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300 cycling advocates discuss how Dayton can promote bicycling

City has a long way to go before it compares to other cycle-friendly cities.

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By Katherine Ullmer, Staff Writer Updated 12:08 AM Saturday, August 15, 2009

DAYTON — Dayton may have a ways to go before it becomes a cycling mecca like Portland, Ore., but it’s off to a good start, according to Jeff Mapes, author of “The Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities.”

Mapes, a political reporter in Portland, was the keynote speaker at the Miami Valley Cycling Summit at the University of Dayton’s College Park Center on Friday, Aug. 14. The event was organized by Five Rivers MetroParks.

Friday’s program included an announcement that Greg LeMond, first American winner of the Tour De France in 1986, a three-time winner of the Tour de France, will be next year’s keynote speaker for The Adventure Summit, a large outdoor exposition put on by Five Rivers MetroParks and Wright State University at Wright State.

LeMond’s address is part of Wright State’s Presidents Lecture Series and will take place at 8 p.m. March 5 in the WSU student union, said Amy Anslinger, assistant director of outdoor recreation for WSU. The event and summit, March 5-6, are free. LeMond will also speak publicly Saturday, March 6, in break-out sessions, Anslinger said.

“We’re really excited to have Greg,” she said. “There seems to be a true cycling movement in the region,” she said.

Around 300 cycling advocates and civic leaders registered to participate in Friday’s daylong summit at UD.

Bill Nesper, director of the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community Program, talked of the steps communities can take to become more bike friendly. Columbus is a BFC award winner, and Dayton could learn from what it and cities like Minneapolis, Minn., Louisville, Ky., and Boulder, Colo., have done to make bike/people-friendly streets, he said.

Benefits from being bike friendly include health and fitness, environmental issues regarding climate change (no emissions) and energy depletion (no fuel cost), the reduction of traffic congestion, increased retail business, and attracting a community of creative-minded individuals, many of whom love the outdoors, Mapes said.

Aubrey Merkle, 31, a summit attendee, said she and her husband just moved near the Oregon District in Dayton so she can complete her master’s degree at Wright State University. “We thought we were just passing through, but we like all the biking opportunities and are considering buying a house and moving here,” she said. They especially like mountain biking in the area, she said. “We think there’s a lot of opportunity here in Dayton. I think it’s a neat city,”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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