city council meetings are long when the helmut law is last

waiting for the mandatory bike helmet number to be called
Originally uploaded by faster panda kill kill.

i've been trying to write this up for 2 hrs now. im tired. we left the meeting at 12am last nite and it was still going. got home. tried to go to sleep around 2. got up at 7. its been an exciting and draining week.

thanks thanks to all that came out! even mo and katie came out, our very sweet recent NYC transplants (ya they even rode their bikes FROM nyc to here in 7 weeks). welcome to austin -- now put your helmet on. ;-)

42 spoke against the proposed law. 2 spoke as neutral. 19 spoke for. if nothing else, it was an amazing gathering of a very diverse and intelligent and well-spoken group of urban cyclists that do not want a mandatory helmet law but do want to work with city council towards forward thinking ideas and actions for a safer cycling experience in austin.

it would be awesome if bruce todd, the proponent of the MHL, realized after last nite this is his chance to work with the very passionate cycling crowd and become a hero to them and the city for a bike friendly austin, but without the helmet law. to say: yes i want to work with you guys, i believe in bike urban transportation - lets move forward and address the real issues you face every day on the streets of austin. he is free to speak to as many people as he wants about his accident experience and educate about helmets. to me, and others, this is a much more heroic position he could take and accomplish his goal of safe cycling. meaning, if that really is his goal. its not clear to me.

but i dont see that happening. we will work this from a grassroots effort up. sometimes those work better and are more cooperative anyway. i hope we continue the momentum we have from the meeting last nite.

its hard to call out people who spoke well last nite. i was so impressed with what each of the 44 speakers brought to the podium. and there wasn't alot of overlap of points. there was applause after each of the 44 speakers against. and there were lots of diehards that stayed up to the end. i've heard from a few people that said they stayed up to watch it on public TV till the end also.

speaking of: it will be re-broadcast. and/or you can read the transcript. cuz i know all u guys need something to do over the weekend. ha. you have to see the woman that sang 2 songs during her time at the podium. superbly austin. :-)

• austin american statesman says helmet measure fails
• austin skate notes writes up his thoughts on the meeeting
• we got cycleicious-ed

this man and his wife were cool. they were there late into the nite and then he was called to speak. he said he had ridden 24,000 miles between CA and Florida cross country and now lives here and pulls his 80pound wife around in a cart behind his bike. he said he has never worn a helmet and he will not start now. he was soft spoken and firm and i really wanted to go drink a beer with them and have them tell me about their adventures.