Here's another great story from our And I Ride campaign! We are seeking to put a face on cycling in support of a legislative campaign that we are working on this year. You can read the rest of these great bicyclist bios here.

We are still accepting entries, so be sure to read below to find out how to send in your story.

Our next story comes from Doug.

Where I Ride: Mansfield to Natick, Sharon, Attleboro, Walpole, Canton, Milton, Sherborn, Dover, Foxboro, Wrentham, Easton, Plainville, Rhode Island

How Often I Ride: 3 to 7 days a week.

My Story:

I am a husband and father, and have been a foster father for 3 children. I’ve also have been riding bikes for nearly 40 years. Cycling is part of who I am, like Lance Armstrong's book, It’s not about the bike. Cycling has been the catalyst for many wonderful experiences that I have been fortunate enough to have. Sometimes it's the little things, like a helpful push from a fellow competitor while struggling up a steep hill in a bike race, just enough of a push to get over the top. Or catching a glimpse of a Fisher Cat sneaking across the road on a quiet morning in the back roads in Norfolk. Other times it is the opportunity to help others, once I came upon a woman with at least 3 whining kids in her broken down car on an empty country road, (long before the advent of cell phones). Being a mechanic, I made a small repair to her car and sent her on her way.

The sheer efficiency of cycling to work is a kick; I am really doing several things at once, staying fit, reducing my carbon footprint, reducing traffic, and saving my gas money. Just to name a few. I have to temper my religious like advocacy for cycling because for so many it just does not click, and the only reason that I can come up with is that non-cyclist's perspective is a bit different from mine. This must be true because I don't know how many times I have witnessed others doing things with apparently equal enthusiasm that I can see that might be enjoyable but cannot imagine doing, (scratching lottery tickets, ice fishing, riding loud motorcycles...).

For the past 6 years or so I have ridden almost 10,000 miles each year, mostly commuting to work. I have commuted to work by bike for over 14 years, my only disappointment is not being able to recruit others to do the same, I’d really like to see and ride with more people riding their bikes to work. What I have done is get noticed and built a reputation. On more than one occasion, a coworker has told me that I am their hero as I leave to ride home, on another occasion, a stranger stopped me in a store (I was in street clothes, not my cycling gear) and asked if I was the cyclist they see every AM in all kinds of weather on their way to work. The stranger told me that he thought it was very cool that I got out there and rode to work in all weather. While the attention is nice, it means that riding a bike to work is still seen as unusual. Changing minds and behavior can be difficult. Cycling is an adventure, and I have a thousand stories about my experiences, experiences that I would have missed had I been sitting in a car.

Thanks Doug!

We want to hear your story. Tell us about yourself and how bicycling is a part of your life. Just copy and paste the form below into an email, fill it in, and send it to [email protected].

• • Name:

• • Email:

• • Where You Ride:

• • How Often You Ride:

• • Your Profession/Relation/Title (lawyer, nurse, Grandma, son, etc):

• • A picture of you on your bicycle, or you in your daily life (be sure we can see your face):

• • A paragraph or two about your life and your bicycle: