By Peter Burns

For the past few months, I have alternated between writing about walking and writing about bicycle riding. With this blog, I am combining riding and walking in the same post. I walk and ride every day, so it makes sense to write about them together. Some individual sections will still be about just bicycle riding or just walking, but others will be about both.

A few words from Local Motion Executive Director, Karen Yacos:

As we look back on 2019, I see a year in which Local Motion advanced the work of culture change and movement building in a serious way. We brought Jeff Speck—a thought leader in designing equitable bike- and pedestrian-friendly communities—to UVM, where he spoke to a packed room of officials including mayors and planners, advocates, and interested citizens. And then we brought many of those same folks to Montreal to experience firsthand the sort of changes for which Speck (and Local Motion) advocate. 

By Peter Burns

Winter Riding

My yoga teacher recently mentioned embracing winter.  While that may be going a little bit too far, there are some advantages to riding in the winter.  There are fewer bike riders and pedestrians when it gets cold and snowy.  That means I have fewer obstacles to contend with on my rides to and from Burlington on the  Riverside Avenue bike/pedestrian path.  We will set aside, for now, the irony that I teach winter bike riding workshops which are designed to get more people out on the road in the cold. Also, even though there are many more winter riders than there were ten years ago, I still get comments about how tough I must be to ride through the cold and snow.  There is also the unearthly beauty that, from time to time, manifests itself during the winter.  Ice and snow and afternoon sunlight combine to create a paradisiacal scene.   Last but not least, if your ride through the winter you will be in shape for longer rides when it gets warmer and bike riding is actually enjoyable again!

By Jonathon Weber

Five or so years ago, as e-bikes were just starting to pick up steam, my partner and I invested in an e-bike for her to commute on in San Diego, California, where we lived at the time. She loved it! And best of all, it meant that our car didn’t move on most weekdays. 

By Peter Burns

My Walks

I mostly walk-in Winooski or Burlington.  For personal reasons I hardly ever travel, so I am a local walker.  In Winooski, I sometimes walk for exercise.  I do a circular route that includes the  Winooski schoolyard and also a graveyard on Weaver Street.  This route takes about an hour.  Last spring as I walked, I noticed where the blackberries were blooming.  My plan was to return to those places in the summer when the blackberries were ripe, but I didn’t time it quite right and missed the best of the blackberries.

A trip to Montreal is always a treat—there are incredible art and music, and delicious food from every tradition. Of course, you’ll find those things in Vermont, too. When it comes to bike infrastructure, though, our northern neighbors are far ahead. Montreal boasts a robust bike infrastructure network that is used and maintained year-round. So, what can Burlington learn from this even-snowier city?

This fall we challenged our staff to shake up their routines by replacing a trip they typically take by car with any other means of transportation. Our Development Manager, Laurie Keve, took us up on the challenge. Here’s her story! 

By Peter Burns

Photographs 

I bought my phone because it has a good camera and I wanted to record my adventures in the Vermont countryside.  Bike riding is about momentum and every once in awhile I see something I think would make a good photograph, but I don’t stop, because the ride is more important than the images I bring home. 

This fall we challenged our staff to shake up their routines by replacing a trip they typically take by car with any other means of transportation. Our Communications Coordinator, Sarah Illingworth, took us up on the challenge. Here’s her story! 

This fall, Local Motion is challenging its staff to shake up their routines by replacing a trip they typically take by car with any other means of transportation (but no plane or helicopter, though that might be a good story). Our Services Coordinator, Sandy Bender, took us up on the challenge. Here’s her story!