John and Laura Knutson
If you’ve been on one of the Tribe rides then you already know John and Laura Knutson, our newest member highlight. Laura is a yoga instructor at Tridosha and The Yoga Center, among other places. She teaches yoga for cyclists and leads the monthly TriBE ride for Tridosha. John teaches music at Cuesta College. The couple also volunteers at the SLO Farmers’ Market Bike Valet. They have been members of the bike coalition for about a year now. Although they have been living in SLO for 6 years and have been bicyclists during that time, it wasn’t until they decided to take a long bike tour that they became involved in the bike coalition.
Knowing that they wanted to ride from Eugene, Oregon to Napa, where Laura’s family is, John called a bicycling club in Eugene to get more information about where to stay and the route to take from Eugene to the coast. The local bike club in Eugene, GEARS (Greater Eugene Area Riders), offered them places to stay and extensive information about routes to take. The friendliness of this group got them interested in bike groups when they returned to SLO.
Since joining the bicycle coalition in the summer of 2006, they have become frequent volunteers at Bike Valet, leading the monthly Tribe ride for Tridosha/SLO Bike Club, and attending events such as the Coalition Member Mixer in May.
John and Laura are a one car family, which encourages/requires them to ride bikes pretty frequently. John’s job at Cuesta College allows him to ride his bike often, though he frequently takes his bike on the bus. (One time, when using the bike/bus combo, he forgot he had placed his bike on one of the racks on the bus. When he realized it had been left on the bus, he called Laura, who called the Regional Transit Authority. She was able to pick the bike up at a local bus stop once it returned from its trip up the coast to San Simeon).
They both enjoy commuting on their bicycles. (Their bikes, which they bought for their month long bike trip, are matching steel Bianchi road bikes outfitted for commuting.)
Laura points out that when you commute by bike, you’re limited in your ability to hurry or make up for lost time. Because of this you are forced to let go of the stress and the desire to get somewhere quickly. John agrees, “Also, because you are working out, if you are stressed you can release some of that stress by riding faster.”
John and Laura ride for fun as well as for transportation. The TriBE ride developed from a weekend ride that they would regularly do with friends. They would often stop and do yoga on the ride. And when Michael (owner of Tridosha and chef) wanted to get involved and make breakfast, it seemed like a perfect time to open the event to the general public. The TriBE ride happens every other Sunday, you can find out more about it by going to www.tridoshahealingcenter.com.
In the time that Laura and John have lived here in San Luis Obispo they have noticed bicycling become more prevalent, they both note that considering themselves bicyclists helps them see more riders and more bicycling opportunities. In the past 2 years they have really noticed more activities during bike month and with the opening on the bicycle boulevard, they have seen cycling become more of a viable option in San Luis. They value being involved with the coalition because it provides a community that supports bicycling instead of driving. Laura notes that getting to know other bicyclists makes it easier to consider bicycling as a lifestyle choice: having friends who can rib each other when they see the other driving, reinforces this idea.
Peter K. Kardel
Where do you live?
Old Town San Luis Obispo
What is your occupation?
CEO of Clever Ducks
Do you bike to work, how often? What other transportation modes do you use?
I bike 90% of the time. I leave my car at the office in case I have a meeting that is out of bike rangeduring the work week.
What kind of bike(s) do you own?
Santa Cruz Blur for mountain biking, Independent Fabrications road bike, XtraCycle for commuting
What do you think is the most important bike issue (and why)?
Creating and maintaining a bicycle compatible community to convert car trips to bike trips in order to promote a health community.
What is your advice to others to get on a bike (for commuting, for fun, etc)?
Get the right gear. Even with an extravagant budget, the cost savings on reduced car trips is staggering.
How can families and companies support cycling instead of driving?
Employers can have company bikes for around town and train their employees. Our bikes have also served as great advertising. You can offer simple bike facilities for commuters.
Families can take the time to teach their kids how to bike and make it a family tradition for certain outings. We started with riding to church – Sunday morning is also a low traffic time to practice with the kids. Now the kids are the ones that ask us if we can ride rather than drive.
Seth Howard (aka) "Sethzilla"
How long have you been a coalition member and why did you become one?
A few years now, I think 2003? Because I participate in the bike happening rides each month, and see exactly how many people ride bikes in this city. Figured my membership dues cost about as much as a tire for my bike, or a meal out and I could spare that easily! It feels good to be a part of group that cares for this great place we live in.
Where do you live? Arroyo Grande mesa.
What is your occupation? Bouncer/Bartender at McCarthy's Irish pub at night, during the day I’m a shipping guru for my friends off road supply warehouse.
Do you bike to work, how often? What other transportation modes do you use? Now that I live in Arroyo Grande, I ride my motorcycle more often than taking my
truck. When I lived downtown I rode everywhere, all the time.
What kind of bike(s) do you own? Where to begin? I currently own 2 mini kids bikes(I use for bike sumo), 2 BMX bikes - both Schwinn's, a 24" mountain bike for my friends with kids to borrow for the bike happening, a old Electra cruiser that has been converted to a 9 speed hard tail mountain bike, a fetish cycles 26" hard tail single speed mountain bike that is my everything bike, a stretched Dyno Cruiser, another mountain bike that I use for my parade/float building (past sculptures on it have been; a dragon for Mardi Gras parade 27 1/2 feet long! A present for the holiday parade, a short yellow school bus for another Mardi Gras parade, and currently I have it turned into a tri-plane painted to look like the red baron for the August bike happening theme "red") and last but not least my personal favorite, a 1971 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle frame turned into a 10' stretched chopper utilizing motorcycle wheels on both ends. This baby weighs 136 pounds; it is the ultimate cardio machine! I also have a Bob trailer I won at a bike month giveaway 2 years ago that I like to incorporate into some of the bike floats or use as a pack mule for riding to Avila and listening to music.
What do you think is the most important bike issue (and why)? More bike lanes, because being a rider I see how careless people in automobiles can be with fellow cyclists. I try to give all bikes the right of way whenever I can, because I know it's hard to be on the side of the road with cars zooming by and no way out that a bike lane can provide.
What is your advice to others to get on a bike (for commuting, for fun, etc)? It's low impact and great for your body, your mind, and the environment! SLO down and enjoy this city/county people! <---pun intended! Ha ha ha
What is your favorite bike commute/ride story? Having to stop and help a girl in her automobile change out her flat tire, telling her about the bike happening and then seeing her the following month riding her bike with us!
Mike Boswell and Tammy Seale
Mike Boswell is an associate professor in the City and Regional Planning program at Cal Poly and the former chair of the City of San Luis Obispo Planning Commission. He is currently on sabbatical at USC. He also volunteers his time as a local League Cycling Instructor for the League of American Bicyclists. Tammy Seale is an environmental planner with Pacific Municipal Consultants in Monterey and does most of her work telecommuting from San Luis Obispo. She is currently helping the coalition fundraising committee plan special events. Mike was at the coalition’s inaugural meeting at Hostel Obispo in 2000 and was involved in the formation of the coalition. Tammy and Mike have supported the coalition since its creation and have been members for a few years.
Both have been cyclists for many years: For Tammy it began when she moved to Colorado for college. Moving from Florida, she wasn’t able to bring a car but her dad offered to buy her a bike. Living in Boulder and working in Denver, Tammy was forced to think about multi-modal transportation: getting to work required riding her bike to the bus stop, taking the bike on the bus, and then biking from the bus to work. This episode combined with her volunteer work at Go Boulder defined her future transportation choices. For Mike, there is less of a defining moment. Having been a triathlete, training on the country roads of northern Florida, and suffering the abuse of angry drivers, bicycling was always a part of his life. During this time, he didn’t think of commuting by bicycle as a form of activism. It was later, during his first planning internship when he had a friend who was a bike and pedestrian coordinator, that he saw it as a way to make a living.
It is apparent that bicycling and using other non-car forms of transportation are important to Tammy and Mike. They both remember their first bicycle (Mike’s was orange and Tammy’s was blue) and they both estimate that 80-90% of the trips they take are on bike, by bus or walking (Mike has not had a parking permit in the seven years he has been a professor at Cal Poly). Between the two of them they own one car and seven bicycles (each has a road bike, mountain bike, and commuter bike) and plans for a few more.
Tammy and Mike are members of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Coalition because they see the importance of having an organized voice for bicycling and pedestrian needs in the county. Since they moved to San Luis Obispo, they have seen an improvement in facilities for bicyclists as well as increased public profile of bicycling through activities such as the Bike Happening, Bike Week, and the Tour of California. Improvements such as the addition of a bike lane on Pismo Street, the Morro Street Bike Boulevard, the Railroad Safety Trail and Bob Jones Trail, improved bike parking, and the bike racks on city and county busses are noted changes that enhance bicycling in San Luis Obispo County. Areas in which they would like to see the Coalition expand are membership recruitment and fundraising; and they are happy with the balance of focus on education and infrastructure. Having grown up in Florida they both stressed how glad they are to be living in a place where bicycling is a safe and widely accepted form of transportation. —Jessica Berry
Safiya Altman
It's been pouring all night long. I call in the morning to see if the ride is still on. Looking at the patches of showers all over town, I'm in no hurry to gear up. The call is gratuitous. I know it's off. "Good morning," I say, ready to reschedule. She on the other hand is ready to go and rides seven days a week rain or shine. She commutes to school, takes her bike on errands and rides for fun. Of course it's on. "Just checking," I say. When I roll up to her house, she's waiting outside patient and cheerful.
On the Railroad Safety Trail she explains that about 10 to 15 riders regularly commute to school. "I've been the only girl riding lately," she says. We discuss the state of female ridership in San Luis Obispo. We both wish women were more visible in bicycling. We both wish more women would ride. We discuss the Coalition-sponsored Bike Club forming on her campus, of which she is the founding member, and only interested female student. "Mostly boys are in the club," she explains. If the club is successful it will serve as a template for other campus bike clubs countywide.
As we near the campus, she is out of the saddle and pumping up the hill. Mallards float in the creek. Everything is sparkling wet. Birds are getting chirpy. It's a great morning to ride. A good riding partner always takes you somewhere you would not have been on your own. Today I would have been back in my kitchen drinking coffee grumbling about unseasonable weather. We pull up to the bike rack and she explains, "Mostly boys are at the bike rack," and then adds, "I don't know where the girls are, perhaps theyÿre all driving." Today she is the only one who rode. She struggles to lift her front tire into the bike rack that stands at least two feet taller than her head. Once in place she locks it, looks up and flashes one of the all time greatest grins. "Thank you Safiya," I say. "Let's ride again sometime." I'd be lucky if she takes me up. She has been riding on her own since she was two. She started on a bike seat at 8 months of age. She waves goodbye and heads toward her second grade classroom. I look over at her small bike, a purple Road Master, alone in the bike rack and feel a great sense of admiration. At six years of age, a model of bike advocacy and one of our youngest coalition members, Safiya Altman is definitely going the distance. —Zack Slayer
