Chris Riley’s campaign kickoff drew a huge crowd that packed the back room at Threadgill’s last night and spilled outside into the courtyard. Bicycle Sport Shop provided racks for the many bicyclists on hand. We had representation there from LOBV, ACA, Yellow Bike and many of the shops around town. Additionally, Robin Stallings from Bike Texas (Texas Bicycle Coalition) brought Enrique Peñalosa–the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia–who had spoken at the “Shifting Gears Luncheon” Wednesday. (You can see extensive coverage of this event, which I found extremely inspiring, at Austin Bike Blog. (See: Part 1 and Part 2)

The campaign asked me to say a few words about Chris and his work in the bicycle community. I was one of only two people speaking–apart from the campaign staff–which is an indication of how much importance the campaign is placing on connecting with the bicycling community. Hopefully I can post some links to video and/or photos later.