We are gearing up to grow here at Women on Bikes SoCal with our second big fundraising push. We not only want to be able to host our "Street Savvy" adult bicycle safety education classes for free to underserved areas of Long Beach and beyond this spring, summer, and fall, but we're also gearing up to host an innovative new advocacy + media training this summer, and a very cool "Arts & Crafts Architectural Tour by Bike" this July with the very talented Maureen Neeley of Houstories.net.

By nature or nurture asking for things for ourselves doesn't come easily for many women. I have found it much easier to ask for things when I could ask on behalf of someone else - say a friend or an organization. How about you? In my twenties and early thirties I was a successful sales executive this way (complete with a wardrobe of suits with padded shoulders), and have found it fun and exciting to place clients in the media this way as well. Now, however, it's time for me to learn to ask for something that includes my own needs as the Editor and Executive Director of this organization, as well as my creative team so that we can put all of our great ideas into play. I have to admit it's not a task I've been preparing for with ease, but I'm now at a point where I'm beginning to relish the opportunity.

For inspriation and courage I've been listening faithfully to Martha Beck's Joy Diet, and today I've just finished up reading about Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg and catching up on the food movement's talented word-smith champion Michael Pollan (like Jim Brown Executive Director the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates I too feel the food movement has much to teach bicycle advocacy) in April's Oprah Magazine.

Do I feel 100% confident? No. But I'm ready to do it. I believe in this program and this wonderful synergy we're creating and most of all I believe in the diverse and talented group of people (both women and men) who have gathered together to make it happen.

We are now in the wild west of the "opportunity" economy and while I'm on this roller-coaster for my role at Women on Bikes SoCal I've decided I absolutely want two things as my constant companions: 1) A creative brain trust I adore collaborating with and 2) The ability to create new opportunities for women of all ages, races and backgrounds to become professional advocates, new media professionals, and spokeswomen (get it? SPOKESwomen?) as advocates for bicycling and active living advocacy.

Whatever other types of industries and economies develop in this new fast paced age it is absolutely imperative for the health of our nation and world that we have talented, dynamic, diverse female voices advocating for the fun and well being of a fit life by bike.

So my assignment to myself as I gear up for all of this has been to focus on what women so excel at - relationships. Over the past month I've made a commitment to get out of my little studio, out from behind my computer, and connect live and in person both with old friends and people I've been wanting to meet for some time now. And guess, what? Fascinating things are unfolding from this effort, one of the most exciting is that I was finally able to spend time with the delightfully effervescent energy that is Shelby Sanchez. And because of this in person connection, this new relationship, we now have a brand new columnist! I hope you'll take some time to read about this fascinating young mother here.

So what about you? How are you on asking for things that you want and need? And if it's been a challenge for you to do so how are you addressing that challenge and finding ways to move forward with asking anyway? I'd love to hear about your adventures.

Both young women are received our League Cycling Instructor scholarship last year, and both have not only jumped into bicycle advocacy wholeheartedly attending and supporting all kinds of bike-minded events, but have also used their talent as writers, and their social media acumen, to spread the word to a broad twenty-something audience. I am very proud of them and excited about the energy and ideas they bring with them.

Last week I went for a check up and found out that my blood pressure had improved, I'd definitely lost some of that stubborn middle aged belly fat I'd wanted to, and my resting heart rate has dropped close to what it was in high school. I felt triumphant and have almost daily bicycling and/or walking to thank for it. For much of my life I've been able to maintain the weight I wanted, but I'm not kidding myself, I was pretty darn out of shape. At 21 I started a job that had me sitting an hour+ on the freeway each way for my commute and things went downhill from there. I didn't begin to really get regular exercise again on a daily basis until my health crashed in 2000.

But a better heart rate and blood pressure aren't the biggest reasons I bike and walk - I do both for the joy of it. Nothing allows me to feel a sense of place and connectivity to my world like biking and walking do. Nothing allows me to listen to the birds, and enjoy the fragrance and colorful vibrancy of flowers in my neighbor's yards the way biking and walking does. Nothing makes me feel more alive than moving under my own volition in a comfortable way.

If we want to successfully combat the terrible pandemic of sedentary diseases that now face us we need to harness joy as one of our key allies. Selling bicycling as a sport has made it very popular to a select crowd who want to put in the grueling hours to train to be avid road cyclists. Our challenge as advocates, however, if we want to do the job right is to do our best to engage and empower the masses.

We all know that sexy sells, but add joy to that mix and well, interest goes through the roof. If you're old enough to remember, just think of Farah Fawcett's famous bikini poster and her gigantic (and authentic feeling) smile. Think of Tom Cruise (before you decided he might be a little crazy). Think of young, refreshingly frank Jennifer Lawrence and her extraordinary Oscar winning performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" where it's her joy of dance that helps focus her and keep her sane.

To this list I'd like to add the talented high hurdler Michelle Jenneke and her pre-race warm up dance that has set the internet on fire (oh yes, and she goes on to win the race too). Her video below has had 22+ million views. It's led to her being hired by Sports Illustrated to model bikinis. Is she beautiful? Yes. Is she sexy? Of course. But she's also a seriously talented Olympic caliber athlete. Watch what happens when she starts to dance - the joy radiates off the screen. If we could bottle that joy I think we'd have a powerful antidote to our sedentary disease pandemic. What do you think?

Happy Valentine's Day Week to You!

I've got an important question for you - what are you doing right now in your day to day life to care for your heart? I don't just mean your physical heart (though as an active living advocate I feel strongly about that of course), but your emotional and spiritual heart as well. In essence, what I'm asking is what are you doing to ensure your own well being?

If you have read any of my pieces you probably know by now that I come to active living advocacy as both a creative (an artist and writer) and a media relations specialist. I feel that active living advocacy in general, and bicycle advocacy in specific, need the compelling engagement of the very best emotionally impactful storytelling, and the full outreach potential of the media, if we are ever going to successfully reduce the current negative and growing impact of sedentary diseases and become a society that embraces and encourages the active wellness of our citizens overall as a top of mind objective.

The universal needs to become very very personal if we are going to influence millions of people to reset their thinking from speed and convenience to actively creating better health for ourselves with our daily routines - we've been given all of the evidence as to why we need to eat better and move more and it's not working so well. Last week on Time.com Alice Park reported that after years of the Baby Boomers being touted as the healthest generation it turns out that research is finding it simply isn't true - and sedentary diseases are the big culprit.

As a Baby Boomer (albeit a reluctant one, from the very last year) my sense of urgency in trying to do something about all of this is heightened.

To play my part I am working on becoming the best possible storyteller I can possibly imagine. To do this I am reading, and listening and watching master storytellers to discover what they do, and say, and present that opens my heart, heals my heart and inspires my heart in the hopes that one day I might be able to share active living information in a way that will do the same for others.

I am so excited that this is Valentine's Week because it is the perfect time to share with you one of the advocacy organizations that has used masterful storytelling so very brilliantly. This organization has so so inspired me, and has much it can teach bicycle advocacy. I'm talking about Eve Ensler's V-Day organization.

Five years ago I gathered together a talented group of lady friends here in Long Beach to perform a reading of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" for the Ten Year Anniversary celebration of the V-Day movement. Personally I wanted to be involved in hosting the event to honor the memory of my birthmother Shirley who was a rape survivor. Working on this event was one of the most profound and rewarding experiences of my life. It was so easy to work with the V-Day organization, they had all of the tools and tips ready and available online, as well as helpful personal at the ready to answer personal questions. Our performance sold out, and our cast put on an unbelievably marvelous performance - and yes I can say that as I was just the MC host!

But it is what the V-Day organization continues to become and how they continue to get their message out that continues to inspire me now. As an organization lead by an artist they have no need to be politically correct. After all, this is the organization led by the women who made it okay to say Vagina in public! V-Day is fearless, absolutely fearless in creating moving, soulful, authentic, diverse, fun, heartbreaking and yes even sexy outreach pieces - especially videos. I am particularly impressed how they have now partnered with dance to bring a defiant, joyfully active angle, as if with each step of the dance women and girls are taking their own steps to actively protect themselves against violence.

I invite you to watch and dance along with them in solidarity. It'll be good for your heart, I promise!

Entrepreneur/Angel Investing Expert and Bicycle Advocate Frank Peters shared on Facebook Monday Feb 4th an article posted on BusinessInsider.com titled, "Americans Have Stopped Driving More and No One is Sure Why." In the piece author Rob Wile seems truly baffled, posting examples from the Department of Transportation and others to back up his claim that well, traffic has dropped off, but experts have no idea why (at least the experts he reached out to).

He seems to be scratching his head at the fact that our youth just aren't that keen on buying cars, this though he does share in the piece that traffic trends analyst Alan Pisarski (quoted in the piece - and offering the voice of reason) points to the colossal jobless rates for our young, their own parents possible joblessness, and yes and the overwhelming college loan debt. as possible reasons.

Is this article tongue in cheek? Can he be serious? I, and most of the readers who posted comments to the piece, are baffled at any expert's bafflement. The challenge to get credit is not even mentioned. Americans have been learning to live within their means for a change, gas is very expensive, and while our economy is in recovery, many many of us are far from recovered learning to live on part-time employment.

And it's dismaying to me that a business magazine would be so tone deaf as to not understand why people aren't driving more. Why not put a positive, well researched spin on the article and find out how much money people are saving by working from home, using mass transit and yes, the bike as a low cost and healthier way of getting around? Why not give your readers some productive cost saving ideas?

I think I'm going to write to him and tell him just that, though considering the tone of the 30 people who've posted at the end of the article, I probably don't need to.

Can BusinessInsider.com really be serving its readership with such a tone deaf article? Even the "insider" readers are dismayed at the article's naiveté.

Interestingly enough a recent Seth Godin blog post was on "How to Listen."

Last week while filling out a "new media" grant application I was asked to share what I was most proud of in my life. As I turn 49 this Wednesday January 30th, it was particularly poignant timing. But I've already shared here on more than occasion what I'm so proud of (hint hint Women on Bikes SoCal) so instead I'd like to look forward and share one of the things I'd like to be most proud of in the future: utilizing emotionally engaging story telling to help engage and inspire a whole new audience of people who very much need daily exercise (and that's almost all of us) into riding a bike regularly.

I want to find a way to share a stories of riding bikes from around the world that will help encourage and empower your Mom, your sister, your cousin, your aunt, your uncle etc. to ride a bike. I want to use story telling to break down barriers whether of culture or language or style to motivate us to get moving on two wheels - and of course I want to rally others to join this cause (and have already!).

To that goal I want to become a good video editor, and I've been doing research and keeping lists of short compelling videos that have captured my attention. Just today I came across the 10x10 Educate Girls: Change the World video above via Twitter and well, it made me cry with both sadness and joy. Not only seeing these bright, beautiful faces of girls from around the world (born into almost unimaginable challenges) who are just looking for a chance to be all they can be, but also that very clearly the bike can be a tool for empowerment. I hope you'll take the time to watch it

It's fascinating how ideas spark, inspire and spread, isn't it? Last night I was talking with new LCI Maria Sipin about a myriad of things (including having her write a regular column for us!) but the two key themes were how can Women on Bikes SoCal support bright and talented young women like herself to stay in bicycling and active living advocacy, and how can we also reach and engage a much broader audience successfully?

Maria shared with me that she's been very inspired by the work of Gary Wexler of Non Profit Revolution who is the Adjunct Lecturer of Nonprofit Marketing in the Masters in Comm Management at USC/Annenberg School of Communication. Wexler is inviting those of us in the non profit realm to think out of the box, a more creative and dynamic approach. As someone who is a) newish to the non profit realm b) a creative at heart and always looking for ways to make advocacy more sexy, alluring and fun and c) increasingly alarmed by the sedentary disease pandemic I'm all ears. So as soon as Maria sent me Wexler's website link I clicked through and began to read his blog.

On January 9th Wexler wrote a piece titled "The Billion Dollar Gift" and I was immediately intrigued when I read his opening two lines:

"When David Kelley, the founder of IDEO in Silicon Valley appeared on 60 Minutes last Sunday night, he indirectly gave the nonprofit sector a billion dollar gift. The question is whether  anyone will take it."

I was so curious I had to go and look up that episode of 60 Minutes to see what he was talking about directly. I'm sharing it with you here below and I hope you'll take the time to watch it.

First off I was thrilled Charlie Rose was the interviewer! But aside from that one of the first things that jumped out at me when the interview goes into the IDEO offices are all the bikes up on the walls. Did you catch that? The second thing that jumped out at me is the way IDEO works with collaborative groups of people with different and diverse talents to come up with the best solutions for the end user. He calls it "Design Empathy," that idea that these teams build on the ideas of each other (rather than compete) to find ways to make products and processes more enjoyable for the end user.

Wexler in his blog notes how different this approach is to many non profits, who often feel compelled to be greatly swayed by the desires and ideas of their largest donors.

Imagine if we used Design Empathy in our active living advocacy...imagine if we thought this way in the broader health establishment? I feel like it could bring about a tremendous shift in our ability to really connect and affect behavior. People are busy, frightened and used to being artfully seduced into buying things by the best minds in marketing, media and advertising. If active living advocacy wants to make an impact we're going to need to get creative. Oh, but wait - Kelly has more to share on the challenge with that. I hope you'll watch his TED talk below about building creative confidence in all of us.

It has been one busy, intense, fun and inspiring week. Over 850 people came to Long Beach for the Pro Walk/Pro Bike: Pro Place 2012 Conference, and 250 came for a "sold out" first national "Women's Bicycling Summit," as people from around North American gathered to both share and learn about the best tactics, skills and approaches for growing the biking, walking and placemaking movements in their own cities, towns and communities.

The need for such conferences and calls to action couldn't be more serious or clear. We are facing a pandemic of sedentary diseases, not only here in the U.S., but throughout the world. Yet there are definitely lights at the end of the tunnel - and those lights are very much the types of ideas, infrastructure, initiatives and programs that were shared and taught at the conference and summit.

On July 18, 2012 in an article on Time.com by medical writer Alice Parks titled "Lack of Exercise as Deadly as Smoking" Parks shares insights from a recent series of related papers and studies published in The Lancet medical journal that illustrates exactly what is going on to cause the medical field such alarm. Further Parks shares from the reports that "...if physical inactivity could be reduced by just 10%, it could avert some 533,000 deaths a year; if reduced by 25%, 1.3 million deaths could be prevented."

The article goes on to note that a key reason to our inactivity is that those of us in wealthier (and thus more sedentary) societies is that we simply rely too much on the modern convenience of the car to get around even for relatively short trips. According to "Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report" by the Alliance for Biking and Walking 40% of our car trips are under two miles.

In order to turn back the tide of devastation of these diseases (not only heart disease, diabetes and obesity but now both breast cancer and colon cancer are being linked as "sedentary diseases" as well) we need to educate, illustrate and motivate our friends, families, neighbors, communities and cities to understand that biking and walking are two of our best tools. Better nutrition is a key component but it's not enough, eating less is not enough, we need to get active on a regular and ongoing basis and for that to happen we need the activity to be easily worked into our every day life. Only biking and walking fit that bill. Only biking and walking allow us to continue to carry on with our daily life, incorporating the running of errands and getting to work and/or meetings while we're getting our daily does of active living.

So here's where I feel the need to get a bit personal and share a little about myself and my two friends in the image with me above. We are not just talking the talk, we're walking the walk, and riding the bike as it were. I have lived car free for over five years now and can do so because I work from home and my City (Long Beach) has an excellent mass transit system. But I find that more and more I rely on my bike to get where I want to go. It's so much faster than walking - and frankly it's easier. I share this because I have struggled with chronic fatigue and pain issues so I want others to know that a bike is a strength magnifier. I don't think this point is made enough.

Luciano Gonzeles now lives a mostly car free life. He is on his second tank of gas for this year. An avid road cyclist, as he moved into bicycle advocacy over the past few years he decided to try and experiment and see how it would be to get around mostly by bike, and I'm happy to share that he's doing marvelously well.

Kerri Zane is our resident walking expert and over the past several years has created a series of local Long Beach walks that incorporate building muscle strength as well as cardiovascular fitness in her program. Kerri not only teaches these walking workshops but uses them on an almost daily basis herself to keep her wonderfully fit.

All three of us are over 45.  We are examples of how it can be done, and together we are working on programs to share with our community to educate, inspire and engage others to do the same. Our first two local programs coming out this November and December are the "Know Your Neighborhood" bicycle tours and the "Street Savvy" hands-on adult bicycle safety training program.

The Time.com article points out that while the deadly effects of inactivity are well known, programs that address, education and encourage people to change their behavior are showing promising results they are still broadly (world-wide) underfunded and undervalued.

Our call to action is very clear. In the words of our very elegant first lady "let's move" and motivate others to do the same.

Do you have a biking and/or walking program in your community or city you'd like us to know about? I'd love to hear! Send me a note at wobsocal@gmail.com.

This is a very bittersweet week for me. We are having amazing synergy and synchronicity here at Women On Bikes SoCal and I feel so very blessed about it. This is our most complete and interesting issue yet, and I feel very honored to have been able to interview both Copenhagenize.com's and Bicycle Anthropologist Mikael Colvill-Andersen and journalist and cyclist Steven Rea of the beautiful new book "Hollywood Rides a Bike." I'm also delighted to share that we have a new journalism intern Melissa Bell, who has two pieces in this issue - a Beautiful by Bike profile and her own Bike Love Blog. I'm also very excited that Katie Taylor is keeping me posted on her journey through Southeast Asia and will be reporting back to us all about it for our next issue.

April Economides has a terrific interview this issue with the Bikenomics concept creator and journalist Elly Blue of Portland in Bikes Mean Business and Kerri Zane shares with us her secret high metabolism foods in Health by Bike that help keep her in such incredible shape.

This week we also found out that Momentum Magazine is not only interested in a story about us, but they were so dazzled by one of Allan Crawford's gorgeous images of our spokeswoman Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal that they requested we try and get a cover shot! So guess what Allan, Suja and I will be doing tomorrow? You guessed it. If you see us out and about on Pine Ave. snapping pics won't you say hello?

This week is bittersweet because 3/16/11 we lost an incredible human being here in Long Beach. Local businessman and bicycle advocate Mark Bixby was killed in a plane crash along with several other friends. The only survivor was Mark's boss and fellow avid cyclist Mike Jensen (who is an inspiration to us all with his amazing recovery). This past August when I was first putting together the concept presentation that would become this website and advocacy initiative I thought of Mark, and his beautiful wife Theresa, quite often. Mark's motto was, "Go Big or Go Home." He was passionate, gregarious, charming, focused, charismatic and was a leader who wasn't afraid to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty. For me he was the epitome of a leader, and he was terrific at inspiring others to go for their own "Go Big" ideas - this website is mine.

But in the "give back" advocacy of this initiative it is the vision of Theresa Bixby and Children Today, the local Long Beach non-profit she helped found (and still serves) that cares for and educates small children of homeless families, that inspired me to think of new ways Women On Bikes SoCal might help the underserved. I was introduced to Children Today and the marvelous work they do when I took a tour and met their lovely Executive Director Dora Jacildo. Until I gave up my car for both financial and health reasons in 2007 I didn't understand how much a bike can be a passport to mobility independence. We are fortunate that Long Beach has very good mass transit, but you still have to take quite a bit of time to figure out how to get where you want to go and well, buses can be delayed. With your own bike you are always ready to get up and go.

In the spirit of that concept, of the bike as a tool for optimism, we are running our "Let's Double the Number of Women & Girls" campaign to create 12 new female bicycle safety instructors of the highest caliber to serve their communities and create cost effecitive and time efficient bicycle safety courses for anyone who wants and needs them. We have created an IndieGoGo campaign (see on your left hand side of the screen) so that donors can have the convenience of donating via credit card, and we can accept donations via paypal here online as well. If you feel bicycle safety education is crucial we hope you'll consider joining us for our 3/24 "Why Style Matters" friend & fundraising event - or simply donate today here!

Best Wishes for a Wonderful Spring!

Melissa Balmer

This month we are delighted to share an insightful cover feature with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition's top two ladies Executive Director Jennifer Klausner and Planning & Policy Director Alexis Lantz. Photographer Allan Crawford, Makeup and Hair Goddess Yve Hart and I spent a wonderful afternoon in Long Beach getting to know both of these very special women a little better and learning what's on the horizon for their organization.

Both of our regular columnists Kerri Zane and April Economides have excellent new pieces. Kerri looks into "Biking to a New Resolution" in "Health by Bike" and April gives us an overview of Long Beach's "Bike Friendly Business District Program" she's created for the City.

This month I feel particularly blessed to have interviewed two women of great integrity and wisdom. This month we've launched a new column "Finding the Female Advocate Voice" where we will seek insight and ideas from women across a broad spectrum of specialties - not just bicycle and active living advocacy. As WoBSoCal is mostly a creation of words I decided Portland's author/writer/creativity coach Charlotte Rains Dixon (aka Wordstrumpet) would be the perfect person to launch the concept of finding our voice.

In "The Artistic Bike" this month we share Debi Kindler's poignant and joyful "The Road Back to Bikefulness." This article is especially touching and special to us here in Long Beach as it shares the late Mark Bixby's wonderful portraits of Debi celebrating her bike commute. I am very grateful to Theresa Bixby for allowing us to share these images.

This website would not be possible without Allan Crawford's amazing talent and generosity as a photographer, nor the support of the team at Bikeable Communities. We have a very special issue already lining up for our March issue and hope you'll not only stay tuned, but consider sharing your own "bike love" story with us. Write to me!

Here's to Happy & Healthy Bikefulnes in the New Year!

Melissa

We start out of the gate this month with Long Beach's engaging Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal on our cover in a beautiful photo by Allan Crawford. Suja has been one of our the key political cheerleaders for the bike-friendly movement in Long Beach, and one of the first women we asked for support from as we begn putting "Women on Bikes" together. We are proud to have her as one of our key spokes-people.

A native of India, Suja spent her first seven years immersed in a culture where the bike is still a major form of transportation for millions of people. She has vivid and visceral memories of being ridden to school every morning by her Father on his bike, and we'll be sharing those memories here via video very soon. A very busy single mom, business woman and politician, Suja is a "dress for the destination" bicyclist who avidly wears a helmet while riding - but guess what? She may be dressed in heels too! And she wants women and girls to feel just fine with whatever level of riding a bike feels comfortable for them, perhaps it's commuting to school, perhaps it's enjoying rides on the weekend with their families on a beach bike path.

We're beginning Women on Bikes SoCal locally from a home-base in Long Beach California where both the City and its residents are making profound inroads into creating a compelling and attractive bike culture, but we're thinking regionally and globally as well. How do we support a movement and inspire others to join? How can we support the advocates already on the ground doing such great work such as the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition and our sponsor Bikeable Communities, yet also engage a whole new audience who have not yet considered bike advocacy before? How can we be both meaningful and enjoyable to participate in?

For me personally, as a writer and an editor, it always goes back to the caliber of the story telling. I am always looking for the stories of individuals to inspire me. You will find a myriad of personal stories here at WoBSoCal from a variety of angles and interests.

When I was toying with the idea of riding a bike again two years ago I was worried that I was simply too frail and out of shape (you can read more about that here), but still I was intrigued. I loved riding a bike as a child and really wanted to do it again. I'm happy to say I had friends who encouraged me to try. Since then I've been inspired daily by the dynamic and organic bicycling culture here in my hometown. Living as I do close to the downtown area, I can stand on my street corner and watch a fascinating array of people ride by on bikes everyday - many of them women.  I've also been profoundly inspired by the Cycle Chic phenomenon from Copenhagen and the world wide movement of beautiful and engaging female-focused bike blogs that have sprouted up because of Mikhael's groundbreaking story telling and compelling imagery of women and families "dressing for their daily lives, not their bicycle commute." It's an "aha" idea that's taking the world by storm. Won't you join in?

Melissa Balmer