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Dear David,
 
Thank you very much for this contact and your support of my project.  I am really interested in your own research, what did you pursue while at Cambridge with Professor Baker?  How has that led to your current professional position?
 
I will reach out to him and hope it leads to a mentor. 
 
Thanks again.  I hope you never lost power in the storm (my family lives in Potomac and only just got theirs back!) 
 
Best,
Kylie

On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 5:37 PM, David Patton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Kylie

I am an american who has spent time in cambridge, england, in a quest not unlike yours. My advisor, now retired, is a historical geographer who specialized in french national identity. I think he would be interested in your project and might be able to steer you in a positive direction. He has even written a bit about bicycles.

He is: Alan R H Baker

arb1000 (at) cam.ac.uk

Good luck,

David Patton, Washington, DC



Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

From: Kylie Mara Sobel <[log in to unmask]>
Sender: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:48:37 -0400
To: <[log in to unmask]>
ReplyTo: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Interest in French Fulbright

Hi Everyone.
 
My name is Kylie Sobel. Dave Horton from EPSRC Understanding Walking and Cycling Project kindly recommended I reach out to this email list, hoping it serves as a wonderful resource.  I am currently working on a proposal to study the romance of the bicycle in France and was hoping perhaps someone could offer me some guidance or leads for possible affiliations. 
 
First I will give you a brief history about myself: I currently work for ABC News in New York. I graduated from Fordham University's Rose Hill campus on a Saturday in May 2009 with a dual degree in Middle Eastern Studies and French and moved to Paris on a Sunday to work as a bicycle tour guide for a company there. I worked until my visa ran out, moved back to New York and found my current job.
 
As a tour guide, I became quite fascinated with the very different approach Europeans and the French take to biking--there it is viewed as a practical mode of transportation, whereas In the United States, even with many urban programs promoting cycling, the bike is still somewhat of a novelty. With a Fulbright I hope to explore what in French national character makes biking a segment of its collective identity, cutting through gender, racial, social and economic barriers.  I am particularly interested in use of the bicycle as sustainable transportation and a literal and figurative means of social mobility. 
 
Today's Vélib' program in France really exemplifies the mobility revolution made possible by the bike.  Urban planning, city support and local interest must all connect to make this country-wide biking program the most successful public bike transportation system in the world.  Through research, and based upon my journalistic background, I hope to create a series of stories about modern people whose lives have been impacted/altered by the bicycle.  I hope to work with an academic or organization who can help guide my research and proposal. 
 
I was hoping perhaps someone could offer some guidance to me about contacts in France who may be interested in my research/stories...the grant requires I get support from an academic or French institution, an NGO for example.  In order to pursue this grant I need to have an in-country sponsor willing to be a mentor (though there will not need to support me financially, and will not need to commit to an intensive mentoring relationship.)
 
It could be a win-win, I get a mentor/advisor about the topic, and in exchange the individual's organization receives free content.  And hopefully my research provides more insight into the interplay between cycling and society. 
 
Any guidance you might have is greatly and sincerely appreciated.

Best,
Kylie