A Great AGM on Saltspring

A great AGM and weekend on Saltspring. Thanks to John Rowlandson, new president Brenda Guiled and all the members of Island Pathways for being such fantastic hosts.

Photo - J. Rowlandson

Welcome to all the new directors Rob Bernhardt, Kevin Chan, Rand Chatterjee, Arne Elias, David Hay, Richard Littlemore, Joshua Prowse, Sam Stephens, Ken Wuschke and welcome back to the returning directors Jim Alix, Jack Becker, Colin Brander, Brian Collier, Rhiannon Chernencoff, Arno Schortinghuis, Ed Schum and Peter Stary.

As the new BCCC president, I am excited that we have such a talented board with a diverse range of experiences. A special thanks to outgoing president Jack Becker for his tremendous contributions to the BCCC and cycling in the province. He is staying on the board as Past President and will be very busy over the next few months in his role as Conference Director of Velo-city Global 2012 Vancouver.

Thanks also to Ken Wuschke for standing for nomination as president. I believe this is the first time we have had an actually election, an important milestone for the BCCC. Ken spoke passionately of the need to ensure that the BCCC effectively represents cyclists throughout the province and provides local cycling groups and chapters with the support they need to be successful.  I look forward to working with Ken and other directors on making the BCCC BCCC a strong province-wide organization.

Thank you to the former directors who have stepped down including Rob Rao, who did a great job as Vice President; Sue Vince; Joe Goodwill and Peter Kortegast.

European Cyclists' Federation Secretary General Dr. Bernhard Ensink, spoke to the goal of the ECF to help facilitate the creation of a world cycling organization and suggested that the BCCC should join the ECF and participate in these discussions. The board will consider putting in an application at an upcoming board meeting.

The AGM finished off with discussions on provincial cycling safety and tourism strategies, two important BCCC initiatives for the coming year.

Island Pathways AGM

Salish Sea Bicycle Circuit

At the Island Pathways AGM on Saturday, it was quite inspiring to hear more about all the great initiatives Island Pathways are working on including Velo Villagehttp://velo-village2012.blogspot.com/, Partners Creating Pathways, the Bicycle Working Group, Helmets for Life, the Historical Bike Map, Bicycle Racks at Island businesses and the Salish Sea Bicycle Circuit.

Ride to Ruckle

The weather was nice and sunny on Sunday morning for the ride to Ruckle Park. The bicycles, however, were not so cooperative with cable repairs and my slow leak quickly becoming too fast to ignore. I ended up having to turn the tire inside out in the end to find the little bit of glass that was the culprit. Still, Saltspring is a beautiful place to ride and it was nice to finally get the leak fixed.

Moving Forward
In the coming weeks, we will be planning our strategies for the following year. Let us know what your ideas are for improving cycling in BC. While we do have a large and talented board, there is much work to be done to take advantage of all the opportunities to improve cycling in BC. These opportunities are only limited by the amount of effort we put it so if you would like to help out, please contact us.

European Cyclists' Federation Secretary-General to Attend BCCC AGM

We are excited to announce that European Cyclists' Federation Secretary General Dr. Bernhard Ensink will be attending the BCCC Cycling Coalition AGM. The AGM is on Sunday, December 11, 2011 from Noon to 3:00 pm at Fulford Hall, 2591 Fulford Ganges Road, Saltspring Island. Dr. Ensink will be also addressing the Island Pathways' AGM, 7:00 pm Saturday, December 10 at All Saints By-­the-sea. Both events are open to the public.
 

Dr. Ensink is in British Columbia for meetings with the Veloworks Cycling Society, the organizing body for this summer’s Velo‐city 2012 Global conference in Vancouver. The conference, which runs from 26­‐29 June, is the first time since 2000 that the ECF has held a Velo-­city conference outside of Europe and the first time that such an event has been held within the Pacific rim region. 

The European Cyclists’ Federation is comprised of 65 member organizations representing more than half a million individual citizens from almost 40 countries. ECF promotes cycling as a sustainable and healthy means of transportation and recreation in Europe and exports cycling expertise worldwide.

Leading up to Velo‐city 2012 Global, Velo Village, a celebration of rural cycling, will be held on Salt Spring Island from 21 to 23 June 2012. Its themes of safety, community and connectivity will be brought to life through local exhibits, a rural cycling think tank, guided rides, performances, and demonstrations of rural mobility solutions.