In addition to having had the honor of representing more than 100 injured or killed cyclists over the past 20 years or so, I have also been actively involved in the "politics of cycling." These political battles have increased in intensity recently and in this article I'm going to show you how YOU can become involved in "bike politics" on a National, State and Local level TODAY, within two minutes after reading this article!

This year I learned how other cities have implemented incredible bike plans, bike facilities and sat in with a group of lawyers who discussed the Kentucky Supreme Court case upholding a cyclist's right to use the roads as well as a Colorado cycling group's incredibly organized use of the internet to its advantage in an intense public relations battle with its State Highway Patrol. At the end of the day, all advocates were brought up to speed on the "hot button" national cycling issues in preparation for a day of lobbying.

Thursday is "Bike Day" on Capitol Hill. Meetings are scheduled with members of virtually every Senator's "transportation people" as well as House representatives. Our 300+ contingent of cycling advocate each wears a brightly colored cycling pin. Our eight member delegation from Ohio visited almost all of Ohio's representatives, meeting personally with several. We had excellent meetings with all and found our elected officials very receptive to our agenda. It's a very exciting day!

In March 2005, we hit Capitol Hill pushing the Transportation Bill. In August 2005, President Bush signed "SAFETEA-LU," a massive transportation bill that includes over FIVE BILLION dollars for cycling and a Safe Routes To Schools program we have been working on for years! In March 2006, we pushed for passage of a Bicycle Commuter Act that would amend the tax code to provide commuting fringe benefits for cyclists! That bill was introduced in May, 2006.

YOU can participate. Go to www.bikeleague.org. Read the stuff we're working on. Get email addresses for your local Senator and representative's. Send them a note urging them to support the bills! Better yet, Go to Washington with us next March. It's a great time to be there!

On 5/23/06, I rode my motorcycle to Columbus, Ohio and watched a most raucous day of political wrangling on the floor of the Ohio Senate. The GOP/DEM fights were partisan and intense, with the speaker actually ordering the microphone of one of the state senators turned OFF during debate! I was there to provide testimony to the Transportation Committee supporting passage of the "Bike Bill" which the Ohio Bike Federation & others have been pushing for quite a long time. Our 2:30 pm Conference Committee hearing didn't start until almost 7:00 pm Tuesday night due to the "politickin" going on!

When the Committee finally met, the chair, Senator Armbrustor, put our bill to the front of the agenda. We had been led to believe that this was a "shoo in" - and that the bill could be favorably voted on by the Committee that evening.

A few of us offered very brief testimony due to the lateness of the hour. Suddenly, things changed. The minority senators offered up a surprise amendment - a Mandatory Helmet Law! This took us by surprise. Fortunately, this was on issue on which I have done considerable research and when a question arose over the definition of the word "roadway" in the bill, I was able to provide that information on the spot as well as set forth arguments as to why such an amendment would be unwise. After some snarly debate, the amendment was killed by a partisan vote and the bill was unanimously adopted by the committee. As of this writing [8:00 am, 5/24] I can report that the bill was voted on by the entire Ohio Senate yesterday and passed there as well. Since the bill has already passed the Ohio House, it will now go to Governor Taft's desk for signature!

You can read about this important bill and the changes it implements to make life better for cyclists at www.ohiobike.org. The Ohio Bike Federation is also pushing for passage of another bill - SB 158. We are part of a coalition of cycling & motorcycling groups urging the state to pass this bill. The bill would increase penalties for motorists involved in "minor" traffic accidents relative to the injuries those "minor" crashes cause. YOU can get involved TODAY by emailing the Senators on the Transportation Committee and thanking them for supporting bicycling in Ohio. You can ask for their support on SB 158 as well! You can get information from the OBF website or go to the legislature's website which provides a very easy search program to find bills, YOUR representatives and Committee members.

As I sat down to write this last night, I opened the local "Forest Hills Journal" - a weekly community newspaper that serves my little niche of the county. I was very surprised to see the headline "Round Bottom Road Rough For Truckers, Bikes." The article went on to describe another raucous political session - this time an Anderson Township Trustees meeting where bike rides were chastised by a business owner.

Round Bottom Road is a mile or so from my house and is an extremely popular route for cyclists due to a lack of traffic, a country setting and nice long, rolling stretches. You don't see a lot of kids, mostly experienced cyclists riding for fitness or fun. However, Doug Evans, owner of Evans Landscaping, has his business on Round Bottom and every spring his huge dump trucks roll out, providing much of suburban Hamilton County with mulch, topsoil, gravel, boulders, sod and more. Mr. Evans decided to go to the Trustees meeting to complain about those pesky bikers. Mr. Evans' remarks were, at best, callous as he took the "This road ain't big enough for both of us" approach of a Texas gunslinger. He complained that "something" has to be done about these bikes on the road before some car or truck wipes out "not 2 or 3 but 10" bike riders. His key point seemed to be that HE and his business "paid taxes" and bike operators do not.

Instead of writing this article last night, I wrote a lengthy letter to the reporter, Liz Carey. I explained that yes, bicycle riders DO pay taxes - those of us who work for a living anyway. However, the roadways of the State of Ohio are open to ALL vehicles - cars, trucks, busses, bicycles, slow moving farm equipment, Amish buggies and more. The fabric that makes up "traffic" is very wide and brightly colored. I explained that cyclists have the legal right to ride, a right which was affirmed by yesterday's vote in the Ohio Senate! I explained that Ohio law requires his drivers to accommodate cyclists. I also stated that if cyclists were violating the law, riding more than two abreast or otherwise, they should be ticketed just as motorists should be ticketed for improper passing or other concerns.

In addition to sending this letter to Ms. Carey, I copied the Presidents of the Cincinnati Cycle Club and Queen City Wheels, I also copied members of the Ohio Bike Federation, with whom I serve on the Board. Finally, I copied the members of the Township's "Transportation Advisory Committee" which deals with promoting cycling in this area. This morning I sent a letter directly to Mr. Evans complaining of his comments, but offering to assist as a liason between him and the cycling community rather than play the Rhetoric Game in the papers. I advised him that he and his good will would LOSE any such game since cycling has such a strong grass roots appeal!

YOU can become involved in this or other local issues. Send a note supporting cycling to the paper or to your OWN paper! Keep the pressure on our elected officials. They work for YOU and need to know what YOU think is important!

In TWO minutes, YOU can become an aggressive, active and educated advocate for cycling at the national, state or local levels! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Crank up the computer and let's goooooooo!