Spring/Summer Newsletter

Dear Cycling Embassy Supporter,

What an amazing few months its been since the last newsletter. With the Times's campaign bringing cycling to the mainstream, thousands of people in Edinburgh and London taking to the streets on two wheels to call for safer cycling - and with every one of the main London Mayoral candidates signing up (some rather more at the last minute than others) to 'Love London, Go Dutch' - it's hard not to feel that we're standing at the cusp of something momentous. 2012 will be the year when we look back and say, yes, this was when it all began to change.

 

And after that buildup ... perhaps the Cycling Embassy AGM might seem a bit of an anti-climax, but it's actually more important than ever. There's a groundswell of opinion that 'the mixture as before' isn't going to bring about a cycling revolution - but there's less consensus over what will. During its first year the Embassy has started to build up a body of expertise on what first class cycling provision ought to be like, but now the challenge is to get that understanding out there and under the noses of the people who have the power to make things change. For that, we need to put ourselves on a more sustainable footing. We need to look at how our membership works, our structure, what we do and how we're funded. And for that we need your ideas and backing. We'll be putting up more detailed proposals shortly on the website - and if you've any suggestions or feedback, please do let us know either now or at the AGM itself. 

The AGM is also a chance for people to put themselves forward for membership of the board - or, indeed, vote off the deadbeats on there already if you feel so inclined. With the loss of our Press Secretary, Mark Ames, we're in real need of someone willing to fill his shoes and get the Embassy core message out there any way they can. Like all board posts it's a voluntary position - but it could provide valuable experience for someone interested in such a role. You can find out more here.

That's not all the AGM will be of course. In Embassy tradition there will be plenty of infrastructure safaris, and a line up of interesting speakers as well as a mini policy bash on the Sunday for those who can stay the weekend - see the entire programme here. If you're planning on attending, it would be helpful if you let us know through the lanyard page, although you can still just show up on the day.

This year was also the year of the 'policy bash' which you can read all about on our wiki pages - an incredibly energising and intensive event for those who attended it. Out of it came the idea of producing a publication of our own to show what can be done in the way of high-quality cycling infrastructure. It's still under development, but there will be more at the AGM as well. See the wiki for more information. We hope to have as much input from our members as possible on this so please do let us know if you want to get involved.

That's all for this newsletter - except to say that we hope we'll see you all at the AGM this month. Be there!