The Provo Bicycle Committee is pleased to announce the recipient of the third annual Golden Spoke Award. The award is presented to a Provo cyclist who exhibits a commitment to bicycling on a daily basis all year around. It is called the Golden Spoke because each bicyclist is like a spoke in a wheel that helps make Provo a more bicycle friendly community. Each of us can advocate for bikes, more bike-friendly complete streets, bike lanes and trails, and most importantly each of us can bike wherever and whenever possible. Starting this year, the Provo Bicycle Committee will present this award twice a year–once at this event each spring, and once in the late fall at a city council meeting.
This year’s recipient of the Golden Spoke Award is David Harding.
When David, his wife Julia, and their children decided to move to Provo eight years ago, there was one variable on David’s list of house-hunting criteria that should be a priority for any one relocating: he wanted to find a house within a reasonable distance of his place of employment so that he could bicycle to work. That distance is different for each person, but for David it is 6 miles from his home in the Dixon Neighborhood to his work near University Parkway and Geneva Road. On his road or mt. bike, David commutes to work by bicycle year-round despite the absence of an ideal bicycle route. Sometimes he rides part way with his two oldest children, who have followed their father’s splendid example and regularly ride to school on the Grandview Hill. David does not just personally walk the walk, or in this case bike the bike, but as the neighborhood chair of the Dixon Neighborhood and especially as a member of the city’s Transportation and Mobility Committee, has publicly sought to make Provo a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly community. As a key member of that committee, David was an outspoken advocate of the city adopting a robust and ambitious Bicycle Master Plan, which the city council approved in March. We thank him for his example and service both private and public and honor him with the spring 2014 Golden Spoke Award.
Congratulations, David!
We’d like to express appreciation to Canyon Bicycles, Mad Dog Cyclery, and Racer’s Cycle Service for each throwing in some nice swag for this year’s Golden Spoke Award. The Provo Bicycle Collective also threw in a year’s membership. Many thanks!
I’m a tad embarrassed to receive this award because I know so many great bicycle advocates who have worked so hard to improve cycling in Provo. I supported the Bicycle Master Plan, but it’s not like it had any real opposition from anyone on the Committee or the Council. It took some time to pass, but that is because the Committee and Council realized how important it is and wanted to make sure it was well integrated into Transportation Master Plan so it could be implemented as part of the regular city efforts and not as a separate project that could be ignored.
I love the imagery of the spoke. A wheel doesn’t work with just one spoke. We all have a role to play in making Provo a better place to live, work, play, and ride. I’m grateful that the Provo Bicycle Committee feels my modest efforts have had a positive impact.