Campaigns &
Activism

A history of courage, dedication, and occasionally blocking Coast Guard vessels by accident.

A History of Courage

Every movement has its defining moments. These are ours. We are not embarrassed by any of them. Well. Most of them.

March 2022

The March on Marina del Rey

300 concerned citizens formed a human chain across the marina entrance at dawn. The protest lasted 6 hours. It attracted local news coverage, 2 food trucks, and a man who thought it was a farmers market.

Unfortunately, the human chain also blocked a Coast Guard vessel responding to a distress call from a sailboat that had run aground near Channel Islands.

"It was a net positive for awareness. The Coast Guard eventually found an alternate route. The sailboat was fine. Mostly." — Diane Kowalski, ICANC Spokesperson

Local ordinance 2022-0847 proposed to ban "organized human chains within 500 feet of navigable waterways." It did not pass.
Summer 2023

Operation Dry Wheels

An undercover sting operation conducted at 14 major ferry terminals across the Pacific Northwest. ICANC volunteers posed as cyclists with bicycles and attempted to board ferries while openly discussing their intention to "ride on the deck."

Result: 0 out of 14 terminals intervened. Not a single ferry worker asked them to stop. One worker helped them carry the bike aboard.

"The system is fundamentally, catastrophically broken." — Derek Fontaine, Operation Leader, who was later spotted cycling to the debrief meeting.

October 2023

The Spokane Spoke Summit

The first international academic conference on maritime bicycle safety. Held in Spokane, Washington — approximately 400 miles from the nearest ocean — due to a booking error that no one caught until it was too late.

Keynote address: "Gyroscopic Harmonics and Maritime Destabilization: A Fourier Analysis" by Dr. Werner Pedalstein of the Zurich Maritime Bicycle Laboratory.

47 registered attendees. One was a lost Uber driver who stayed for the continental breakfast and asked several surprisingly insightful questions.

Published proceedings: 312 pages. Cited by 0 subsequent papers.
June 2024

The Great Lake Erie Flotilla Protest

50 boats of various sizes circled Put-in-Bay, Ohio, flying custom "No Bikes on Boats" flags. The protest was meant to last 3 hours. It lasted 45 minutes.

3 boats collided within the first 20 minutes due to disagreements about which direction to circle. Ironically, none of the collisions involved bicycles.

The incident led to the creation of the Erie County Bicycle-Maritime Advisory Board, which has met exactly once. Minutes from that meeting read: "Motion to adjourn. Seconded. Adjourned."

Total media coverage: One paragraph in the Sandusky Register under the headline "Boats Circle Island For Some Reason."
September 2024

#PedalFree Goes Viral

A TikTok awareness campaign that exceeded all expectations. The most popular video — a dramatic staged re-enactment of "The Marcus Incident" (see Jennifer's Story) — reached 2.3 million views.

The video featured a man on a bicycle being catapulted off a boat by a trampoline hidden under a tarp. It was not scientifically accurate but was emotionally resonant.

Somehow got endorsed by a European Parliament member from Malta who shared it with the caption "This is why we need EU maritime reform." They later claimed they "knew it was satire the whole time."

Spawned 14,000+ duets, most of which missed the point entirely.
January 2025

The Frogcorn.com Launch

"Our most ambitious awareness initiative yet." — ICANC Board of Directors

Budget: $47 (domain registration + one stock photo). The site you are currently reading.

Within 48 hours of launch, it was shared by three maritime safety Facebook groups, none of whom realized it was satirical.

Status: Ongoing. Impact: Immeasurable. Budget remaining: $0.

The Fight Isn't Over

In fact, it's barely started. There are bicycles on boats right now. As you read this. Somewhere on the water, a wheel is spinning. Join us.