Orem City Council Vote!
4 November, 2010
The Orem Bike & Pedestrian Master Plan is scheduled to be voted on this coming Tuesday, November 9th. The meeting gets under way at 5:30. I will update everyone with the agenda for the evening as soon as I have it, which should be any day. PLEASE come if at all possible. There is no known opposition, and the council is very much in favor, but the more people we have there the more they will be convinced that it is a good thing to do for our city. See you there!
Livin’ Car Free
13 November, 2008
A few months ago, a guy rides/walks into the shop. That is not an unusual occurence in a bike shop, but this guy was different. He was riding a bike equipped with an Xtracycle. Around here, that is unusual. We chated a bit and quickly became friends. Two people with similar interests seem to be able to develop friendships fast. We talked a lot about Xtracycles, Rivendell bikes, and that kind of utility bike stuff that I love. I rarely meet someone who knows what I am talking about with all that stuff, so I keep my mouth shut most of the time where that is concerned. A few days later my new friend, Zac, showed up with his wife, Krysta and daughter Ren in tow to ride the new Gary Fisher Simple City. We chatted some more and they decided to come to the corridor priority openhouse with UDOT. Afterwards, they came over to our place to ride the bakfiets. Recently, Zac commented here on a couple of posts and I thereby discovered a few things about these friends of mine. They are car free as I suspected, and they have a blog. You can check it out here. I have added it to my RSS feed and I hope you will take the opportunity to follow a car free family living here in Utah Valley. They are proof positive that it can be done, even here!
Go by Bike
9 July, 2008
Being a part of this new site and working with Brad has been an awesome experience so far. During the last few months, I have begun to view cycling in a different light. I used to be the kind of rider that thought “real cycling” meant fancy gear and Lycra. So, of course, things like tan lines and road rash were badges of honor. Lately though, I have started to understand that if we are serious about changing the way we live and how we get from place to place, cycling needs to become accessible to a much wider audience than it has been in the past.
The way we all think about transportation is changing. I began commuting to work by bike two years ago. During the last year my bike, Rocinante, has shared the rack at the office with more and more bikes. This is a terrific trend, but I still believe there are many people who could travel by bike who decide not to. Because bicycles, for whatever reason, haven’t become true substitutes for cars yet.
Switching to bicycles over automobiles will not be easy. Not only do we ourselves need to make major adjustments, but so do our cities and roads. This site’s mission is to advocate these changes for both groups. As a contributor, I want to help motivate those of us who would like to change. So, from today I will follow what I call the “15-Mile Rule.” All personal trips within a 15-mile radius of my house will be made by bike.
What about you? Even if it’s only two miles away, maybe you can think of two or three places you could get to by bike? Visit 1world2wheels.org and learn about how you can go by bike.
