My husband and I love finding great deals at garage and yard sales—we’ve found all kinds of amazing things in our adventures (brand-new Ibex shirt for $1, anyone?) As you can imagine, I’ve seen just about everything put out for sale on the tables (and yes, I did buy that bronze frog lamp.) One thing we see a lot are bike helmets. Sure, $5 for a helmet that looks in good shape seems like a great deal, but before you pounce on that fancy new helmet with squeals of triumph and joy, hear me out first....

As a recent transplant from Seattle, some of my most memorable cycling experiences were on a spectacular path known as the Burke-Gilman Rail-Trail. This amazing trail meandered through some of Seattle's most vibrant neighborhoods, passing parks, coffee shops, restaurants, and breweries, and beyond -- all the way into suburban enclaves dozens of miles out of town. And the best part about it? We can do the same thing, right here in Vermont!

Grants are now available through VTrans for Vermont Communities to make their streets and roads work better and be safer for walking and biking! Projects can include planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects for a number of facility types, including scoping, design, construction and even a "small projects" category - new this year and intended to implement necessary safety improvements like signs, pavement markings, crossing enhancements or on-road bike facilities through striping...