A Letter Regarding our Theme — Equity in Motion

I’m excited you’re coming to the California Bicycle Summit. Focused on our summit’s theme, Equity in Motion, this is the fifth in our series of updates to help you prepare for the summit.

Equity is a defining issue of our time. Despite growing wealth for some of us Californians, most of us struggle to meet daily needs. The gap between the rich and the poor widens. Climate change threatens to impoverish more people. The barriers of racism and sexism are agonizingly persistent.

Fortunately, people across the state are facing these inequities and organizing to overcome them. Bicycling can play a big role but it will require an alliance across boundaries of class, race, and gender. Our summit is about building those alliances. We’ve built opportunities to do so into every session and we address it most plenary speeches. A united bicycle advocacy movement in California will be hard to stop.

We will have some difficult conversations. We will be challenged. We will make mistakes.

I’ve made my share, unfortunately. I hate it when I “say the wrong thing” because it portrays me incorrectly and unfairly or worse, reveals some ignorance or bigotry that I haven’t recognized yet. So I’ve learned to listen more than talk, and to speak up thoughtfully. I encourage my white male colleagues to do the same! I’ve learned a great deal about being an ally to folks with a different life experience than my own and it’s made me a better bike advocate.

If we are successful at this summit, we will all come out better leaders and better bike advocates. It’s going to be a great event. Thanks for signing up, and I look forward to working with you in San Diego.