Hello Volunteer Ambassadors!
I'm sure you're all going to be busy battening down your various hatches in preparation for Sunday's storm, but as Ambassadors, we need to always be looking ahead! Mostly, I'm looking forward to the first-ever DC Bike Ambassador State of the Program Meeting! We'll be talking about the Ambassador program itself and how we can work together to improve it for you, the volunteers. RSVP now!
Thanks everybody! See you out on the road.
Daniel Hoagland
DC Bike Ambassador
Bike Ambassador News
1st Annual "State of the Program" Meeting and Roundtable
When: Thursday, September 15th at 7pm
Where: The WABA office, 2599 Ontario Rd. NW
Ambassadors, this is your chance to have your voice heard and to help shape the DC Bike Ambassador for the next year. I have been running the program for about 18 months now, and it's time to take the Ambassador program to the next level.
I'm looking for feedback, fresh ideas and ways to give all Ambassadors a stake in making DC's bicycling scene better. So bring your ideas, your positive attitude, and your enthusiasm and let's get started! I'll send you all a draft agenda for the meeting next week.
To RSVP for the meeting, click here. For anyone who cannot make it, I will try my best to set up a conference call that you can call in to. I've never done that before, so cross your fingers.
If you don't come to the meeting, I will send out a summary of what we discussed and you can always send suggestions via email, but your voice and ideas will have more weight if you make the time to come to the meeting (or call in).
Refreshments WILL be provided.
DC Bike Ambassador Google Group & Calendar
I want Ambassadors to never feel like they are left out of the loop, so in addition to emails like this one (which will be more frequent as the season picks up once again), I've enabled a google calendar and a google group.
Google accounts are free to set up, and if you already have one, then integrating these DCBA tools will be easy. If you don't already have a Google account, please create one. Being a Bike Ambassador is better when you're not out there on your own. Join the community, get to know us, and you'll have a lot more fun!
Apparently, the DCBA google calendar can't display in these emails, if you signed up to be a Bike Ambassador with your google account (gmail), you should already have received an invitation to view it. If you have just created a google account, shoot me an email and I will invite you.
And here is the new DCBA google group. I will be posting a number of things each week, including info about DCBA events, team-building rides, and the first DCBA happy hour!
DCBA Happy Hour
When: Friday, September 30th, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Where: American Ice Company, 917 V St. NW
Clear your schedule! Starting in September, we'll be heading out to the official DCBA Happy Hour on the last Friday of every month,. The first one is at the American Ice Company just north of U St. NW. No RSVPs necessary, just show up. I'll be the one in the shirt that says "DC BIKE AMBASSADOR".
Upcoming Confident City Cycling Classes
For anyone who has yet to take the CCC1 class that we discussed at the Ambassador orientation, here is the latest schedule of classes (TS101 will also fill that requirement). For anyone else looking to take the next step in bike education, take a gander:
Upcoming Events & Ambassador Opportunities
For the 2nd year in a row, we'll be blabbing about bikes at Columbia Heights Day! It's a day-long festival celebrating one of DC's most dynamic and diverse neighborhoods. This is gonna be a fun one. Plus, we'll be judging the "Best Bike Accessory" competition at the DC State Fair!
- Ambassadors needed: 2-5
- Activities: Talking about bikes, being social, tabling, even pulling the DCBA trailer.
- Duration: At least 30 minutes, but you should plan extra time to enjoy the festival!
- RSVP
- Attire: DCBA t-shirts, if you don't have one, let me know and I will bring one for you.
National Cathedral Health & Wellness Fair
Tuesday, August 30th, 12:30pm-3pm
Tabling event for the staff of the National Cathedral complex. We'll be talking about biking to work and ways to minimize climbing "cathedral hill" (actually named "Mount Saint Alban").
- Ambassadors needed: 1-2
- Activities: Talking about bikes, being social, tabling
- Duration: At least 30 minutes
- RSVP
- Attire: DCBA t-shirts, if you don't have one, let me know and I will bring one for you.
Georgetown Univ. New Student Bike Day & Ride
Tuesday, August 30th, 3pm-5:30pm
Tabling event for incoming freshmen at Georgetown. We'll be talking about biking to work and ways to minimize climbing "cathedral hill" (actually named "Mount Saint Alban"). After that, we'll be taking students on a fun bike tour through Georgetown, the West End and Dupont Circle.
- Ambassadors needed: 1-2
- Activities: Talking about bikes, being social, tabling, riding with a group
- Duration: At least 30 minutes of tabling OR just the ride
- RSVP
- Attire: DCBA t-shirts, if you don't have one, let me know and I will bring one for you.
Other Opportunities
The Next DC Bike Ambassador Orientation Meeting
Is on Thursday, September 15th, from 6pm-7pm (just before the 1st Annual "State of the Program" Meeting)! It will be held at the WABA office (2599 Ontario Rd. NW) Tell your friends and coworkers to go here if they're interested in becoming a Bike Ambassador. FOR NEW AMBASSADORS ONLY
Put the Bike Ambassadors to Work
Please keep your eyes and ears peeled for any community or office events that could use a Bike Ambassador or three. We're always looking for new places to go, questions to answer and people to introduce to biking. If you know of something going on--a farmers market, an expo, a movie screening, etc.--and you think Bike Ambassadors would be a welcome addition, send an email to dcba@waba.org and let us know!
Be an Ambassador Every Day
If you're looking for ways to help out, but find that scheduling conflicts keep you away from our BA events, here are some suggestions:
- Recruit your friends/family/coworkers to get on a bike, take a class and/or become WABA members. Depending on how bike-friendly they are, this could be a great opportunity to sharpen your persuasion/debate skills!
- Join the WABA Forum and start posting--answer questions, join rides, meet your fellow cyclists!
- Get your office/workplace prepped for Bike to Work Day. Talk to your employer about setting up a bike breakfast, organize some bike buddies to help new commuters ride home with an experienced bike rider, or bring WABA in to give a brown bag Bike Commuting Seminar at your office.
- Be a bicycling role model. Everyone else on the road is quick to jump on the anti-bike bandwagon, so don't give them a chance. Stand up to the scofflaw stereotype! Fight back by riding responsibly: you'll show drivers that bikes can be respectful and you'll show other bicyclists the right way to ride.
|
