The 25th annual Energy Fair will take place this weekend at the MREA site about 10 miles east of downtown Stevens Point in Custer, WI. Among the countless workshops and other events spanning this 3-day event, Chief Bike Fun Officer Bob Fisch of PPSP will be giving a presentation on Friday.

My workshop is entitled “Local Bicycle News: Awards, Plans, Advocacy, and More”. It will take place on Friday June 20 at 12 noon in the Brown tent. If you have a copy of the Energy Fair program – either hard copy or online – you can find my workshop in the schedule under listing T10.

I’ll be giving a 45-minute workshop discussing several bicycling-related news stories from the Stevens Point area over the past year. Poky Pedalers will learn about Stevens Point’s Bicycle Friendly Community award, the Portage County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, the status of proposed bicycle accommodations for the Division/Church corridor in Stevens Point, and other recent stories related to bicycling in our area.

To be clear, this is not a PPSP ride to the Energy Fair. But for Poky Pedalers who feel safe and comfortable traveling longer distances in rural settings, I certainly encourage you to use a bicycle for your transportation there and back. If you plan to stay until after dark, be certain you have adequate lighting on your bike. From downtown Stevens Point, the MREA is a pleasant 10 mile bicycle ride each way with a couple of calm routes to choose from.

However you choose to get to the Energy Fair, I look forward to seeing lots of Poky Pedalers in attendance at my workshop.

There is one other MREA workshop I want to call attention to for Poky Pedalers. On Sunday June 22 at 3 PM in the Purple Tent, Sarah Wallace of the Portage County Planning & Zoning Dept will be presenting a workshop entitled “Connecting Portage County by Bicycle”. This is workshop T4 in the Energy Fair program.

Wallace was a driving force for creating the recently adopted countywide bicycle and pedestrian plan (which is one of the topics I will be speaking about on Friday). She will give a more complete presentation on the plan and how its implementation will benefit Portage County. Poky Pedalers will planning to attend the PPSP Bike/Ped Plan Vision Ride on August 23 will benefit from the background presented at this workshop. If you are at the Energy Fair on Sunday, I highly recommend attending Wallace’s workshop.

For more information about the Energy Fair, including entry fee info, volunteer opportunities, and the schedule of the vast array of presentations, vendors, entertainment, and keynote speakers during the 3-day event, visit the MREA website here.

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