Spokane Bicycle Club Advocacy:

Bryant McKinley served on the City of Spokane Planning Commission in 1980 as a member of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Pathways committee. Additionally, in 1990, he was honored by The Volunteers of America, Spokane, as part of the of 100th Anniversary of Volunteers of America who published a community Honor Roll of Service -“100 people who make a difference through service.”

Margaret Watson’s advocacy impact on the Spokane bicycle Club and Spokane Region cycling community is enormous. She was the president of SBC from 1988 - 89 but her time of service was through 2002.

She received the bicycle Alliance of Washington “Squeaky Wheels” state Advocate of the year Award in 2002. No wonder. From 1988 - 2002 she served on 15 different committees as a chair, co-chair or committee member, most notable being President of the club, being involved with the city and county comprehensive planning, and chairing the Citizen’s Advisory committee on regional transportation issues.

In 1988, Margaret Watson and the club got involved with the Olympic Bicycle Trials which were held here in Spokane. Margaret, true to form, organized club rides that coincided with the Olympic trials throughout the area. Not only did she organize the rides, but arranged for Tidyman’s grocery to set up and manage food stations for club members for each ride. Margaret said, “It was fascinating to watch the Olympic contenders and everyone had a great time.”

Key Achievements included getting bike racks on all STA busses as a first in the state of Washington (before Seattle), developing bicycle maps for Spokane county and getting bicycle lanes into the transportation plan for Spokane county and increasing awareness and fund raising for the Centennial trail.

Eileen Hyatt, a long time member, has taught bicycle safety for many years to regional cyclists as a certified teacher from the League of American Cyclists. http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2012/may/10/smart-cycling-classes-set-spokane-arent-kid-stuff/

More recently, Sally Phillips has spearheaded the club's service in Bloomsday and Spokefest. For years, Sally has organized member involvement in the Bloomsday Bike Coral, an important service to the running community which allows people to get to the start without having to negotiate their cars through the maze downtown. The club secures their bicycles while they run. 

Similarly, Sally has served Spokefest by organizing members to handle the late registration. This is a massive project. 

The Spokane Bicycle Club also served the Spokane cycling community by applying directional arrows to the "Commute of the Century" which was sponsored by the City of Spokane. The club also provided ride leaders, sweep riders and SAG support for each of the six segments of the Commute of The Century during bike to work week. 

The County Trip Reduction Office recently published the 2014 bike map to benefit recreational riders and commuters in the county. SBC distributed the maps to all of the local bike shops. 

A number of our members (6 -7) regularly attend the Spokane Bicycle Advisory Board meeting each month as a means of staying in touch with City planning and to offer input.