Cycling, Summit has come a long way

Dinner with the Oregon contingent

The best part of the trip so far came last night.

While waiting for our table outside the historic Old Ebbit Grill, the host came out and said,

“Bricker (as in Scott from the BTA), party of 25.”

Yes, there are 25 of us here from Oregon.

Once we got inside, Jerry Norquist — who I think has attended every National Bike Summit held — put everything into perspective. He said seven years ago, there were only three people from Oregon at the Summit.

That’s progress. And it mirrors the progress of cycling in general as a force in Washington DC. You can feel the energy and optimism here.

Last night’s First-timers Orientation was packed. Eager throngs learned the tips and tricks of effective DC advocacy.

Now we’re just about a half-hour from the opening ceremonies, where League Director Andy Clarke will speak. Then, we will break out into various seminars and workshops. I’ll be attending one called, “Shifting Gears on Climate Change.”

In other news, Delta has still not delivered my bag. Hopefully it shows up soon. It’s been almost 24 hours so I’m trying to stay optimistic. It has all my clothes, my helmet, toiletries, and some other fun stuff.

One last thing before I log off.

Linda and Larry Black
on their tikits

On the way home from dinner last night, I ran into Linda and Larry Black, owners of Mt. Airy Bikes in College Park Maryland. I chased them down because they were both aboard Bike Friday tikits. It was great, we had a little tikit powwow right then and there.

OK, make sure to check all the recent photos and stay tuned for more (oh, and think good thoughts that my bag shows up soon)…I’d love to have a shave and change my clothes.