Important Message from Jamie Miernik:

National Bike Summit - March 4-6, 2008

AlaBike will be represented at the National Bike Summit again this
year. This will be the sixth consecutive year that representatives
from Alabama have attended the Bike Summit and visited all of our
Congressman's offices on the hill to promote bicycling.

This year we have an extra round-trip ticket to Washington DC to
attend the summit. Since it is a "flight certificate", it must be
booked very soon, so the person wishing to make this trip must make
that intention known ASAP.

We would really like to have representatives from congressional
districts other than Bud Cramer's (North Alabama) attend to show
support from across the state. It would be great to have reps from
ALL the districts. Many states do.

Since the Bike Summit registration must be paid by Feb 4 to take
advantage of the $100 discount (AlaBike will also pay that, too), the
deadline for making this decision is Feb 1. Sooner is better, as the
airline tickets are subject to restrictions. Previously, we have
stayed at the Youth Hostel or split a hotel room (really nice $80-100
rooms can be found in DC on Priceline). Car rental is really not
necessary in DC, as long as you can walk few blocks each day. The
only drawback is that due to the restrictions on the flight cert, the
flights may have to be out of Huntsville and the return date may have
to be Sunday, March 9, so you would have to stay a couple of extra
nights in DC to take in the sights. (this is still to be determined,
depending on where you live) The Bike Summit begins Mar 4 in the
late afternoon, but the conference sessions are all day Wed, Mar 5.
Thursday is the Hill Walk and Friday is a group bike ride.

I've been every year and it is well worth it. It exciting, there are
networking possibilities and it is motivating. Please respond ASAP
if you want to go. Of course, anyone wanting to attend on their own
dime is also welcome. That's how I've always attended in the past.
It's a great vacation. As a group, we can make this the most
affordable trip to DC possible AND you will have a purpose, too!
Frequent flyer miles may work, I've taken Amtrack, or it's not a bad
drive, but a car in DC is a hassle and expensive. (That can be
worked around, too.) Everyone should see our nation's capital up
close, to get involved.

Sincerely,
Jamie Miernik
Alabama Bicycle Coalition
SCCC Secretary & Public Relations
Huntsville, AL
256.536.7190