John Ferguson wrote that it seems ironic [to him] to hold a bicycle event where there is no mass transit access, but let's think about the priorities for a successful Cirque:
1) Leadership. Without a Dale Brown or a team like MJ and Wayne, Cirque ain't gonna happen. No way. These folk don't grow on trees like olives.
2) Nice riding is a draw. I commute daily in the DC area, but there really aren't that many metro areas with great riding and great mass transit access.
3) Reasonable $$ accomodations. This hasn't been a high-rent crowd, and most of us want it to stay that way. Areas with great mass transit tend to be urban, with much more expensive convention hotels.
I lead the occasional conference for my day job, and go to lots more. I also was in the leadership group for a tandem rally in Princeton NJ, and one in South Jersey (not far from Atlantic City). There are some places that have (2) and (3) - I think of Sacramento - but nowadays most mid-sized cities with (2) are either w/o rail or limited to expensive air connections, or both. Not many places have the volunteers begging to host.
By the way, both Greensboro (former Cirque site) and Richmond (this year's NAHBS site) have Amtrak. And this Cirque series in Leesburg VA has reasonable access via Dulles airport, or even Amtrak+Metro+bus+shuttle. If your conscience hurts about fossil fuel use, buy carbon offsets.
By its nature, good mass transit requires high population densities (or huge subsidies). That's not found combined with fantastic access to nice rural riding in this country. Not with our suburban sprawl. Even small-town Princeton would no longer work well for a Cirque. But, NY's Charlie Komonoff, a real guru on urban bike transportation, might find a way. We haven't.
regards,
harvey sachs mcLean va
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ John Ferguson wrote: Not that I'm really expecting this to happen, but how about holding it somewhere easy to get to by mass transit?
Seems ironic that a bike show is held somewhere that can only be gotten to by burning lots of fossil fuel. The selfish reason: I don't have a car or a license!