So things have been a little quiet here at OGRE HQ. Sadly, this has more to do with some directional questions. Namely, where to we want to go with it. Initially, the idea was to use this for our racing, but as I have really gotten back on the bike and remembered how much I love the bike, my own personal focus has moved more towards the advocacy and cycling instruction than it has the racing aspect. In fact, it has gotten to the point where it is May, and I have yet to race a single triathlon of any distance in 2016. I’ve run a couple of 5k’s, a Ragnar Trail and biked a couple of area century rides, but that has been the limit.

Meanwhile, impacting training time has been a massive time investment into learning, researching, and working to establish some relationships in the local advocacy groups for pedestrian and cycling issues. Who knew how much of a time sink these activities could become. It is no wonder so few active cyclists are also advocates. The time it takes to be an effective advocate is time not spent on the bike, because we still have to make a living, and the people we need to communicate with usually aren’t out on group rides. The lesson learned is that in many ways, we, as active cyclists are not really doing much to make a strong case for making cycling better for ourselves, or others.

For much of this year, I admit that I have been pondering how active I wanted to get into the advocacy mess, and believe me, the more I learn, the more of a mess I think it is. It is something that I have really struggled with. Ultimately, I’ve concluded that there really cannot be a debate. If we don’t get busy on the advocacy side, we are going to find ourselves in a bad spot, with the perception that we don’t belong on the roads becoming more of a reality than any of us want.

So, with this, I am officially jumping into the advocacy waters. In many ways, I have come to think of cycling and pedestrian advocacy as the 5th discipline of being a triathlete. Sure swimming, running, and cycling are the obvious 3, with transition being the 4th, but protecting our rights and obtaining facilities for us to use is the 5th.

Advocacy though, is a two way street. It is not just getting a message to the municipal leaders and planners, but also engaging and motivating the runners and cyclists in the communities to get out there and support these efforts at the polls, in the council meetings and the community meetings. Teaching them to be visible, and to support the efforts of the municipalities to make the areas better places for everyone.

So, while things have been quiet around here, they are not going to stay that way. Let’s make some noise, and instead of waiting for change, let us become the instruments of that change.