{"id":711,"date":"2010-08-18T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/"},"modified":"2013-01-05T19:50:37","modified_gmt":"2013-01-05T19:50:37","slug":"obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama’s words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate!"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Obama made a whirlwind visit to Seattle<\/a><\/strong> on Tuesday and I managed to catch him for a quick powwow over a cup of java in Pioneer Square.\u00a0 What an opportunity!\u00a0 Here’s a synopsis of my conversation with the President of the United States (POTUS):<\/p>\n

Me: Sir, we need a national Complete Streets<\/a><\/strong> mandate. Not only is traffic congestion contributing to global warming, but it’s ruining the livability of many of our communities. We can’t build our way out of this. We only make things worse when we try.<\/p>\n

POTUS: Good point, Louise. May I call you Louise?<\/p>\n

Me: Yes, sir. May I call you Mr President?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

POTUS: Of course. What else is on your mind?<\/p>\n

Me: Sir, I’m concerned about our national obesity epidemic and the health of our children. For a variety of reasons, our young people are leading more sedentary lives. We need to find ways to engage them in a more active lifestyle. Incorporating biking and walking into their daily lives is an affordable solution and Safe Routes to School<\/a><\/strong> helps us do this.<\/p>\n

POTUS: Believe me, this is on my radar screen. Michelle is tackling this issue<\/a><\/strong> and she’s all over it. Anything else?<\/p>\n

Me: One more thing, Mr. President. Your Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood<\/a><\/strong>, he’s a keeper.<\/p>\n

POTUS: Thanks. I like Ray too. I’ve gotta get moving. Patty Murray is waiting for me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Keep up the good\u00a0work, bike advocate!”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
And with that, President Obama hopped into his waiting vehicle and waved good-bye. “Keep up the good\u00a0work, bike advocate!” he said as he was whisked away…..<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
What–you don’t believe me?\u00a0 Well, maybe it wasn’t quite like that, but I assure you\u00a0it was close.\u00a0\u00a0I mean,\u00a0I’m sure that’s how it would have been had\u00a0the President and I\u00a0actually met.\u00a0 <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Ok, so I was walking to the coffee shop Tuesday morning\u00a0when I noticed dozens of motorcycle cops and hundreds of onlookers lining the street.\u00a0 I walked over to check it out.\u00a0 Unimpeded, I stepped right up to the intersection just in time to see\u00a0the President’s motorcade\u00a0approach. A rousing cheer\u00a0went up from the crowd as his vehicle\u00a0rolled by and President Obama waved to the bystanders,\u00a0including me!\u00a0 <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And I swear I heard him say, “Keep up the good work, bike advocate!”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Obama made a whirlwind visit to Seattle on Tuesday and I managed to catch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[18,51,45,46,21,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-complete-streets","category-bike-funding-policy-wa","category-humor","category-safe-routes-to-school","category-transportation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nObama's words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate! - Washington Bikes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Obama's words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate! - Washington Bikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Obama made a whirlwind visit to Seattle on Tuesday and I managed to catch […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Washington Bikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-08-18T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-05T19:50:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Louise McGrody\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Louise McGrody\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/\",\"name\":\"Obama's words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate! - Washington Bikes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-08-18T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-05T19:50:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ede2cc0355be2e0115cfee13968ca938\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Obama’s words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/\",\"name\":\"Washington Bikes\",\"description\":\"People who bike make a difference\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ede2cc0355be2e0115cfee13968ca938\",\"name\":\"Louise McGrody\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/82369b38471c5b1a96a8402b92fe9d17?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/82369b38471c5b1a96a8402b92fe9d17?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Louise McGrody\"},\"description\":\"Louise has been with Washington Bikes since 1994 and is often referred to as its institutional memory. Her community outreach efforts for the WA Bikes have spawned the formation of several local friends groups, including Friends of Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle and the Fish Lake Trail Action Group in Spokane. She has a passion for the outdoors and is happiest when exploring it by bike, skis or hiking boots. She also likes to knit and has been known to stash small knitting projects in her cycling panniers and backpacks.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/author\/louisemcgrody\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Obama's words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate! - Washington Bikes","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Obama's words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate! - Washington Bikes","og_description":"President Obama made a whirlwind visit to Seattle on Tuesday and I managed to catch […]","og_url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/","og_site_name":"Washington Bikes","article_published_time":"2010-08-18T15:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-01-05T19:50:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg"}],"author":"Louise McGrody","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Louise McGrody","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/","url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/","name":"Obama's words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate! - Washington Bikes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg","datePublished":"2010-08-18T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2013-01-05T19:50:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ede2cc0355be2e0115cfee13968ca938"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_9-coSRlRBkE\/TGtUQqQpnaI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/Ya3A8YaGnpA\/s400\/Obama+waving+(2).jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2010\/08\/18\/obamas-words-to-me-keep-up-the-good-work-bike-advocate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Obama’s words to me: Keep up the good work, bike advocate!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/","name":"Washington Bikes","description":"People who bike make a difference","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ede2cc0355be2e0115cfee13968ca938","name":"Louise McGrody","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/82369b38471c5b1a96a8402b92fe9d17?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/82369b38471c5b1a96a8402b92fe9d17?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Louise McGrody"},"description":"Louise has been with Washington Bikes since 1994 and is often referred to as its institutional memory. Her community outreach efforts for the WA Bikes have spawned the formation of several local friends groups, including Friends of Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle and the Fish Lake Trail Action Group in Spokane. She has a passion for the outdoors and is happiest when exploring it by bike, skis or hiking boots. She also likes to knit and has been known to stash small knitting projects in her cycling panniers and backpacks.","url":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/author\/louisemcgrody\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p36Q8O-bt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}