There are many cycling activists in the area served by the Silicon Valley Bicycling Coalition. I found that out by seeing how many of them showed up for the year-end party. This is probably about two-thirds of the crowd. The room was so big, and my seat was such that I couldn't get a shot of everybody.

On the merchandise table, there were copies of this video, several kinds of T shirts, various books, and a recycling cycling calendar. (To order calendars ($5 each plus shipping) contact Anne Ng, anneng@aol.com.removethispart.) The calendar was unusual in that it would be correct not only this coming year, but also in 2014 and 2025, when the year will start on the same day and have the same length. The cover makes a point of that, so you can reuse it twice before you recycle it. There are great pictures of cycling taken all over the world in it.

I was proud to be in a room that had so many bicycles parked against the end by the door. This was probably about a third of them. The one at the right end of the picture that you can only see a piece of the back wheel and rack of is mine.

This pair seems to go everywhere on their tandem bicycle. They also wear great T shirts!

Anne Ng is the membership chair. She reported that the organization is doing well. We have grown in the past year, and the budget is healthy. She was introduced by the President of the Bicycle Coalition, Jim Stallman, but unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of him.

This pair were there to let us know about an alarming possibility. Apparently the truckers are paying rich lobbying firms to get enabling legislation written and passed for triple trailer trucks like the one pictured above. They are doing what they can to fight them, beginning by informing groups like the SVBC about the threat. Click on the above picture to find out more about what their flier had to say.

Former Palo Alto City Council member Ellen Fletcher, one of the most respected bicyclists on the peninsula, was introduced to introduce the Volunteer of the year. She began by listing this person's many accomplishments of the past year, which included staffing the bike parking booth at many events and numerous other things.

Everybody gave June Welsh a great hand as she went up to accept her award plaque as Volunteer of the Year.

Ellen Fletcher came back to introduce the Activist of the year. She began by listing this person's many accomplishments of the past year, which included preventing a number of road widening that would have made it easier for cars to go fast be dangerous for cyclists, among numerous other things.

Everybody gave Dani Weber a great hand as she went up to accept her award plaque as Activist of the Year. She explained that preventing road widening also keep monster trucks off the streets, in that they are too hard to maneuver around tight corners. She urged us all to write a letter to our legislators asking them to help keep trains on the rails where they belong.