Clearly I've been drinking the special kool-aid for too long.

Instead of biking to work for Bike to Work Week I've spent the last few days at a university transportation conference. I've been surprised to see how other schools in the country deal with transportation issues, and how very much it is different from the way that things are done at the University of Wisconsin and the City of Madison.

For about the last 10 years I've been straddling the line between government staff and community advocate. It can be a tricky line to walk. On the government side, things often are done according to the status quo, and change seems to move at a glacier place sometimes. On the advocacy side, it is all about change. Change now (or as quickly as we can get it). Don't get me wrong, in Madison there's a fair mix of community-minded folks in government, but they often have to work within the constraints of the systems that they inhabit.

I get frustrated with both sides sometimes…wishing change could happen more quickly on the government end…and wishing that the advocates wouldn't always push so damn hard on the other side. I know that, for the most part, folks on both sides want to do the right thing. But being in the middle sometimes makes me seem or feel like a traitor to both sides.

Coming to this conference and seeing how things are done in other places makes me realize how truly extraordinary is Madison. I don't think we're better people, I think that we just have emerged from a truly unique set of circumstances, not least of which is our landlocked, LAKE-locked geography. Another undeniable influence is our history. Robert Lafollete and the Wisconsin Idea have made a mark on our city and our university in ways that are probably deeper than any of us realize.

Though it often seems like change takes forever between the government bureaucracy and the never-ending public input process that is Madison, things DO get done. Our community moves in the right direction. When I look at where everyone else in the country is at, we're doing pretty damn well.

This is not a reason to rest on our laurels. We didn't get where we are without lots of pressure from citizens and lots of tough decisions by government staff and decision makers. If anything, realizing how well we've done should only make us want to work harder to get to the next level.

And there are still times when we make the WRONG decisions. Just because the balance has turned out well, that doesn't mean that things can't get worse. The decisions and actions taken now will determine whether our community is a better or worse place to live ten years from now.

After this week, though, I do have a new respect for the people who have made good things happen in Madison over the years, whether they were the ones pushing for the change, or the ones who had to be convinced. And I realize that my role as middle man is more important than I ever thought before.

We beat each other up a good deal, but we're all doing a pretty good job. I'm glad to call Madison my home.

Now get back to work.