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./