Read about Dane’s transition from winter to spring in the biking world:
I’m now half way through my 11 month term of service as the Bicycle Coordinator in Fayetteville Arkansas. I started in October and here we are in April. Bike advocacy is somewhat seasonal, with much of the emphasis in the spring. I’ve ridden my bike to my service site through the winter and put in many hours of planning for the thaw. As the weather improves I’m beginning to see my winter-time efforts starting to pay off. The businesses that I coaxed into applying for Bicycle Friendly Business designations back in December (when few dare ride a bike) are starting to receive gold level awards. I used the down time this winter to raise over four thousand dollars to help promote Bike Month in May. I now have money for signage and advertising materials for events in May. I’m expecting to reach thousands of people with the Bike Month campaign. Conversations that I started before Thanksgiving with Bike share companies are just now getting interesting. B-Cycle bike share demo teams are scheduled to make a sales visit to bring support and financial backing for a regional bike share system. During the winter it was up to me to keep motivated, make cold calls, and try to engage partners. Now that spring is here and speaking engagements, event planning, trail surveys, and everything else it all happening it’s no longer a question of motivating myself or others but it’s a question of keeping up.
Dane Eifling graduated from Fayetteville High School in 2003, served in the U.S. Navy from 2004-2009 and graduated from San Francisco State in 2012 with a BA in Geography with emphasis in planning and transportation. Dane champions the benefits of alternative transportation with a special emphasis on cycling. As Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator for the City of Fayetteville, Dane is developing and implementing education, outreach and planning solutions to enhance bicycle use and pedestrian experience in Fayetteville.
