1.) Where are you from?
My family is planted in Oregon. I sprouted up in Central Oregon and later lived in Portland where I met a spectacular bespectacled human, Alex. We moved to Raleigh late 2014 and we were immediately adopted by our cat, Atlas.
2.) What is your favorite way to get to work?
By bike! I’m fortunate to have a convenient commute that lends itself to giving trees high fives and stopping to (literally) smell the roses.
3.) You look kind of familiar, do you work at our friendly neighborhood bike shop?
I sure do! For over three years, I’ve been setting wrenches to bikes with Oak City Cycling as a mechanic and supervisor to the nine-year-old li’l shop of goodness.
4.) How’d you get started at the shop?
Honestly, I took a chance on an experience and it morphed into a saga. I had always intended to learn more about my two-wheeled companion, PeBe, so I could keep her rolling, but I endured a collision with an inattentive SUV driver in 2013, and I was scared away from my bike and riding. After a few years, I wanted to actively quell that anxiety and regain the feeling of happiness on a bike. This determination transformed into intense fascination and appreciation of bikes. I wanted to learn about bikes, how they work, and how to make them work.
My resume with Oak City Cycling had minor mechanic experience, but it was packed with a whole lot of desire to help people find happiness on a bike. I’m happy to say I’ve learned a lot! I thoroughly enjoy playing matchmaker for folks looking for their new adventure buddy, or treating their however-year-old bike to a much needed spa day at the bike shop!
5.) You were also on the Oaks and Spokes Board doing a different type of bike advocacy work, tell us what you did in your role there?
Part of my personal initiative to feel better on a bike includes wanting to help others feel better on bikes, too! A lot of my efforts went toward design work and event coordination, but I worked to educate our ridership alongside inviting them to ride, and I sought to amplify the organization’s role of being a hub of bike-related information. In many ways, I was only one voice in a group of many wonderful volunteers, but it was (and is!) a joy to foster the community of people on bikes! With my colleagues, we thoughtfully compiled more fun and casual rides to help teach new-to-biking participants how to be safe while on a bike so they are more likely to ride more frequently.
As a still active contributor, I’ve helped with a few year’s worth of Oaks & Spokes activities and initiatives ranging from bike month festival events, advocacy campaigns, and meeting with city council to urge that biking infrastructure is a necessity for our growing city. We’ve given Raleigh a lot of reasons to hop on a bike and be involved with our community. For anybody who has joined us with events like Cranksgiving, Bike Buddy rides, alley cats, or open houses — thank you for riding your bike!
6.) What has working as a bike mechanic taught you about advocating for better biking in Raleigh?
It’s certainly taught me that the desire to ride a bike more frequently is prevalent among beginning riders and it is in direct conflict with the level of difficulty they meet on the roads. We speak with folks who mention the hesitation of commuting by bike due to feeling anxious around vehicles that whiz by grumpily and/or not knowing the most direct, safest way to get to the destination. When visitors come into town and rent bikes, we plop down a map and take fifteen minutes to outline residential routes to the greenways while highlighting which areas are down for maintenance. We certainly don’t take the city for granted when it comes to riding (and we absolutely love sharing ride ideas!), but sometimes, it’s tricky to get people started on a bike in Raleigh.
7.) Give us one fun fact!
My beloved furball of doom, Atlas, managed to lock us out of our home once.