Harry Wray’s book, Pedal Power, discusses the broad range of folks who come together to promote bicycling. The WBWC organized a group read of that book over a year ago. That book, and my participation in a National Bike Summit in Wash. DC, onvinced me of the need for a stronger advocacy group in A2, because success in this effort will take a serious effort over many years. With the leadership in place and federal non-profit status, the WBWC is positioned to lead the effort to effect real change in the Ann Arbor area.

It would be nice if RAT changed their name/acronymn and mascot. The implication of a RAT is not a group I would ever want to associated with: I guess they are trying to be humorous, but it doesn’e resonate with me.

@ Joan– While I understand your desire to just get on your bike and go, and not have to have a group affiliation, it isn’t always that simple. I’m sure as a biker, you know that.

The Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition, WBWC, is made up of riders just like yourself who want to bike from point a to b (for pleasure, health, to make the planet a bit healthier, etc), but found that their journey wasn’t so easy. Unlike many European bike-friendly cities, we (Ann Arbor, Michigan, the US) doesn’t yet invest in bike facilities the way our European counterparts do. Just consider riding your bike to the Whole Foods on Washtenaw Avenue from downtown and it becomes obvious how many pieces of our system are broken. And, sadly, many drivers often don’t welcome bikers on the roads as legitimate users of the system, rather they squeeze us off the road or yell at us to get on the sidewalk. And, there are a host of other issues bikers run into on a daily basis.

So everyday people, tired of hoping for a more bike-friendly environment and grumbling about the obstacles, created groups like WBWC to do something productive and work for the changes (better education for cyclists and motorists, predictable enforcement, better facilities, increased funding for infrastructure, etc) that would allow us to jump on our bikes with the care-free worries of a European “cyclist.”