It is with great pleasure and humility to be elected by the board of Virginia Bicycling Federation to be President.  Champe Burnley has graciously stepped back after a lengthy tenure full of legislative and administrative successes, and Bud Vye has similarly rolled off the board after legendary service as Advocacy Chair and Treasurer. Change is in the air at the organization, and I take the responsibility of leading Virginia’s statewide efforts to make bicycling safe, accessible, inclusive, and most of all, fun, for everyone in the Commonwealth with great respect.

We can all agree that this year has been a wild ride, and virtually nothing in our lives has remained unchanged. It can be tempting to focus on all of the urgent and dire aspects of the world created by the proliferation of the COVID-19 pandemic, but let’s take the opportunity to reflect on some of the refreshing change made possible by rethinking normal, too.

2020 has seen a bicycling boom, with the bike industry reporting a 120% increase in sales. That number would undoubtedly be higher if inventories didn’t immediately sell out everywhere. More work-from-homers are using bikes to escape the home office, essential workers are choosing alternatives to their commutes, and families are incorporating bike riding into their homeschooling physical education and personal down time. Not since the early 1970s have we seen this kind of explosion of riding, especially during the spring when car travel was reduced as much as 50%, leaving our streets and roads much more accommodating. Places like the Virginia Capital Trail are seeing record numbers, as much as 300% increases in some sections. Now that commuting behavior has largely returned, special attention should be given to improving the riding experience for all of our new friends and fellow riders and welcoming folks of all ages, races, genders, and riding styles into the fold.

It would be impossible for any new president of VBF to have the same depth of experience as Champe and Bud, who are remaining on the board. To that end, I hope to marry my passion for building a better Virginia for bicycling with a commitment to inclusively sharing in the work with my fellow board members, as well as advocates and experts from around the Commonwealth. I hope to bolster VBF’s rapport with the General Assembly and Virginia’s administrations, now and future, on diverse community participation from Wise County to Fairfax to Portsmouth, and everywhere between. My background as Outreach Director at Sports Backers has given me a lot of experience in facilitating inclusive coalition building and navigating legislative and administrative processes. Where we have been successful, it has been because of strategic, community-oriented leadership of resident advocates whose strength is in their own power as citizens. I imagine that to be the heart of VBF as well.

Everything can’t be done at once, and for the short-term, we will be focusing on VBF’s role at the General Assembly seeking legislation to improve the riding experience for all of us. Between now and the start of session on January 13, please tune into our Twitter and Facebook for discussion of legislative priorities built on what we hear from you and what we have seen work around the country. If this is a time of change, let’s see what we can do to change Virginia to make riding better for you and everyone.

Brantley Tyndall

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