Business impact of bicycling dominates Capitol Hill meetings
‘Bikes mean business’ is the official theme of this year’s National Bike Summit; but that idea hardly needs any help in being put front and center. The economic impact of bicycling has become a mature topic that can now be backed up with statistics, studies, local success stories, and much more. For the Oregon advocacy team that made their way through the halls of Congress today to spread this message, bikes mean business was a natural and easy pitch to make.
At the first meeting of the day at Senator Ron Wyden’s office, Oregon bike advocates delivered the business message from several different angles. Wyden’s Legislative Assistant Alex Hackbarth (Wyden was unable to make the meeting and it’s common knowledge here on Capitol Hill that LA’s (as they’re known) are often more important to persuade than their bosses) set the tone for the meeting when she responded to the introduction of Rapha’s Chris Distefano by saying, “Oh yes, I’m intimately familiar with Rapha.” (We were all left wondering what exactly that meant.)
“When it comes to creating jobs, we are right there at the forefront.”
— Diane Chalmers, VP of operations for Chris King Precision Components
