One Street News
February 2009
Vol. 2, Issue 2
1. One Street is on Facebook
2. Resources Highlights - Exaggerated Perception of Cycle Helmets
3. Hot Topics - Critical Mass
4. Supporter Spotlight - New Belgium Brewing Company
by Sue Knaup, Executive Director
I have resisted the call to Facebook since last year and, until a few weeks ago, was quite proud of my ability to poo poo it. But I finally caved after receiving many invitations from friends and then an adamant message from Kenneth Walker of the Urban Kansas City Community of Cyclists who stated quite bluntly that joining Facebook was one of the best things he’s done for his organization.
If any of you are considering jumping into Facebook, here are a few things I’ve learned from the experience:
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It’s incredibly easy to sign up at: www.Facebook.com – just name and email required.
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Even if you are doing this for your organization, you have to start by creating your own personal page. Then, from your profile page, go to “Pages” and create a page for your organization. People can then become fans of your organization from that page.
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You can choose to only show your info to people who become your “friend,” including your email. This is recommended, because if you spend a bit of time each week there, you’ll connect with lots of friends and indirectly, all of their friends. This then avoids showing your contact info to spammers or worse.
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It’s easy to invite a whole list of folks to become your “friend,” including your membership list. Facebook offers easy-to-use tools or you can just drop a list of emails into the invitation box. These invitations are very polite and just a click of a button for folks who want to connect with you and your organization.
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It’s really fun! You will find and quickly connect with people you haven’t connected with for years and with very little time investment.
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You can also create and join “Groups” which is another Facebook tool for connecting like-minded folks.
I’m still learning about all the tools and ways to connect with folks such as the difference between pages and groups, but I’d say my most important discovery so far is how easy it is to use and learn as I go. If you’re looking for an efficient and fun way to get your organization’s name and news in front of lots of interested people, I highly recommend it.
Resources Highlights – Velo-city Newsletter
This month’s Velo-city newsletter offers a taste of the inspirations we’ll see during the field trips at the conference that visit the bicycle-friendly Belgian cities of Ghent and Liège:
http://www.velo-city2009.com/assets/files/3Newsletter-VC09-en.pdf . And make sure to sign up for the conference and start planning your trip. You’ll find all the conference info here.
This month’s Hot Topic actually began here in Prescott with a recent push to restart critical mass rides, though they caused major setbacks for bicycle advocacy efforts here in the early 2000s. For those not familiar with critical mass, it began in San Francisco in the early 1990s as a means of showing car drivers that bicyclists also deserve space on the roadways. The trouble is, instructions for critical mass found in videos, flyers and all over the web, guide riders to gather the last Friday of each month at rush hour, riding in such a way as to totally obstruct traffic at a particularly disruptive day and time.
Complimenting some heated yet inspiring email and group discussions locally, we reached out to supporters and listservs in other parts of the world to tap into current thoughts on this controversial ride. It seems critical mass continues strong in large cities in the U.S. and Europe with reactions ranging from disdain to tolerance. Some folks who don’t particularly support the ride can’t resist offering positive anecdotes similar to the good cop, bad cop concept because critical mass comes off as so disruptive and disrespectful of drivers it makes the local bicycle advocacy organization look good. Others point to significant increases in bike culture in their cities because of the ride.
While we must admit that these results are positive at face value, we simply can’t get past the fact that critical mass is based on aggressive civil disobedience and has caused harm here and perhaps elsewhere. In a big city, such a gathering can occur without much damage to bicycle advocacy efforts, though some in New York City will claim otherwise after their police turned against all bicyclists in response to a critical mass ride. And, if you search YouTube for critical mass you’ll find several horrific incidents of drivers succumbing to their outrage at the ride to deliberately run over riders and their bikes.
In the positive messages about critical mass, there is a common thread that points to building bike culture and creating a riding environment where even inexperienced riders feel safe. But this leaves us with this question, so far unanswered: Why does the development of bike culture and the organizing of supportive community rides have to rely of aggressive civil disobedience?
If you have thoughts on this Hot Topic, please email them to sue{at}onestreet.org.
Supporter Spotlight – New Belgium Brewing Company
The New Belgium Brewing Company stepped up for One Street’s Social Bike Business program in a big way earlier this year when they approved a grant to fund the initial planning costs for the Los Angeles pilot of this program with our wonderful partner, C.I.C.L.E. Because of their support of this program, leaders at C.I.C.L.E. are charging ahead with outreach to local partners, seeking out a location for the Bicycle Community Center in Northeast Los Angeles and discussing next funding proposals with new funders. Meanwhile, here at One Street, we are developing the multiple module curricula for job training that will incorporate C.I.C.L.E.’s proven bicycle education courses as well as bicycle repair, bike shop management and customer service. These modules will be offered individually for folks seeking specific job skills or as a package for certification of social bike shop owners. We are also connecting with partners for the social bike design and manufacture that will take place at the Center.
None of this exciting progress would have been possible without New Belgium’s support. Take the time to visit their web site and you’ll find that they are no strangers to supporting innovative bicycling initiatives. Any leader of a bicycle advocacy organization who has reached beyond the bicycle industry for funding will know how extraordinary this proud support of bicycling is for a company that does not directly benefit from bicycling. So, as that thirst for a tasty brew settles in, think of New Belgium Brewing Company and know that by choosing their beer you are also supporting the increase of bicycling.
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