25 Apr - Leadership

A friend sent this YouTube video with lessons about leadership.  Although it looks goofy, it has a message that applies to expanding the sustainable transportation movement in Morgantown.  I hope you like it.
Yesterday we had another great day at the shop, same as just about every day - but more of you need to be the first followers - not just walking and biking, but being so joyful and excited about it that others WANT to join in because they see it as a FUN necessity.  Followers won't want to be like the leader, they'll want to be like the followers.
Special thanks to Aman for volunteering the past few days as part of his course work - that guy can really make our bikes SHINE.  Thanks also to Duncan for helping out in the shop, and to Will for being there at just about every Wednesday and Saturday work session since we started.

This afternoon I went on a scouting ride to check out the route to Westwood Middle School where I'll be giving a bike maint/repair workshop to afterschool students.  On the way out I met Tony, a rather amazing guy.  He had a stroke a few years ago and to recover he's chosen daily bike riding as his physical therapy.  He started by using our electric trike, which allowed him to start building up the balance and stamina to ride under his own power.  Then he purchased a recumbent trike, then traded in the electric trike for our EZ Sport recumbent bike.  He put about 900 miles on it last season that way.  This Spring he put on a Bionix electric assist motor and has put on 350 miles in just the past few weeks.  Today he was on his way back from the recycling center where he had dropped 2 bags of stuff.  As I left him he was apparently feeling cheeky and snuck up and passed me as I was going out River Road.  Once I realized it was a race I passed him back and held him off until the road started to climb (past the recycling center).  He caught up with me and we stopped so I could take this picture.  He decided to go home then rather than embarass me on the climb, leaving my ego intact.  It's great to see him having so much fun, especially since it was Positive Spin that made his recovery possible - and FUN.

I continued my ride out River Road to Westwood School, then to the Mountaineer Wellness Center (the old Waitman-Barbe school) and returned to town via Glory Barn Road, Highway 19, Dupont Rd and River Road.  Then I went up the Deckers Creek trail a ways and into Sabreton to visit a friend.  On the return I passed Hazel Ruby Park where a steel drum band was playing.  About 30 miles of riding and an immeasurable number of smiles, on a beautiful spring day with the smell of new growth so thick you could chew it.  Looking forward to this week.