I may have posted something like this before; it’s certainly a recurring theme. Last August it was my “exciting” red-eye trip to Wisconsin, where I finally arrived in Madison around 3pm, after being bounced off one flight, delayed on another and abused by airport staff (and that was when I was a “1K” on United, the highest “earned” level of passenger status, something you get for flying too much). The whole point to a red-eye is to get somewhere early.
Yesterday, heading back from DC (the annual Bicycle Summit/Lobbying event), we were scheduled to leave on a flight at 9:55pm. Why so late? Because the meetings could have lasted until 5pm, and it takes a while to get from DC downtown to Dulles/IAD airport (it shouldn’t, but they have no decent transportation from the city to their main airport; it involves taking the Metro from downtown DC to West Falls Church and then waiting for the “Airport Flyer” to take you the rest of the way). Of course, our last meeting ended very early, 2:30 or so, so we could have taken a much earlier flight… and we still could have, if we had been willing to pay $50 each for the same-day standy fee.
Ever wonder about the people you see slamming back a few before their flight? These folk had been sitting across from us at the restaraunt near the gate, just going and going until the door to their plane was almost closed, then apparenly had problems because their seats had been given away.
Had we known, we would have paid that $50. We got to the airport with hours to spare, even after spending some time at the Smithsonian, and there was in fact a flight that left at 7:30pm with room. But our flight wasn’t that much later and we had pretty decent seats and really weren’t looking forward to the idea of middle seats at the back of the plane (the likely scenario had we changed planes). But that was before our flight was delayed… to 11:30pm. I think it was just past midnight by the time we finally got off the ground, and the loading process left much to be desired as people heading to their seats at the back of the plane were putting their carry-ons into the overheads at the front!!! Why is this so bad? Because while Becky and I and Steve and Teri were in rows 6 & 7, we had to put our luggage over rows 13 & beyond, fighting the tide against everyone trying to board the plane as we got back to our seats, and having to wait until every single person was off the plane before we could retrieve our luggage.
2:44am is not what you want to see on the airport clock, especially when your travel day is not yet over
At least row 6 in an A32o on United has fantastic legroom so it was a pleasant-enough flight, despite moderate turbulence here & there. Sleep? I don’t know that I ever really slept, but rather alternated between conscious and comatose. We landed at 2:30am SF time, 5:20am DC, and were home around 3:30am. This is not the first time this has happened coming back! As I say, if you see me on a plane…
Lots of people complain about how things are; some actually work very hard to make things better. The needs of cyclists are no different from anything else in this regard; there are literally many millions of active cyclists in this country, and potentially many times that who would be active cyclists if the infrastructure (roads & community layout) were better designed for safe commuting and recreational riding. Today Chain Reaction Bicycles is part of 120 dealers who, along with unpaid cycling advocates numbering several times that, are trying to make the United States a better place for bikes. 500 or so people looking out for many million. It’s likely that we’re very typical that way; a small number of people influencing very big decisions. The exception would be when the PTA is lobbying; we bring a small division, while they bring an entire army!
Classroom time at the DC Bike Summit. Wednesday was "school day" where you chose from a variety of different classes to attend. This one dealt with transportation funding... who really pays for the roads?
It works like this- Wednesday morning, 7:30am, my brother Steve, his wife Teri, my daughter Becky and I are supposed to be wide awake (on east coast time, no less!) and ready to go to “school.” We learn about the issues, we learn about the League of American Bicyclists proposed solutions, and we learn about the threats to programs already in place due to the severe budget cuts at the federal level. We have our choice of seminars to attend dealing with a myriad of policy and practical issues, many of which, on paper, look about as exciting as the most-boring thing you ever listened to on NPR. And they would be exactly that (boring) were it not for the fact that these issues touch the cycling community and yourself personally, and knowing how things work helps you to make a difference. At the end of the afternoon you meet with your delegation and split up assignments for meeting with the various congress men & women on the ‘hill, who you’ll be seeing the next day.
Wednesday evening you have your various fund-raisers and industry gigs to attend, including one from Trek bicycles at which I had my annual beer. Actually I passed on the beer this time and went for a gin & tonic, the only “mixed drink” I have any sort of taste for. That one drink was enough to get me through the next year (in my heaviest drinking days, I was probably up to 15-20 beers or glasses of wine… per year).
Thursday morning you put on your “Sunday best” suit, including having to do that top button on the shirt so you can wear a tie. That top button that makes you want to choke, a metaphor for what it feels like the first time you visit a congressional office on your own. Fortunately, that was several years ago, and it’s rarely the case that you’d be by yourself, especially in a state as well-represented by bicycle advocates as California is. Safety in numbers. Then it’s time to head to the Metro and storm the ‘hill!
The California representatives at the DC Bike Summit filled a small room; it’s quite the task to get a group this large organized an on-message
We had an interesting day on the ‘hill. We met with Representatives Jackie Speier, Elton Gallegly, a drop-by with Loretta Sanchez’s office, talked with Anna Eshoo’s Legislative Director Casey Fromson, walked the halls a bit looking for anyone else needing help and then wished we’d booked an earlier flight out.
Jackie Speier started the day out on the fast track, as we were led from her office by her aide, down the hall a bit and adjacent to one of those very-important-rooms with lots of TV cameras and a young TV reporter primping herself to look something a bit more, er, stylin’ we’ll say, than her “Sunday best.” We’d stumbled upon the center of attention at the moment, the House emotional hearings on the supposed radicalization of Muslims in America and Jackie Speier was center-stage. We wondered how she could possible meet with us herself (tyically we deal with a legislative aide) in the midst of such a wild scene, but that she did, discussing in frank terms the difficulties faced by anyone asking the current Congress for anything. She looked and spoke a bit worn-down & beaten, but is most certainly a champion of more-livable communities that aren’t gridlocked and held hostage by foreign governments who have the oil that fules the flames of our desires.
Next stop was the cafeteria, and, since DC is a study of stark contrast, so would be my lunch. Bacon, ham & bleu-cheese pizza with carrot & celery sticks. We recharged our batteries and headed to the office of Representative Elton Gallegly. Let me tell you about Mr. Gallegly. He is an elderly, seriously-affable gentleman, wise in the ways of the world, very approachable, and very conservative. He’s very good friends with Representative Earl Blumenaeur, our most-reliable spokesperson in DC, has bought several hundred inexpensive bikes for kids at poor schools each Christmas, has a photo on the wall of he & his wife riding an cruiser tandem along the beach, and you’re thinking, OK, what’s not quite right here? Well, that’s when he tells you that he likes bike lanes but only when cyclists stay in them, and he’ll make us a deal, if we stay in our bike lanes he’ll stay in the car lanes, otherwise, he feels it’s only right that he drives in the bike lane.
We're not just about bikes. It's technically a cycling/pedestrian coalition, working together to make sure the transportation infrastructure meets the needs of all users, not just motorists. Even ducks.
He had a huge amount of respect for the 31 years that Steve and I have been in business, probably because he’s been in Congress since 1987. I made a point of thanking him for his support of HR4 (House bill #4), which repealed a requirement of the President’s healthcare plan that would have caused small businesses like Chain Reaction to have to spend a ton of extra hours each month to filing reports for every single vendor we spend more than $600 with, likely an unforseen consequence of something added to the plan to make sure that there weren’t businesses (identified by our cash outflow) that should be offering health care to their employees but weren’t.
His chief-of-staff was well-versed in the goings-on of the current battle over the funding level for transportation, and appeared interested as well as understanding the concept that cycling infrastructure was a relatively low-cost way of dealing with many issues. Either that or he figured that acting that way was a good way to get us to leave their office feeling good about the guy despite their actual intention to chop off funding for anything that isn’t fueled by oil.
OK, more to come, right now I’m just too zoned out, waiting for a delayed flight that will eventually get me home sometime around 3:45am. Not fun. (Added later- that was a pretty close guess; we were home around 3:30am. I later added to this piece on 3/18/11.) –Mike–
