Bicycle Board Members,

Thanks to Jim Rye for providing me Gayle Manchin's address and thanks to Nick Hein for feedback on my first draft.  The message that I sent is below.

Frank

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Bicycling
Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:28:49 -0400
From: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl@verizon.net>
To: FirstLady@WVGov.org


Dear First Lady Manchin,

I am sorry about your bicycle crash and hope your injuries are truly minor and heal quickly.  I don't know the details but I do know that in many of these crashes the motorist says, "I didn't even see her!"

The League of American Bicyclists' Road I course teaches cyclists to maximize their visibility and predictability.  You can review the LAB Bicycle Education program at http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/education/.

Would you allow me to teach you Road I?  The LAB BikeEd program is the only national bicyclist education program and I am one of West Virginia's 3 instructors certified by the LAB to teach it.  I am also Chairman of the Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board which advises the Morgantown Traffic Commission, City Engineer and City Manager.

Of course, I have a personal agenda here. I'm hoping that once you master Road I knowledge and skills, you'll share them with other cyclists as well as motorists and help make West Virginia safer for bicyclists.

I know that you already support the Safe Routes to Schools program.  Road I is the parent course for the LAB Kids I and Kids II courses that are essential for children to ride safely to school.

I look forward to your response.

Ride safely,

Frank Gmeindl
491 Wilson Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26501
304-376-0446 (cell)
304-367-8395 (work)
340-284-8094 (home)

Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles.