West Virginia Cycling Symposium April 17, 2009

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WV Cycling Symposium

April 17 - 18, 2009 - Charleston, WV
Organize, Develop and Implement!


Friday, April 17, 6 - 9:30 pm Plenary & Dinner
Location: Governor's Mansion, advanced registration required for security purposes


Welcome and Introductions - Dave Pray, President and Founder, WV Cycling Foundation

Introduction to the League of American Bicyclists - Andy Clarke, Executive Director, LAB

WV Department of Transportation's commitment to bicycling - Paul A. Mattox, Jr..Secretary, WV Department of Transportation


Eco-tourism, West Virginia and bicycling's role - waiting for speaker confirmation










Dave Pray
President, WV Cycling Foundation
Andy Clarke
Executive Director, League of American Bicyclists

Paul A. Mattox, Jr.
Secretary,
WV Department of Transportation

Invitation extended. Waiting for confirmation

Saturday, April 18, 9 am - 2 pm Presentations and working groups
Location: Charleston Civic Center
9 - 10 am - Presentations

State of the State of bicycling in West Virginia

Kimberly Broughton
Creative Crosswalks
Symposium coordinator

Phenomenal success stories at the state level

Natalie Cappicio-Britt
Palmetto Bicyclist, South Carolina
invitation issued, waiting for confirmation

Organizing winning campaigns & grassroots efforts

Jeff Miller, Executive Director
Alliance for biking and walking (formerly Thunderhead Alliance)


10 am - Noon Break out sessions - Pick a topic, listen, roll up your sleeves and get busy!


Session 1 - Creating better on-road bicycling through mountain biking's success. How does WV turn the successes of mountain biking into more bike friendly communities, policies and collaborative work between groups? Highlighting recent ride to the ride initiatives showing success between road and off road riders towards a common goal.
Track moderator - JR Petsko, Executive Director, WV Mountain Bike Assoication
Presenter: Jeff Peel, Bicycle Friendly Community Program Specialist, League of American Bicyclist. Co-author of Linking Downtown to Dirt in recent issue of DirtRag. His presentation will be along those lines.

Session 2 - Building relationships with state legislators and state DOT for better policies and legislations and the role of citizens input and advocacy.
Learning from South Carolina's example and Thunderhead's Winning Campaign strategy.

Track moderator - Dennis Strawn, Advocacy Coordinator Mountain State Wheelers Bicycle Club
Presenter: Andy Clarke, Executive Director, League of American Bicyclists
Presenter: Jeff Miller, Executive Director, Alliance for biking and walking (formerly Thunderhead)

Session 3 - Economic impact of bicycling
Promoting bike trails and tours to have impact on the economy in a bigger way! Learn about the WV bicycling mapping project and share your work with others!

Track moderator - Dave Pray, Founder and Executive Director, WV Cycling Foundation, owners of the event Cheat Mountain Challenge Century rides at Snowshoe Mountain

Presenter: Kathleen Panek, Executive Director os WV Rails-to-Trails Council, Owner/Host of Gillum House Bed & Breakfast. Topic: Bikes to Bucks - Want to get the politicians behind your trail efforts? How do you convince people that a trail should be built/maintained? It is all in the Bucks. Hear examples of what trails did in Illinois and what trails have done in West Virginia.


Session 4 - Education, Safe Routes to Schools and youth programs
Learn the national vision and help develop the next step in WV towards better education. Learn about the helmet safety program being developed and share your news and progress!


Track Moderator - Kim Broughton, Coordinator, Mid-Ohio Valley Bicycle Council; PARK (my neighborhood, my park) Program Founder and Manager; Cheat Mountain Challenge Century Rides at Snowshoe Event Director; International Mountain Bike Association Mid-Atlantic Regional Leadership Council


Presenter: Bill Nesper, Director, Bike Friendly Community Program, League of American Bicyclists

Presenter: Barry Backus: AmeriCorps Vista assigned to PARK project in Parkersburg. Topic: Helmet safetly education program under development.


Noon - 1 pm Working lunch - Jeff Miller, Thunderhead Alliance - Forming next steps


1 - 1:45 pm - Wrap up!


2 pm - Ride to the capital and Pedestrian parade from the capital to the riders and back! Open to all, whether you attend the symposium or not! Longer ride planned afterwards for those interested.

The WV Cycling Symposium is organized by a volunteer steering committee consisting of cycling advocates across WV, and staff from the League of American Bicyclists and The Alliance for Biking and Walking.


Registration
You can register online by going to http://www.eventbrite.com/event/268525166 or you can mail a check to the West Virginia Cycling Foundation, PO Box 1933, Charleston, WV 25237.
Just a note about the costs. A symposium of this magnitude should cost a lot more. The cost alone of the National speakers presenting would cost more than what the entire event has ended up costing. It is only because of funding from Trek, SRAM, and Bikes Belong that the speakers costs are covered. Please thank these groups for helping!
Sponsors and Friends
Are you interested in being a bigger part of the event? We are accepting sponsors and have many exciting opportunities. Send me an email if you would like to know more. You can reach me, Kim Broughton, by emailing me at kimberlyjoshi@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks to the sponsor and friends who are making this possible.

E. Gail Pitchford Momentum Magazine
Gillum House Bed & Breakfast
Bicentennial Inn and the 88 Restaurant




Organized by A steering committee of cycling advocates
A group of cyclists pulling together to improve cycling in WV.

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Ticket Info:  

• WV Cycling Symposium - April 17 - 18, 2009 - Friday and Saturday, $61.50
• WV Cycling Symposium - April 17, 2009 - Friday only - Governor's Mansion, $25.99
• WV Cycling Symposium - April 18, 2009 - Saturday only - Charleston Civic Center, $35.99

Official Website: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/268525166/upcoming