Women's Bike Forum meeting

Well, I went to that Women's Bike Forum last night. What an inspiring collection of women! As a group it's still in the process of defining itself, but one thing we all had in common was that we want more women on bikes. Why? Because women are the ones least represented on the bike lanes, and the more women that are out there, the more bikes that are out there. We need those numbers on the road in order to gain traffic planning clout. Plus women are more safety oriented, so if a higher percentage of the bike population is women, the more the bike culture will go the direction of safe, practical riding, rather than the direction of loony-tunes testosterone-driven types in spandex superhero outfits and their hair on fire whose goal is to get across town as quickly as possible no matter how many heart attacks they cause. Call me sexist, but this is what I see. Really. I invite you to disagree, but expect me to argue back with evidence.

I'm sorry to say that my camera batteries failed me all at once last night, even my extras, so I have no photos. But Jonathan Maus of www.bikeportland.org was there taking zillions of pictures and scribbling away in his tiny notebook -- after introducing himself politely and apologizing for not being a woman. We were of course thrilled to have him there making news of our meeting. Don't know when he'll post on it, but probably soon. (No pressure, JM!)

Women's Bike Forum

For today, just a quick announcement, and then I gotta go. I'm going to the gym early today so I'll have time to go to the Women's Bike Forum tonight. In case you're interested, it's at 6:30 at the old Kennedy School. (It's not a school any more, it's that McMenamin's place on NE 33rd.) You can buy dinner in the restaurant part and eat it at the meeting.

My friend Ginger told me it was really inspirational for women who are hesitant about taking on the biking life -- which would not be me. But I'm hoping to take Lindi with me, and that she'll be influenced in that direction. She says her only problem is that she's afraid of cars. I don't know if they'll be able to fix that. (Hmm.... Does it need fixing? I thought fear of cars was a sign of mental health.)

Anyway it sounds interesting and it's about bikes so I'm going. I'll report back tomorrow.

If you go there, look for me. I'll be the one eating a delicious McMenamin's hamburger.