Join MoBikeFed for Cycling Summit in Wentzville Dec. 18th or 22nd

The Missouri Bicycle Federation and the Westplex Sports, Arts and Entertainment L.O.C. (Local Organizing Committee) will host a "World Class Cycling Summit" on two dates--both will have the same program, so you can plan to come to either of the two:

• Tuesday, December 18th, 2007, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
  I-70 Holiday Inn in Wentzville, Missouri, 900 Corporate Pkwy,
  Wentzville, MO
  
• Saturday, December 22nd, 2007, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
  Crossings at Wentzville, 100 Mall Parkway, Wentzville, MO

To reserve your spot at the Summit--RSVP Ed Watkins of the Westplex L.O.C., edwatkins@charter.net


Why a 'World Class Cycling Summit'? And why in the Westplex?
The success of the 2007 Tour of Missouri has brought unprecedented
international attention to bicycling in Missouri.

The recent announcement of a 46-mile "Kansas City Connection" to the Katy Trail on the western end, and 11 additional miles between St. Charles and Machens on the eastern end, means that the nation's longest rail-trail will soon be even longer--over 280 miles.

Our dream of making a trail connection between Missouri's two largest metropolitan areas is very close to reality. Imagine bicycling from the St. Louis Arch to Kansas City's Liberty Memorial on a network of trails stretching state line to state line!

These two events have put our state out on the world stage as a place where people want to live, work, visit--and bicycle.

Now what is it going to take to make Missouri into the bicycling Mecca that it really should be?

Can you imagine

- bicycle-friendly communities?
- bicycle-friendly roads?
- bicycle-friendly businesses?
- bicycle-friendly shopping districts?
- extensive interconnected trail networks?
- bicycle tourism?
- amateur and professional bicycle racing?
- triathlons attracting thousands of participants?

100 million Americans enjoy bicycling regularly. Can you imagine a place where those 100 million Americans will *want* to live, work, visit--and bicycle?

At the World Class Cycling Summit we will talk about where we are, where we need to go, and what we need to do now to become a world-class bicycling center--both as a region and as a state.

Representatives of MoBikeFed, TrailNet, and other bicycling and community organizations will be there to talk about the statewide, regional, and local perspectives.


Why in the Westplex?
When Stage 5 of the 2007 Tour of Missouri ended in St. Charles--to the biggest finish line crowd of the week--several Westplex leaders saw the future of their region before their eyes.

The Tour of Missouri Local Organization Committee had already made the decision to become a permanent, standing committee dedicated to bringing events into the Westplex area--events like marathons, runs, triathlons, and--of course--bicycle races.

Area leaders, organized by Ed Watkins, were able to raise $70,000 in just a few weeks to create the Westplex Sports, Arts and Entertainment L.O.C.

Ed has played a central role in creating support and raising funds for an amazing number of local, state, and national project such as: The St. Charles Family Arena, the TR Hughes Ballpark, the Robert F. Hyland Performance Arena, the St. Peters Rec-Plex and Olympic Swimming & Diving Center, the National Fantasy Baseball Camps for the Hearing Impaired, the Ozzie Smith Stadium, and many others.

The Westplex L.O.C. now wants to make the Westplex area a model "Bicycling Center".

The Bicycling Center will implement many of the best practices for creating bicycle-friendly communities, practices that have been tried and tested by communities across the U.S. and the world. To these proven best practices we will add opportunities unique to the Westplex area.

Here are just some of the possibilities we will explore:

- bicycle-friendly cities where children and adults feel comfortable riding for health, recreation, or to visit friends, parks, schools, and shopping by bicycle
- a regional trails network anchored by the statewide Katy Trail
- better promote the Katy Trail and the region as a tourist and recreation destination
- a world-class velodrome
- regular bicycle rides, races, and events, both amateur and professional
- bring unique bicycle-related businesses to the Westplex
- creating a "culture of bicycling" what will set Westplex apart from almost everywhere else in the United States

We need your help!
To make this vision come true, we need the help of people who know what bicycling can do for a community and how our communities and state can benefit by becoming more bicycle friendly--people who know what it takes to actually get it done, because it is your support that can make it happen.

We'd like to reserve spot for you at the World Class Cycling Summit, either December 18th or December 22nd--just email Ed Watkins, edwatkins@charter.net

Hope to see you there!

--Brent
Dr. Brent D. Hugh
Executive Director
Missouri Bicycle Federation, Inc.
director@mobikefed.org
816-695-6736
http://MoBikeFed.org