As you all know Mayor John Curtis has committed to riding his bicycle to work at least one day a week through out the summer. In conjunction with this Mayor Curtis is also posting here at BikeProvo about his experiences while riding. The following is his newest installment.
Earlier this week I had a very long day in the office. Â Provo already works 4 tens, so we are in the office until 6 pm. Â On this particular day I was in the office until 8 pm. Â I was tired and ready to head home and then I remembered I had to ride the bike home.
For you die hard cyclo enthusiast-commuter/recreationalist types, cycle is a way of life. Â I have not reached that level of enlightenment yet, but I am trying. Â Cycling is not a way of life for me, but I am getting used to it. Â There is a real mind set that must be adopted or at least gradually eased into. Â Admittedly, I do enjoy riding a bike, it just takes a while to get into the whole – ride your bike all the time and everywhere mode.
I digress.  I wasn’t excited about riding my bike from Downtown to the Riverbottoms.  Then I remembered, thanks to Mad Dog Cycles, I had the electric assist bike.  Thanks Zac.  For those of you who have not had the opportunity to test ride one of these, you really should.  Yes it is a bike, no its not a moped.  Yes it takes effort, no it won’t pedal for you. The electric assist does take work, but I am not ready to call it a work out, like I would if I were riding a traditional bike.  After working a long day in the office, it was nice to have a “little help” from the bike.
On my way home I saw fewer bike commuters because of the lateness of the hour. Â Most people out at this time of day are recreational riders or going from point A to B, but not commuting home. Â It has been a good experience riding this week. Â If you haven’t made the commitment yet, I encourage you do so. Â Go to www.cleartheairchallenge.org Next week I will be making a proclamation to Provo residents to leave the car at home and find alternative forms of transportation. Â A bike is a wonderful way to take the challenge. An electric assist bike may even be a better, less strenuous way. Â Give it a try.
Thank you so much Mayor! If it is any consolation I am one of those people who goes every where by bike and sometimes even I feel to tired to ride but, when I do throw my leg over that bar and start pushing the pedals I never regret it. I have had the chance to test one of those electric bikes they really are pretty zippy and fun.
If you have not you should all take the Clean Air Challenge. This is a great program put on by UT to help clean up the pollution that gets traped in the valley. You can go to their website and sign up. I have and it took a grand total of 3 min. We will have a post up on the challenge very soon. I think Jamie put it the best in a comment on the Mayors last report, “It’s great that the Mayor is working so hard to support cycling! If the leader of the city has the time to bike to work, I think we can all figure out a way to do it at least once and a while.” Today is going to be the start of many festivities here in Provo I hope all of you are safe have fun and decide to replace some of those car trips with bicycle trips. This weekend especially it will actually be quite a bit faster to go by bike then car not to mention a lot more fun. Happy riding.
