Bike Friendly: Building a Community of Cyclists

People talk a lot about what it means to be bike friendly. In a previous Rapid Growth article, the mysterious Bike Man talked about how half of bike friendliness was a mindset -- getting the motorist to recognize the cyclist as traffic, and to share the road safely.

The duo behind Bike Friendly -- Tyler Doornbos and Josh Leffingwell -- have a similar idea, but theirs has to do with the mindset of the potential biker.

When we meet, Doornbos says that according to a recent study, only 7% of people nationwide (with variables depending on cities with more or less biking infrastructure) feel comfortable or confident riding a bike through the city.

"80 percent," he says, "were in this middle group where they felt like they were interested, but intimidated."

With this data in mind, Bike Friendly's goal is to "build a community of cyclists" within Grand Rapids. Doornbos had lived for a while in Portland -- "the mecca of bike culture," he says -- where he became completely envelope in cycling. Upon returning to Grand Rapids, Doornbos made a decision to help Grand Rapids become a city more accommodating to cyclists. This is how he met Leffingwell. Over a beer, the two started talking about how they could make this happen.

"We feel like in our estimation, (these riders) are intimidated by riding on the road because it's perceived as dangerous," Doornbos says. "But, there is a one in 88 chance of dying in a car, and only a one in 5000 chance of dying on a bike. These potential riders may also be intimidated by the biking community, or how they perceive the biking community. Like if you're not rocking your Lycra or fixie, you don't really belong -- and that goes double for people with kids. If you feel like it's really dangerous, you're not gonna put your kid on the road."

Doornbos and Leffingwell agree that some of these perceptions of peril can be alleviated by infrastructure, but redoing streets can take a lot of time. Bike Friendly is looking for a more immediate approach -- a change of mindset.

"Biking is not a fashion or a little clique," Doornbos says. "It's a way to get around, a mode of transport, like driving a car or taking a bus. It takes a little extra effort, and you get a lot of benefits."

Using the cycle-friendly Copenhagen as an example, where every driver is also a cyclist and there are an equal number of cars and bikes on the road, it's easy to see how the perception of biking can change when the bikers aren't outnumbered and the motorists have empathy for their two-wheeled brethren.

"If you can get someone on a bike even once every two weeks, that person sees cyclists as road users, rather than impediments to where they're going," Doornbos says.

Josh Leffingwell was not always a cyclist. He began riding to work after deciding to make an effort to reduce his carbon footprint. He made the mistake of choosing a long and grueling group ride for his first ride since childhood, got a new bike and wound up with a hernia. Healed up and with this in mind, Leffingwell and Doornbos are planning bike events for those who may not be as bike savvy as enthusiasts accustomed to 15-mile rides.

"Our first one is May 21," Leffingwell says. "We'll go from Sixth St. Park to Riverside Park. It's on the road, 2.5 miles, really slow and family-friendly. People don't have to pay for it. Just hop on your bikes, come meet us, we'll ride and have a picnic. Hopefully, this will get people with kids to want to do it and get people on the road in a really comfortable situation."?
For now, Leffingwell and Doonrbos are selling Bike Friendly T-shirts from Citizen Shirt, which they will deliver via bike to those who order them, and are working on securing handmade bags from an artist in Detroit. Their plans for the future include selling various biking accessories and opening a shop where old bikes are upcycled and sold at an affordable price. They hope to secure a storefront on Division Ave. once new rent-subisized incubator properties have been set up by the DDA. All of this is intended to open biking up as a fun and inclusive thing to do as much as it is a spark of entrepreneurship.

"Through products," Doornbos says, "you can help build community."

And this might be true. If your 50/50, locally-printed, high-quality American Apparel Bike Friendly or I Bike GR shirt doesn't make you feel like rolling up your pant leg and biking on down to your nearest local pub for a Michigan microbrew, then I don't know what will. Gas is expensive. You need the exercise. Summer is coming. You want chiseled calves. It's green, and everyone else is doing it. So, get on your bikes and ride.

Order merch and check up on Doornbos and Leffingwell at bikefriendlygr.com.

J. Bennett Rylah is the Managing Editor of Rapid Growth Media.

Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved