1. Find out your Senate and House District numbers.

2. Assemble your team. Think through who should attend the meeting. Attempt to include a bike shop or other industry representative, a public health representative, and an event coordinator or local tourism board member. Contact each to see if they are willing to attend a meeting. Do not invite anyone who will embarrass you.

3. Contact your Congressperson's local office to set up a meeting. Talk to whoever does the scheduling for the legislator. Express that some representatives from the bicycling community would like to meet with the Senator or Representative. Some offices are very responsive, some may never get back to you. Polite persistence does pay off. You may end up meeting with a staffer instead of your Congressperson, but it is worth trying to get to the top.

4. Meet with your team in advance of the meeting.
* Spend some time together to make sure that everyone knows the purpose of the meeting, and to decide who will say what.
* Contact TBC to make sure that your message is coordinated so that all bicyclists in Texas are speaking with one voice. TBC can also provide your group with facts and figures, as well as success stories from around the state.
* Research your legislator before the meeting so that everyone will have an idea of your Congressperson's position on bicycling. Hopefully they voted in favor of the Matthew Brown Act (HB 2203) in the 77th legislative session. Craft your pitch accordingly.

5. At the Meeting:
* Thank the legislator or staffer for something good they have done for bicycling.
* The public health person should talk about obesity and the decline in physical activity, making the link back to building better facilities.
* The bike industry person can talk about the business of bicycling and its value for tourism, economic development, etc.
* Realize that the legislator may be more interested in talking to one representative from your group than the others. Remain ready to clarify facts and figures. However, do not overwhelm them with details if they appear uninterested. Make sure to circle back to the purpose of the meeting.
* Express that you look forward to working with them further on advancing bicycling in the state of Texas.

6. After the Meeting:
* If you promised to send additional information, do so promptly.
* Send a thank you note.
* Brief TBC by sending an email.