Cyclists came from all over Ontario to Ottawa this past weekend to take part in Velo Ontario's very successful first conference, BringingBicyclistsTogether.
The conference on Saturday Ocober 5 started shortly after 8 AM with registration, fresh coffee and muffins, and presentations by two people whose work has and is having truly province-wide impact: David Hunt, Velo Ontario's project coordinator for the Provincial Cycling Route Network (PCRN) talked about the plans for an 8000+ km network of cycling routes (mostly on-road) throughout the province. For the past several years, David and his team have been setting the groundwork for the network -- defining and refining routes, talking to local cities and towns, and working with the provincial Ministry of Transportation. Much more work needs to be done before we have a full network, but there's lots of opportunities now. Jean Francois Pronovost of Vélo Québec talked about the extensive impact his organization has had on cycling in Québec since it started in 1967. In an extremely inspiring and energizing presentation, he talked about -- le Tour de L'Ile, the largest one-day tour in North America (40,000 participants) -- La Route Verte, the 3000 km+ Quebec cycling network that will open in 2005 -- Vélo Québec's thousands of members -- its work in publishing and developing cycling facility standards -- and much more Pronovost said Vélo Québec's message and work was for all cyclists, not just the elite. They wanted to ensure that cycling became part of everyday life and culture in their province, and that meant that it was important to reach all people who wanted to cycle. Participants then enjoyed the first of three refreshment breaks while informally networking. Throughout the day, participants listened to engaging speakers on topics that included: * new ways to deliver cycling education * better ways to build roads and highways for cyclists (with great slides!) * barriers to more women commuting by bicycle * techniques and hints for cool weather cycling * interactions between cyclists and air quality * making politicians and staff listen to cyclists * Organizing Bike Weeks and other promotional events Velo Ontario will post summaries of the presentations on our website as they become available. The day wrapped up with a review of Velo Ontario's objectives and an invitation for all to attend the first general membership meeting, in Toronto in January 2003. Watch our list and VeloOntario.ca website for details. Here's the conference volunteer organizing team, many of them local, that made it happen: Jennifer Allen - food and refreshments, logistics Steve Beiko - program development Richard Briggs - audio/visual support, photography Issie Chackowicz - program development, registration, encouragement Brett Delmage - concept development, signage, badges, opening plenary Alayne McGregor - registration, billeting, promotion, media Karl Mills - Ottawa Cycling Advisory Committee rep. and logistics Lisa Moffatt - sustainable lunch Martyn Olenick - program development, closing plenary Melanie Ransom - billeting Michael Richardson - Friday night social Ernest Ruppenthal - finances John Stevenson - Citizens for Safe Cycling rep., logistics, Sunday ride Will Wallace - advisor The conference could also not have happened without our sponsors and suppliers: Citizens for Safe Cycling - promotion Councillor Rainer Bloess (Innes Ward), City of Ottawa - refreshments Great Canadian Bagel, Second Cup, The Table - catering Ottawa Cycling Advisory Committee - City Hall sponsor Richard Mineault, J-F - City of Ottawa rooms and equipment Rosemary Nelson - City of Ottawa Cycling Advisory Committee Coordinator Vélo Québec And our Billeters: Ian! and Jan Allen Richard Briggs and Carole Sauve Greg Furlong Alayne McGregor Ron McKinnon Stella Val as well as the many others who offered and who were on standby for additional needs And thanks also to our workshop speakers: David Hunt: provincial cycling route network Steve Beiko, Graydon Patterson: cool weather cycling Gosse van Oosten, Barb Wentworth, Jennifer Allen: Bike Weeks Lisa Moffatt: Barriers to women cycling Alayne McGregor, David Jeanes (Transport 2000): how to talk to politicians and staff Martyn Olenick, John van der Mark: air quality John van der Mark, Norma Moores: cycling master plans and facilities Steve Beiko, Issie Chackowicz: cycling education Finally, a BIG thanks to everyone who made the conference a success by attending. Ontario is a big province and some participants travelled up to 12 hours (one way) to attend. BringingBicyclistsTogether was a success because of your enthusiasm and effort to be a part of it. We are planning for this conference to be an annual event. Watch for more exciting news about Velo Ontario in the months ahead, as we start to bring more and better cycling to Ontario with your involvement. We will also be posting conference photos to our website in the next two weeks. We'll let you know on this list when they are up for viewing. tailwinds, Brett Delmage interim president, Velo Ontario Cycling Alliance http://VeloOntario.ca ------------------------------------------------- For list help, please send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (613) 230-1064 Website: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------- ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================