diphthong

so you win the lottery or come into a substantial inheritance or just have serious pull-sudden or lifelong, what do you do to improve/educate/sponsor/raise awareness/promote
cycling in your region (or perhaps another)? details pleeeze.

AdkMtnMonster

Retire early, buy any bikes I want, and rides them. A lot. Buy up all of the molds for casting rim brakes to force the world to fully embrace disc brakes. Develop and create the perfect chocolate chip cookie energy bar that’s edible on the bike. Buy legislation to outlaw/criminalize recumbents: possession, use and operation. Require cycling-specific clothing while riding. Violators will receive mandatory prison time. There’s more, but I don’t have time for you poor trashy people. I’m RICH!!!

CAT7RDR

Create a foundation for disadvantaged youths to be able to purchase and service bikes and provide a safety and training courses for same with helmets and necessary padding (BMX and MTB) supplied.

indyfabz

Would be bells be mandatory or outlawed?

Phil_gretz

"...so you win the lottery or come into a substantial inheritance..."

Step 1: Meet with a tax planner
Step 2: Review your portfolio and identify market or gov't-driven vulnerabilities or risks. Re-balance.
Step 3: Re-calculate retirement window (if applicable), to include whether/when to begin Social Security income
Step 4: Invest the newly found $ accordingly, including consideration of long-term care insurance
Step 5: Continue as before

billridesbikes

How much we talking?

Build a velodrome.

Flip Flop Rider

create my own mup on private land

AdkMtnMonster

Bells, bar-end mirrors, clip-on sunglasses, flags and Bike Forums are all on the “Axe List.” Anyone caught riding an e-bike without pedaling for more than 200’ will face jail time and be forced to ride a Kickr on Zwift for 16 hours/day until eligible for parole. (And parole won’t ever happen.)

70sSanO

I think I would replace my Sunrace cassettes and KMC chains with Shimano and SRAM.

John

unterhausen

I have always wanted a velodrome.

indyfabz

I would add safety glasses and work gloves from Home Despot to the list along with beer brand jerseys. The overwhelming majority of beer jerseys are are ugly, and the type of beer you like is irrelevant to cycling.

indyfabz

Are you the key master?

cbrstar

Open my own bike Co-Op.

Ghazmh

I would buy a fat bike with a spare set of wheels. I would replace my hybrid with a better hybrid. I would buy as many helmets and shoes (2 and 3 bolt) and gloves and sunglasses I could to color coordinate. I would buy a locker to store it all in. I would promote cycling by doing it everyday wearing something different.

indyfabz

Can I interest you in a slightly used one in T-Town?

Ironfish653

Buy a couple of city councilmen or state delegates.
Grassroots is great and all, but you gotta get the policymakers on your side if you want to make real progress.

aplcr0331

Oh yes for Christs sake I'd do whatever it takes to be the hero in my story. It's not enough to enjoy something we have to "advocate" and "promote" and "inspire" and WHAT. THE. ****. does "raise awareness" even mean? Are there actually people that have never heard of....a bike?

Not everything has to be EPIC.

Life is not a Harry Potter novel or an Avengers movie.

tomato coupe

coming into cashish and improving cycling..

Hashish? Cat fish? Smoke the former, eat the latter.

bOsscO

I'd probably donate it all to a local org like HUB; https://bikehub.ca/
Per their website "HUB Cycling is a charitable not-for-profit organization that has spent over 20 years removing barriers to cycling in Metro Vancouver, while cultivating the health, environmental, and economic benefits that active transportation can bring. HUB has educated thousands of people, motivated thousands more, and championed improvements such as #UnGapTheMap to create a connected cycling network."

bOsscO

I'm not even sure where to start with these comments but would you agree that improving cycling, or advocating and promoting cycling, in your area would allow more people to enjoy cycling?

indyfabz

Not to quibble, but you can smoke both and eat both.

Smoked catfish recipe:

Smoked Catfish with Homemade Tartar Sauce - Kent Rollins

Cannabis brownies:

The Best Easy Homemade Cannabis Brownies » Emily Kyle Nutrition

tomato coupe

I think someone needs a brownie.

aplcr0331

Considering the bike shops are all but sold out of nearly every model of bike I'm not sure what else needs to be done so that "more people enjoy cycling". What does that mean? Seriously...how many people have to enjoy cycling? Millions of people ride bikes, is that not enough? What advocacy needs to be done? There's already a legion of Karens out there "advocating" that cyclists scratch the paint on cars parked in bike lines. I don't want to do that. There appears to be plenty of people demanding "cycling infrastructure" and all that ****.

And to bring a point in my defense in these matters...most cycling advocates hate people like me based on nothing more than the clothes I wear and the type of bike I ride.

So, no thanks.

Advocate all you want. But quit insisting that the only way for me to be a "true" **whatever** is to be some sort of agitating cheerleader for an activity that I just like to do by myself on occasion.

I'm no hero.

bOsscO

To me it means that vulnerable road users (kids, elderly, BIPOC, disabled, etc.) have safe, consistent road infrastructure.

According to US stats "In 2016, around 12.4 percent of Americans cycled on a regular basis. The number of cyclists/bike riders in the U.S. has increased over the past three years from around 43 million to 47.5 million in 2017" By most accounts, 12.4% is not that many.

Sure but wouldn't a cash injection for cycling infrastructure help those plenty of advocates provide safe, consistent routes for our kids or parents to ride a bike rather than drive a car?

I'm not sure where you live, but most cycling advocates I know don't hate any person or group, nor do they insist on other riders being an agitating cheerleader (although being an agitating cheerleader for cycling can be really fun).

Troul 

refinish certain rail-trails with bitumen while connecting or expanding upon them. Create a maintenance program using a stream of funding to ensure it is kept up for the foreseeable centuries.