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MichaelBluejay

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From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

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League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

New York magazine did an interview with actor Matthew Modine, who runs a bike advocacy organization, and who had this to say:

There is just one problem with Modine as cycling poster boy: He doesn't wear a helmet. "I get shit for that a lot of times," he says—not least from the League of American Bicyclists. Modine says they wouldn't link to a short film he had made for his Bicycle for a Day website because he's not helmeted.

http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/encounter/57174/

Guess I'll be giving to the Alliance for Biking and Walking this year instead of LAB.

tomwald

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Registered: 2008-05-27

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

There is more here:
http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/06/ge … elmet.html
It focuses on the demonization of Matthew Modine for not wearing a bicycle helmet.

However, I am posting it here primarily because Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists, left a comment:

Andy Clarke said...

    My oh my. How quickly the pitchforks turn. So we're meeting with Mathew Modine for the first time. We've done our homework and checked out Bicycle for a Day materials, we've watched Full Metal Jacket one more time, and in the course of our conversation happen to mention that if we posted the BFAD promotional video on our website we'd catch all kinds of grief from some of our members who would only see that he wasn't wearing a helmet. The moment passed.

    We had a good meeting, discussed loads of ways in which we could help support and promote BFAD, and we've stayed in touch. We had a booth at the recent BFAD event in New York City; we promoted the event to our members in the NYC area; one of our staff is in a video that was shot during the event; and we're looking forward to promoting BFAD in September and beyond. If that constitutes being part of a witch hunt, we're going to have to re-write our relationship with lots of rides and events – including our own!

    Andy Clarke
    President, League of American Bicyclists

The LAB focuses more on helmets than I prefer, but this controversy is probably just a misunderstanding.  I believe Clarke's claim that LAB catches hell from some of its members for every bicyclist shown sans helmet.  I would note that the May/June 2009 issue of American Bicyclist has a bicyclist sans helmet on pp. 7 (with two pedicab passengers sans helmet as well), 11, and 23 (non-American).

bikinpolitico

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From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-09-04

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

Guys,
I spoke with LAB staff and Matthew Modine for a followup article on this: http://austinontwowheels.org/2009/06/26 … r-helmets/

Modine agreed with Andy Clarke's description of the meeting. LAB supports Modine's organization and staff have attended his events. Modine supports the LAB. It looks like the New York Magazine writer took Modine's comments out of context and read facts into the situation that never happened.

MichaelBluejay

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

Thanks for taking the time to investigate this and report on it!

I still have one question in the back of my mind.  They way you reported it on your blog is that LAB "currently list[s] Bicycle for a Day in the links section of the LAB site".  Why the use of the word "currently"?  I wonder whether LAB only recently add the link, after they caught flak for not doing so...

bikinpolitico

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From: Austin, TX

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

Michael,
I doubt it. They actively participated in and promoted Modine's Bicycle for a Day event last September. My discussions with both LAB staff and Modine indicated that both were happy with the partnership to date, and that the reporter had created the controversy.

MichaelBluejay

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

I don't doubt that LAB and Modine are happy with their partnership overall, but I'm not yet convinced that LAB linked to BikeForADay from the get-go.  That was the specific charge mentioned in the article (that LAB wouldn't link to his site), and now they "currently" do, but did they withhold their link initially?  It doesn't seem that anyone has asked either party about this specifically.

pueblonative

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Registered: 2009-04-11

Posts: 5

Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

Just remember:  what's on your skull may help you in an accident but it's what's below it that may keep you out of one in the first place.

bikinpolitico

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From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-09-04

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

They didn't know when it actually got linked, but that's beside the point. They've been partners from near the beginning, and there was never a decision to not link Bike for a Day. The issue raised in the article was about an off handed remark by LAB staff about the nature of the divide in the cycling community over helmets. According to Modine, he was simply relaying that story and the reporter took it out of context as some sort of disagreement. There is no disagreement, both parties agree, and this is a non-issue based on incorrect reporting.

MichaelBluejay

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

They didn't know when it actually got linked, but that's beside the point. They've been partners from near the beginning...

It's not beside the point if they ever decided to withhold their link, their early partnership notwithstanding.

there was never a decision to not link Bike for a Day.

How do you know this?  Did you ask both (or even either) party about it specifically?  If so, why didn't you say so in your piece?  It rather sounds like you just assume that they did.  I'm also skeptical because the best way for LAB to refute the charge would be for the first thing that came out of their mouth to be, "We never refused to link to Bike for a Day, in fact we've been linking to it from the beginning."  It seems like obfuscation when they sidestep the issue by saying instead, "We've been partners since the beginning."  I'm not yet convinced, if for no other reason that no one is speaking plainly about this.

Incidentally, when I emailed them about this (before your piece appeared), I never got a reply from them at all, obfuscated or not.

bikinpolitico

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From: Austin, TX

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

Micheal,

I did ask them if they decided not to link the organization at any time, and they told me no. I did not rely on e-mail or other people's reporting. I talked directly to both parties involved. This is a non-issue: LAB supports Bike for a Day and Modine has never felt they didn't support him. If you don't believe me, call both the LAB and Modine yourself. Both were happy to talk to me and very open and responsive to my questions.

MichaelBluejay

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From: Austin, TX

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

It's MICHAEL, please.

I didn't ask about whether LAB supported Bike for a Day or whether Modine felt they didn't support him, but you keep hammering on this.  I asked specifically whether LAB withheld their link to Bike for a Day initially, since that was the specific charge mentioned in the article.  You made no mention of that in your article or in your first post about it here.  Then when I brought up that I wondered about it, you said "I doubt it," indicating that you didn't know. Then in a later post, you said "They [LAB] didn't know when it actually got linked."  Now you're saying you *did* ask LAB and LAB said they never withheld their link.  This is in contradiction to what you said earlier -- unless you called LAB *again* to get clarification, but if you did so you certainly weren't clear about that.

You can go on again about how great the LAB/Modine partnership is, which is not what I was asking about.

bikinpolitico

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From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-09-04

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Re: League of American Bicyclists disses non-helmeted activists

Michael,
My earlier posts answering you were made while I was on the vacation away from my interview notes. The last post was after I looked at my notes again from the conversation. They didn't know when the site got linked but said that there was never a decision not to link. Sorry if that appears contradictory. Since both parties agree they have a good working relationship and that charge was not what Modine was trying to say to the reporter, I have to take them at their word.