Lest we think we were the first State Wide Advocacy group, David Irvine has sent along this item from his important papers drawer. It is a 1984 issue of "The Seatpost," the newsletter of the Nashville Wheelmen. It also contains the minutes of the Bicycle Federation of Tennessee. There has been at least one other attempt to revive this state wide cycling organization since these guys.
What caused these folks to vanish and what can we learn from them? We have e-mail, the internet, Webex, and cheap long distance. We seem to have more statewide involvement and more attention from the state. Our roads are definitely better for cycling Are these enough? Just like the poster in 1984, we need input from an active membership. Otherwise some advocate in 2020 will be scavenging Google Archives and find our bones. And they had the same pesky logo issue.
I'm optimistic. This time history is on our side.
Bruce
A large amount of deja vue and a lot of familiar names (strong advocates) are evident in these Posts. These organizations failed and from what I read it was not for the lack of desire. Borrowing again from the ABW Top Ten Tips. "It is critical that the Founders QUICKLY expand beyond the handful of those with the 'fire.' Leaders of BWT need to read the ABW Tips over and over, because here are the people who have made it happen sharing what needs to be done.
ReplyDelete