Just got this letter from Lance Armstrong, which is a plug for League of
American Bicyclists:
Dear Fellow Cyclis,
When I ride the Tour de France, I benefit from police
escorts and roads closed to automobile traffic. But when I
train hundreds of miles a week at home, I face the same
difficulties riding on the road as you do.
Narrow roads and nonexistent shoulders, aggressive and
sometimes hostile motorists, lack of bike access to
bridges and transit -- these problems are enough to
frustrate any cyclist.
But like you, I am not willing to give up and throw away my
bike. Rather, I believe that we need to evaluate the
problems and work together to come up with good, practical
solutions that improve conditiions for cyclists and
encourage many more people to join us on bikes.
Fortunately, there is an organization dedicated to doing
this: the League of American Bicyclists. Day in and day out,
the League is working through advocacy and education to
build a truly bicycle-friendly America
Over 40,000 individual cyclists and 600 organizations have
already joined the League to help support its work for
cyclists. I urge you to do the same.
I am proud to be a member of the League of American
Bicyclists. I look at it as an investment in our future.
After all, the more that people are biking, the more
influence cyclists will have on improving conditions, and
the more likely that there will be other American Tour de
France champions.
Please read the enclosed letter from the League's Executive
Director about the great member benefits and join the
League today!
Thank you for supporting cycling.
Sincerly, Lance Armstrong
P.S. Join with me as a member of the League of American
Bicyclists and help build a bicycle-friendly
America. Thanks!
[letter attached]
Address is: League of American Bicyclists 1612 K Street, NW,
Suite 800 Washinton, DC 20006-2850
Now this outfit, in Washington DC, looks plainly like a
lobbying group, but I haven't heard their name anywhere. I
certainly agree with the content of the letter, and would
consider putting my cash into an organization that will help
do something about the crappy roads and such, but how much
can LoAB do to influence the local civil engineers who are
as responsible for those who control the purse strings?
Your thoughts are welcome.