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The Provo Bicycle Community Welcomes Mayor Michelle Kaufusi

We’re starting off the new year by welcoming Provo’s new mayor, Michelle Kaufusi.

Last month (despite being extraordinarily busy after taking office early) Mayor Kaufusi took the time to sit down with representatives of the Provo Bicycle Committee. We’re delighted to report that she invited us to continue our role as the mayor’s official committee.

Mayor Kaufusi was particularly interested in listening to our stories and finding ways that she could best help Provo become a safer, more welcoming place to ride a bicycle or walk.

A few weeks later, we were tickled when one of the new mayor’s first videos featured her taking the lane on two wheels…

When Mayor Curtis first took office eight years ago, bicycling was almost never mentioned. Now, it’s taken seriously in Provo and throughout the state as a way to encourage quality of life, improve our air, and create great neighborhoods for our families. Mayor Curtis took bicycling into the Provo mainstream, and we have high hopes that Mayor Kaufusi will be able to make Provo one of the best cities for cycling in the West!

Welcome, Mayor Kaufusi!

The Safety in Numbers Effect

The safety in numbers effect as it relates to cycling is that the more bicycles on the road the safer each cyclist is.  More info here.  This effect was recently seen clearly in a study of bike crashes in Minneapolis.  As more and more people commuted by bicycle, the ratio of bike crashes to bicycle commuters dropped.

This is really encouraging information, because it means that one of the best ways to increase cyclist safety is to increase the amount of cyclists!  The more people riding their bikes the safer the roads will become!

 

Ride safe.

Meet Arielle Martin Olympic BMX Racer

(Arielle and Travis with the wheels Travis built and Arielle will race.)
(Arielle and Travis with the wheels Travis built and Arielle will race.)

Arielle Martin is not only an incredible athlete, and olympic racer she is also a local. Arielle grew up in Cedar Hills, attended BYU, and has family all over the Wasatch Front. In fact her dad is the one and only Travis Martin (MadDog Provo) who has been building wheels and running bike shops for 20+ years.

Arielle got her start in racing in 1990 at age five, and has been hooked ever since. Traveling all over the country and winning some national races made Arielle a pro at age 15 which at the time was unheard of for most young female racers. After a crash in 2008 which kept her from the Beijing Olympics Arielle came back full force to qualify for London this year, and qualifying is only the first step. Arielle has full intentions of a podium finish in August. With all the work, dedication, and focus that she has put into her sport over the last 21 years a podium finish is with out a doubt an option.

We have rounded up a few videos about Arielle which really highlight all of her hard work and intentions in her own words. Arielle will be racing August 8th and August 10th in London check her out on Twitter for updates and info @AMV15. Also, make sure to swing into MadDog Provo sometime before August and congratulate Travis.