Consider Biking Newsletter - December 2008: Year End Edition!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Consider Biking Newsletter December 31, 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue Year-End Giving 2008 Accomplishments 2009 Goals Greetings! As 2008 rolls to an end, Consider Biking is proud to report on incredible successes in the promotion and advocacy for bicycling. See a few details below. 2008 has been a time of explosive growth for Consider Biking (formally known as COBAC) We'd like to thank you for signing up for our newsletter list at one of our events or display booths this summer, or by virtue of registering on the Consider Biking website, or through past involvement with COBAC. The momentum we're generating as a trusted resource for objective information, has drawn many to our cause of making Central Ohio more friendly for bicyclists.

Make a Year-end Gift today! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We hope you'll acknowledge our success, by making a year-end gift today! (And get that final tax deduction for 2008.) You can make a donation in three ways: 1) Send a check (payable "Consider Biking") to our physical address - P.O. Box 937, Worthington, OH 43085. (Hint - If you date your check Dec. 31st, you'll be eligible for 2008 tax benefits.) 2) Go to www.paypal.com and choose "send money" and "send money online." Next, enter the e-mail address jeff@considerbiking.org and choose an amount and the "services/other" option. Your donation will go directly to the Consider Biking business account. 3) Or, if you'd like to call Consider Biking Executive Director, Jeff Stephens, and make your donation via the phone, his number is 614-579-1127. What Have We Accomplished in 2008? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We represented Ohio cyclists at the League of American Bicyclists' Washington D.C. Summit and lobby days in March. We advocated face-to-face with four Ohio Congressmen for the support of the Bicycle Commuter Act which passed into law this October! We helped coordinate Bike to Work Week activities in May. Columbus Mayor Coleman unveiled the long-awaited Bicentennial Bike Plan at our kick-off event and this incubated the extraordinary media exposure we generated regarding all facets of cycling for the rest of the year. Consider Biking organized the 5th annual Ride of Silence, which was reported to be the largest of over 250+ such rides in the United States! We helped attract Bicycling Magazine's "Biketown" project to Columbus which provided bicycles for thirty deserving individuals, and gained the validation as one of the "Cycling Cities of the Future" by the cycling industry's leading voice. We provided consultation and support for Columbus' mandatory childhood helmet law which passed into legislation in July. We provided leadership and grassroots feedback from everyday cyclists, to the enhancement of the Columbus Traffic Code as it relates to bicycling. The resultant legislation that passed on December 15th, is both a great enhancement to operation standards, but contains "Complete Streets" language which will ensure our roads are developed with accommodation for cyclists! This is one of the country's most progressive cycling laws, and is the culmination of years of our work! We also had a presence at countless events, provided educational workshops, distributed thousands of pieces of educational materials, and championed the efforts of great advocates like Charlie Pace & Maryellen O'Shaughnessy (pictured above) and the everyday cyclists that had the courage to use a bicycle instead of a car for some of their transportation needs. Finally, on the operational side, through the support of Columbus Outdoor Pursuits, we hired a full-time staff member in March. We built a 14 member Board of Directors, that is representative of all our community's cycling interests, and bring years of passion and experience in the cycling industry and are committed to developing the resources that our organization is deserving of! We have finally laid the foundation to grow Consider Biking into a self-sustaining organization that will vault Central Ohio into a world-class region for bicycling accommodation. What's Ahead for 2009? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Consider Biking will explode in the mainstream consciousness this coming year! We will finalize a strategic plan of action in the coming month, and provide a glimpse of our ambitious goals soon. In the meantime, we'll tease you with a few major goals that are well underway. Consider Biking has provided leadership to the development of a "bike usability" map for metro Columbus (Franklin County). This is long overdue, and we are confident you'll see a map by May 2009. We'll again provide significant leadership to Bike Month and Bike to Work Week activities in May 2009. We'll continue our work with Columbus to implement the Bicentennial Bikeways Plan. Look for our involvement with a High Street Share the Road Campaign, in addition to other initiatives. You'll also see Consider Biking as a primary partner with Mayor Coleman and the Institute for Active Living in the Tour of Columbus event. We'll continue to promote all events that champion bicycling. Look for our support of Peletonia, the massive fundraising event to support the James Cancer Hospital. And, we'll launch a new website very soon. We'll realize our vision to be the most comprehensive resource for all matters related to cycling in our region. We'll be more than a forum to voice your opinion; rather a robust compilation of all the cycling information, news, events, and opinions, in a user-friendly format. Stay tuned.....2009 will be great for bicycling!

Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Executive Director, Jeff Stephens - jeff@considerbiking.org 614-579-1127 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

People, not speed.