I feel even giddier now than I did when I returned home from the National Bike Summit .... Wasn't sure that was possible but, yes, it is.
I just spent 5 days riding 550 miles from Kansas City to Chicago with PeopleforBikes and Tim Johnson. We wanted to raise $100,000 on this ride (and we did!), and more importantly, we set out to spread the bike love with the midwest, while enjoying some of the biking infrastructure already in place.
Photo by Jamie Kripke (go here for his entire ROC album).
I really can't describe all the magic that unfolded this week, the heart-bursting love and excitement we all experienced and felt towards cycling, the group evolution from day 1 to day 5, the ideas that were exchanged, the possibilities, the potential we can all feel just right there, waiting .... the anticipation of what's to come, in cycling, in the US... it's just so exciting.
I will add more to this blog post as I continue to digest all that we saw, experienced, brainstormed, and felt... but for now I will share with you a few blog posts, photos and interviews from other riders:
Aren’t We All People for Bikes?
Tim Johnson, Why Do You Ride Bikes?
A Work in Progress by Richard Fries
https://tagboard.com/rideonchicago/174151
http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2014/06/00784_06-02PFB_122012.shtml
I leave you with this Richard Fries email excerpt -he sent this to us this morning:
"We are not just working for a share of the American road; we are working to get a share of the American mind. When great athletes, great executives, great journalists, and great advocates get together - all of us on bikes - amazing things happen."
My photos from the trip: