PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — Pat Cunnane, president and CEO of Advanced Sports International, will be the keynote speaker this Saturday at the Bicycling Event Directors Conference. Michael Nutter, Philadelphia's mayor and a longtime supporter of bicycle advocacy in the city, is expected to welcome attendees.
Also joining Cunnane and Nutter at the conference is Jim Sayer, executive director of the Adventure Cycling Association. The one-day event will be held from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Ethical Society Building near downtown Philadelphia's historic Rittenhouse Square.
Nancy Maier, founder of Pedaling.com, a website that offers route and ride information for tours and recreational cyclists, is developing a series of these regional one-day conferences to help ride organizers improve their events.
"Part of the concept is to offer one- or two-day conferences for volunteers who organize rides, mostly fundraisers for various causes. Most of these rides have become very successful and these are the rides that bring new riders into the industry," said Maier, who founded Pedaling.com 12 years ago.
"These events are adding riders and raising money, and many (of these organizers) are doing more than one event. And most don't feel particularly connected to the industry," she said.
Cunnane, PeopleForBikes' board vice chairman, will offer an outline of the industry and its economic impact on cycling and the role event organizers could play in advocating for better community facilities. Other topics on the agenda include risk management, trends in bicycle tourism, event marketing, logistics and fundraising. The conference fee is $65.
"When people sign up to do these rides, they aren't particularly committed to cycling, but these rides do bring them into cycling," Maier said. "They become cyclists and then they become great constituents for the cycling community."
More than 30 ride organizers have registered, and Maier expects the final tally will be upwards of 40 attendees from key mid-Atlantic states. "Someone is even coming from Vermont," Maier said. Weather forecasts call for mild temperatures and a chance of showers, which should help bolster attendance, she added.
For more information, contact Maier at maier@pedaling.com or at (212) 724-2261.
