Ben,
I'm not sure how my comments can be made to include the mile logging -- which is totally voluntary and, I agree with Jayson, an excellent demonstration of cyclists' use of roadways and other cycling infrastructure in and around Gainesville. I greatly favor the miles challenge and thank Club President O'Mahoney for his encouragement and his leading by example.

Rob
________________________________________
From: Benjamin Smith [benjamin.smith@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 9:27 PM
To: Rob Robins; James Thompson; gccmail
Subject: Re: GCCMail: In Today's Gainesville Sun

Totally agree, Rob. That includes no more obsession with this silly mile logging. Let's do something worthwhile, shall we? How about fitting 400 more helmets to kids?

________________________________
From: Rob Robins <rhrobins@flmnh.ufl.edu>
To: James Thompson <jtexconsult@gmail.com>; gccmail <GCCMail@gccfla.org>
Cc: Pete Miner <pete.miner1@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, September 6, 2013 6:47 PM
Subject: RE: GCCMail: In Today's Gainesville Sun

James,
I find it ironic that you are able to see so clearly how the UPD's remarks hypothetically cost bike shops money, but in refusing to be apologetic for your own remarks, you fail to see how your "strident" advocacy runs a very high actual risk of costing the GCC membership.

Who are these individuals that have asked for "strident" advocacy? If they used this word surely they demonstrate even less political astuteness in their thinking than your letter did in levying ambiguous threats at all who are not "cyclists."

You cannot be made to change your views. But the club can be made to change its board.

Judging by the responses to your LTE thus far, it would appear that you are greatly out of touch with the wishes of your constituency. If I'm wrong about that, so be it. Carry on with "strident advocacy."

However, I think the vast majority of us would prefer to focus on the club's good and charitable works, riding our bikes, gently encouraging others to do so by good example, and civilly asking the community to share in the many benefits of improved bicycle infrastructure that such public works provide for not just cyclists, but for everyone.

Sincerely,

Rob
________________________________
From: James Thompson [jtexconsult@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 5:24 PM
To: gccmail
Cc: Pete Miner; Rob Robins
Subject: Re: GCCMail: In Today's Gainesville Sun

Club,

Jim:  the UPD's remarks cost local bike shops and our community thousands of dollars and likely hundreds of riders--they told people their bikes would get stolen so just go to Wal-mart to buy one.  They did so in public, so my response was public.  UPD apologized for the incident.  The officer attending understood the stridency of my response.

As to all the other comments, I get pushed by a lot of you to be more aggressive and our club has been chided for a lack of stridency in organizing our advocacy.  We have a thousand members.  I have written thousands of words over the last two years as your Advocacy Director, all available to the public.  I stand by my volunteer work and that of our Board Members in giving me the space to do my elected duty--represent you and organize you in and for the public good.

I appreciate all criticism, but be careful.  Some of you have actually joined a FB post begun by an anti-bike guy who infiltrated one of our club threads last week.

I can't apologize for a letter that I believe represents what our vocal advocates have encouraged me to do--be more strident.

What I will do is offer all of you a hand in crafting any letters you may want to write to support the 8th Ave campaign or any bike infrastructure.  I sent out a letter requesting such action last week.  What I'm seeing is a renewed interest in our advocacy that could be channeled into that campaign.  We are slowly losing our 4-3 majority on this project to public chatter against bikes.

 I'd love to see some more pro-bike stuff out there, as would our pro-bike Commissioners, even if they are a little rough or we don't always agree with each other's tone.

In Solidarity,

James Thompson
Advocacy Director

On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 10:59 AM, Carter,Michael L <mcarter@coe.ufl.edu<mailto:mcarter@coe.ufl.edu>> wrote:
While most of us follow the traffic laws, using hand signals, etc. there is those handful of cyclists who wear no helmuts, ride on the wrong side of the rode, etc.   These few do not represent the majority of the cycling community, unfortunately these are the ones motorists see and remember.   I have found the majority of motorists to be very courteous to cyclists, but there is also those that don’t follow the laws and elude GPD, e.g. watching the SUV driver in my neighborhood running through the stop sign because he’s on his cell and not paying attention to me having the right-away (people with cell’s stuck to their ear while driving is another pet peeve of mine).

Mike Carter
Office Assistant
College of Education/Business Office
P. O. Box 117041, Norman Hall Room 150
Phone:  352-273-4122
Fax:  352-392-7159
Email:  mcarter@coe.ufl.edu<mailto:mcarter@coe.ufl.edu>
[http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/53/57/full/741.gif]<http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=cleveland+indians+logo&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Uetfq88e31kfBM&tbnid=C8OGiu8MD2FsJM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=741&ei=qc9aUdGhPIzm8gSYnIGoAQ&bvm=bv.44442042,d.eWU&psig=AFQjCNFAtd8TuGwKKjRzpCr1hTJSSCqKMg&ust=1364992247953699>

From: gccmail-manager@simplelists.com<mailto:gccmail-manager@simplelists.com> [mailto:gccmail-manager@simplelists.com<mailto:gccmail-manager@simplelists.com>] On Behalf Of Pete Miner

Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 8:55 AM
To: Rob Robins
Cc: GCCMail; jtexconsult@gmail.com<mailto:jtexconsult@gmail.com>

Subject: Re: GCCMail: In Today's Gainesville Sun

No doubt! You just can't tell an entire city, "No more Mr. Nice Guy."

And by the way, always.....be nice.

On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 8:48 AM, Rob Robins <rhrobins@flmnh.ufl.edu<mailto:rhrobins@flmnh.ufl.edu>> wrote:
As a Gainesville Cycling Club member-in-good-standing, I would like to know if the GCC board approved today’s letter to the editor of The Gainesville Sun, wherein Advocacy Director of the GCC, James Thompson, writing as advocacy director of the GCC, made the following assertion:

“Cyclists are done playing nice in this community, where we have tolerated untruths and emotional appeals from the car-only crowd.”

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130906/OPINION02/130909804/1077/opinion?Title=Letters-to-the-Editor-for-Sept-6-2013

Purposefully antagonizing so-called “emotional” motorists with innuendo and implied threats is to serve what end?? I feel very strongly that this is a wholly inappropriate stance for the GCC to be taking.

Did the board approve this message? Assuming no – certain actions on the part of the board should follow. In my humble opinion, the first should be beseeching The Sun to run a statement authored by the full board, including Mr. Thompson, that condemns the above and makes clear our position on promoting cycling and improvements to bicycle infrastructure.

The second should be reminding Mr. Thompson, as I hope this letter does, that when he tags his LTE’s “Advocacy Director of the Gainesville Cycling Club” he speaks for all of us and should therefore actually speak with our representatives on the board prior to making new pronouncements.

Sincerely,

Rob Robins
Gainesville, FL

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--
Sales and Bike Fitting
Gator Cycle (352-373-3962)

Advocacy Director
Gainesville Cycling Club

Co-Founder
bikegainesville.org<http://bikegainesville.org/>
(re-launching April 1, 2013)

Emeritus
Querencia Community Bike Shop
(Denton, Texas)
________________________________
To unsubscribe from GCCMail, please go to http://gccfla.org/. Sign in to the Members Area, go to the "Me" page, "About Me" box, and click the Unsubscribe button in the Email section. There are also links in the headers of this message that you can use if you know how to access them.