz, cares about bicycling an healthy communities, and she is very effective as a policy maker. I have really enjoyed serving on the Jenkintown Community Alliance Board with Julie Slavet who manages the Congresswoman’s local office.

The Bike Summit is a wonderful place to learn about national policies that affect us locally, and I encourage anyone who cares about bicycling to attend.  The early registration ends soon, so now is a good time to register.

If you want another cool experience, attend Velo-City 2010 in Copenhagen.  I went to the Velo-Mondial conference in Amsterdam in 2000, and it was incredible to be immersed in a bicycle friendly culture.