Bicycle friendly areas do not spontaneously appear. They are a result of the hard work of advocates at the local and, yes, national level. We are working hard to support communities in their efforts to encourage bicycling by providing a blue print for bicycle friendly policies speak out against threats to bicyclists’ rights.

I think many people would sympathize with your low regard for politics. The word itself is associated with deal-making, self-promotion, and sometimes outright corruption. But each of us would be remiss if we also ignored the POLICIES that result from the political process. Policies that impact each of the statistics mentioned in the report discussed above, and policies that determine if your New England community remains bicycle friendly. Since the beginning, when it was at the forefront of the good roads movement, the League has advocated for policies that support bicycling.

That’s the good news for you. Your membership helps us keep up that work, and lets you ignore it, if that’s what you choose — however, I’d still encourage you to reply to advocacy alerts when the matter is of interest to you.

Finally, I take exception to claim that our emphasis is not on fun. I often quote a friend of mine who is a daily rider and committed environmentalist. He says that you can tell him all of the reasons to ride his bike — to lose weight, to reduce carbon emissions, to ease congestion, to save money — but he wouldn’t do it if, every time he hopped on his bike, he didn’t feel like a kid again. No one should be deprived of that feeling. That’s why I follow all of the relevant policy debates and that’s why we want to help make this county more bicycle friendly.

I was a proud member of the LAW in the late seventies and eighties, when there were affiliated clubs, sponsored rides, patches for accomplished riders and when the emphasis was on FUN and community.

That doesn’t seem to be the case now.

So tell me, why should I rejoin the new LAB?

Ball’s in your court.