Many thanks to those who attended the inaugural Lake County Bicycle Summit! It was a good (but HOT) day for cycling at the Mount Dora Bicycle Festival and after a brief rain shower and a couple of venue changes we settled in under the trees around the steps of the Mt. Dora Chamber of Commerce. Attendance was easily above 100 people, and we had almost 90 response cards returned (check back on this to learn more about the “Thumbs-Up” campaign that we are rolling out this fall).

The BIG SURPRISE was unveiled by County Commissioner Elaine Renick. Lake County is now officially a “Bicycle-Friendly Community”. The signature page of the resolution is in the photo background, and it passed unanimously. Ride-On!

Sergeant Tom McKane and Deputy Gabriel White spoke on behalf of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. We can’t speak highly enough of the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Borders, or these fine gentlemen. They have been stepping up and working with us since our group was founded.

SunCycle(Tavares) and The Cycling Hub(Clermont) were both represented. These folks have supported our local meetings this year, and provided the SWAG for our Summit giveaways, and are very much behind our effort. Let’s get behind theirs!

And do you know about the Police Athletic League? What a fine group of young riders! Deputy Tom Brown of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office spoke about the group and the importance of improving safety on our roadways. Even though they have stars on their jerseys, these folks still have their share of scary moments. Let’s do our best to help make the roads safer for everyone, but especially for the young riders who are just getting started in the sport!

Michael Woods from the Lake Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization talked about the planning aspects of building safer roads. Folks, there are 3 positions open on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The MPO as a group, and Mike, personally, have been very supportive of our efforts. Let’s support them as they work to plan for and build better roadways. They believe cycling will become a larger part of everyday life and are working toward that. Take a pull and help that vision become reality!

Laura Hallam from the Florida Bicycle Association and Keri Caffrey of Commute Orlando both spoke about their efforts statewide and in Orlando respectively. What a privilege it is to team up with like-minded cyclists who have a heart and a drive for this cause! We’re thrilled to join up to make a small change in our big world!

The point of what we are doing is to build a sense of community and mutual respect on the roadways. It’s one thing to talk about courtesy and being good neighbors, but we are thrilled to honor Harry and Janice Fenstad who have put rubber to the road and actually done it. Have you ever ridden to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain and filled your bottle at those bright orange igloo coolers? Harry and Janice place those coolers at the end of their driveway and keep them filled. And here’s a newsflash… they aren’t cyclists! To recognize what they do, we have presented them with the First Annual Thumbs-Up Award. Congratulations and thanks for the “Sugarloaf Oasis”!

You’ll notice that the majority of our time at the Summit was spent recognizing and hearing from people who have been supportive of our efforts. These are people who have stepped forward and taken a pull. People who have put ideas into action. People who have been working toward our common goals. Folks, the ideas and action have come from eveyone who is involved and while we have some ideas about where we’re headed for the coming year we NEED you to join us and TAKE A PULL!

And speaking of big ideas, join us as we launch the “Thumbs-Up Campaign”. Be prepared to stick out your thumbs on the roadways… and, no, not to bum a ride home. There is more to the campaign than that, but it is truly amazing how something as simple as a raised thumb can encourage common courtesy! We’ll post more information soon so please check back!

Thank you everyone and Ride-On!