Excellent letter by the way...I may also recommend putting the bikemorgantown URL, invite people to a bike board meeting, and invite people for any group rides. Is there a place to search for upcoming TS101 classes, too?

Also, have people LOOK for bike commuters (the saddlebags give it away). We're definitely out there. True, our bike commuter rate in Morgantown is ~0.4% according to 2014, 5-year, Census/American Community Survey data (national average is 0.6%)..it's only 0.1% in the state of WV, also 0.4% in Charleston. 

 

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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From: Drew Gatlin <johngatlin@gmail.com>
To: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl@gmail.com>
Cc: Bicycle Board <bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 8:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Bikeboard] March 9th DA Editorial: "Becoming bicycle-friendly in W. Va."

To all --

I want to extend my deepest thanks to Brian, Jeff, Christina, Jake, Traci, and Frank for their responses and substantial edits to my original draft. I couldn't have hoped for a better response to such an immediate request.

Please see the attached, revised draft. I cut it down about 100 words (I was aiming for 300 but called and was informed that they welcome up to 500 word letters) and expanded my list of the projects we have accomplished for cycling in Morgantown.

If you get a chance to read it over in the next couple hours I will likely send it to them this evening at 10pm.

Thanks again for your response!

Drew

On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 7:25 PM, Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl@gmail.com> wrote:

Maybe you can use the attached seal?

On Mar 9, 2016, at 12:10 PM, Drew Gatlin <johngatlin@gmail.com> wrote:

All,

I have drafted a response from my perspective and as a representative of the board. Please see it attached and, if you could, read it over and send me any suggestions or edits. It's a bit long (~565 words) so I'm sure it could be cut down substantially. Does this accurately represent your feelings? If no one objects, I would like to submit this letter to the editor within the next day or two as to keep relevancy in the news cycle.

Thanks for your time!

On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 9:48 AM, Drew Gatlin <johngatlin@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all,

Interesting editorial in the daily today: http://www.thedaonline.com/opinion/article_d832f04a-e5b5-11e5-af31-3be9088e355d.html

"It’s almost impossible to ride a bicycle in Morgantown for reasons other than exercise. Choosing to walk is often faster and less taxing on one’s body than attempting to pedal uphill or navigate through dangerous streets and intersections. Though Morgantown may be the exception, other cities in West Virginia are adopting bike-friendly policies in order to promote healthier lifestyles and transportation alternatives."

I'd like to encourage anyone on our board to read and respond to this editorial as a letter to the editor. I would be interested in hearing any opinions you all would have regarding whether we should respond as the bike board in unison. 

This is a good opportunity for us to educate the university system on the realities of cycling in Morgantown. It's interesting: seems almost as if they wrote this specifically to provoke a response from us.

Ride safe,

Drew

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