ADVOCACY TOOLBOX for BIKEPACKERS
The collective power of individuals like you taking action and using your voices to advocate for decisions and changes that have the impact on the bikepacking experience and the landscapes that we ride through is a powerful tool.
You can use this Advocacy Toolbox for Bikepackers when issues or decisions arise that impact our community, trail access, or the landscapes through which we ride. These six tools are proven strategies for moving the needle in democratic political action.
They take anywhere from a minute to hours. Generally the ways to engage that take the most time have more impact and sway on law makers and officials, but research has shown that even small actions like commenting on social media can make a big impact.
The tools provided here are calling your elected official, writing to your elected official, visiting the lawmaker, writing a letter to the editor or OpEd, and using social media to support political action (slacktivism).
For each tool we offer an estimated time investment, how that strategy works, tips for effective use of the tool, an example, and a photo of Hank the bikepacking pup modeling the advocacy strategy. Because who isn't inspired to take action by that face?
Some of the talking points we use in these tools inlcude bikepacking-specific talking points gleaned our community surveys. Depending on the situation, it may be helpful to include a bit about bikepacking to give lawmakers context.
You can use this Advocacy Toolbox for Bikepackers when issues or decisions arise that impact our community, trail access, or the landscapes through which we ride. These six tools are proven strategies for moving the needle in democratic political action.
They take anywhere from a minute to hours. Generally the ways to engage that take the most time have more impact and sway on law makers and officials, but research has shown that even small actions like commenting on social media can make a big impact.
The tools provided here are calling your elected official, writing to your elected official, visiting the lawmaker, writing a letter to the editor or OpEd, and using social media to support political action (slacktivism).
For each tool we offer an estimated time investment, how that strategy works, tips for effective use of the tool, an example, and a photo of Hank the bikepacking pup modeling the advocacy strategy. Because who isn't inspired to take action by that face?
Some of the talking points we use in these tools inlcude bikepacking-specific talking points gleaned our community surveys. Depending on the situation, it may be helpful to include a bit about bikepacking to give lawmakers context.
If you're ready to act and wondering who your elected official is, here's how to find your elected officials:
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Write Your Elected Official
Time: 5 to 20 minutes Writing to your elected officials can be an impactful way to make your voice heard. The more time you take to personalize your letter, the more it will stand out and makes an impact. Handwritten or printed letters sent in the mail make your voice stand out more than an email, and an email makes more of an impact than a signature on a petition letter. Every identical letter that is signed is counted as one submitted opinion (even if it has hundreds of submissions or signatures). An effective letter:
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Call Your Elected Official
Time: 5 minutes Making a call to your state, local or nationally elected official is one of the most effective and efficient ways to use your voice and make it heard. Representatives are most concerned with what their voters want (so they will get re-elected), so calling your own representatives is most impactful. What to remember when calling:
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Visit Your Elected Official
Time: 10 minutes to a couple hours, plus travel Taking the time to attend a townhall or schedule a meeting with an elected official will have the most compelling impact in using your voice to support a position on an issue. Whether at a town hall meeting or appointment with a staff member, identify yourself as a constituent, and share a concise statement about why you care about the issue and how you would like to see the lawmaker vote or act. Come prepared with a simple and concise question to ask. What to remember about in-person meetings:
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Write a Letter to the Editor or OpEd
Time : 15 to 30 minutes Lawmakers rely on newspapers to gauge public opinion on issues., so voicing your opinion in newspapers through a letter to the editor (LTEs) or an opinion editorial (OpEd) is an effective way to make your voice heard and opinion count. Effective LTEs are:
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Use Social Media to Voice Your Opinion
Time: 1 to 3 minutes to comment, 10 to 20 to post “Slacktivism” or supporting a political action through social media has become a easy and effective way to make your voice heard by lawmakers. Lawmakers use social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to gauge public opinion to help them prioritize what issues to engage with. Ways to effectively engage on social media:
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Bikepacking talking points for elected officials and land managers
Who are bikepackers? What is bikepacking? What do bikepackers value? Because bikepacking is a relatively new and quickly growing disciple of cycling, talking points that generalize what the bikepacking community identifies as what bikepacking is, who bikepacks and why they bikepack can be helpful in building the support of elected officials and land managers. These talking points are generalizations gathered from surveying of the bikepacking community in 2020.
What is bikepacking?
Who are bikepackers?
Bikepackers range in age and income diversity, generally spanning 20-70 years old and <$25k - >$116k annual income. While the community is striving to increase the racial and gender diversity of the user-group, bikepackers are predominantly male and white, with just 10% of the surveyed population are BIPOC and 28% are female identifying or nonbinary.
Why do bikepackers bikepack?
Bikepackers primarily bikepack to become immersed in the outdoors and natural world through backcountry experiences and explore and connect with new landscapes and communities.
Bikepackers’ values:
Economic impact of bikepacking:
Economic benefits of outdoor recreation, trails, and bicycle tourism are substantial; dollars spent on multi-day cycling trips are significantly higher than those spent on day trips – cyclists contribute $94 per day to local economies.
*Information presented here has been gathered from Bikepacking Roots' 2018 Community Survey
What is bikepacking?
- Bikepacking is essentially backpacking on a bike – multi-day human-powered travel on trails and/or dirt roads
- Popular bikepacking routes often link together existing trails, dirt roads, and limited sections of pavement to create weekend- to month-long adventures
Who are bikepackers?
Bikepackers range in age and income diversity, generally spanning 20-70 years old and <$25k - >$116k annual income. While the community is striving to increase the racial and gender diversity of the user-group, bikepackers are predominantly male and white, with just 10% of the surveyed population are BIPOC and 28% are female identifying or nonbinary.
Why do bikepackers bikepack?
Bikepackers primarily bikepack to become immersed in the outdoors and natural world through backcountry experiences and explore and connect with new landscapes and communities.
Bikepackers’ values:
- Solitude, interacting with other non-motorized users, riding through undeveloped wildlands, and engaging with rural communities have been identified to enhance the experiences of bikepackers.
- Interacting with OHVs, motorized traffic, noise from human activity, logging operations, mining/oil/gas operations, and dense community development have been identified by bikepackers as qualities of a route or trip that detract from the quality of experience while bikepacking.
Economic impact of bikepacking:
Economic benefits of outdoor recreation, trails, and bicycle tourism are substantial; dollars spent on multi-day cycling trips are significantly higher than those spent on day trips – cyclists contribute $94 per day to local economies.
- Outdoor recreation accounts for approximately 2% of the United States’ GDP
- Bicycle tourism in Oregon contributes $400 million to the state’s economy
*Information presented here has been gathered from Bikepacking Roots' 2018 Community Survey