On Monday and Tuesday Planet Bike attended the 2009 Wisconsin Bike Summit here in Madison. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, in partnership with Planet Bike, Trek, Saris and Cannondale Sports Group, organized the Summit. Over 450 people came from across the state to lobby our state legislature. To my knowledge, this is the largest state bike lobbying effort ever.

We asked the legislature for three things:
1) “Anti-Dooring” legislation that requires car occupants to look for cyclists and other traffic before opening a door into a bike or car lane.

2) Adopt a state-wide Complete Streets policy.

3) Increase use of federal transportation $ spent on bikes and pedestrians from 0.4% to 3%; and use 1% of state fuel tax revenue on bicycle and pedestrian projects.

The great news is that the Anti-Dooring legislation passed both houses unanimously before the end of the day. We had lots of great meetings with our representatives. It’s an honor to walk the halls of the Capitol and practice democracy. The democratic process works best when a bunch of ordinary people put their voices together to be heard. This is what makes America such a great place.

Take a look at James’ Summit photos. Below is a picture of the Planet Bike crew just before we rode on the Capitol. (from left to right: James, Dave, Heath, Jay, Chris, Mark, Kristin, Jeff).