MARCH 4, 2010 ISSUE
Local Cyclist to Attend National Bike Summit
Doug Owen, owner of Cycle 4 Life in Banner Elk and a former cycling coach for both Lees-McRae College and ASU, will attend the National Bike Summit from March 9 to 11 in Washington, D.C. Photo submitted
Doug Owen, owner of Cycle 4 Life in Banner Elk and an avid bicyclist, will attend the 10th annual National Bike Summit, which is sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists and takes place from March 9 to 11 in Washington, D.C.
According to www.bikeleague.org, slightly more than 100 bicycle advocates and industry leaders attended the first conference 10 years ago, and about 1,000 attendees are expected this year.
Owen, who opened his store last August, is a member of the National Bike Dealers Association.
“They send out invitations [to the National Bike Summit], especially to new businesses, to see if you want to be involved,” he said, adding that the organization will cover his expenses to attend the event.
“They bring in cycling advocates from all over the country,” Owen said.
A bike dealer, USA Cycling (USAC)-certified coach and USAC-certified official, Owen took over the cycling program at Lees-McRae College in February 2005 and built it up to Division I (DI), he said.
At the time when he first became involved with the program, it was a “strong Division II (DII) program” of 18 riders, he said.
Owen led the team to win multiple national collegiate DI cyclocross championships, and in May 2008, to win the DI Road National Championship, he said.
The Lees-McRae cycling team was ranked No. 1 in the country in 2007-08—a title dependent upon performance in the four disciplines of collegiate cycling: track, mountain bike, cyclocross and road, he added.
“After we won the road title in ’08, I decided to step away,” Owen said, explaining that he then volunteered with the ASU cycling team, which he also led to win championships—DII mountain bike and DII cyclocross in 2008.
Currently unaffiliated with either school, Owen now coaches individuals and provides opportunities for college kids to race at non-collegiate races, he said.
The National Bike Summit participants will try to further promote cycling as a way to combat childhood obesity, improve the health of Americans and lower healthcare costs, as well as reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, he said.
One day will be spent in meetings and another day will be devoted to meeting with U.S. senators and other congressional leaders, Owen said, adding that with Congress, when more people are present, “you’re more likely to be heard.”
He and other cycling advocates will cover both national and individual talking points, speaking about “how we feel cycling is good for our country and how it can make our country better,” he said, with the goal of having “more people on bicycles instead of in cars.”
That Friday, March 12, “a big, congressional bike ride” will take place for any members of Congress who would like to participate, he said.
At the summit, Owen expects discussion on the national Safe Routes to School, a national program that helps promote bike riding to school, both to combat childhood obesity and as a safe way to exercise, he said.
“In Avery [County], that’s not as practical as some other [counties],” he said, adding that it could be an option in certain situations.
Another priority is making roads safer, to better accommodate bicycles and cars.
“Bicycles are vehicles and they have rights to the road,” he said.
Additionally, “the more cars we can get off the road, the cleaner the air is and the less oil we’re burning,” Owen said. “We all want to decrease our dependency on foreign oil. Every trip [on a bicycle] is less oil you’re burning.
“Cycling is a very green industry,” Owen added. “I think that’s the direction our country is trying to go in.”
Another topic of discussion at the summit will be a program that pays employees to bike to work—“[we’ll] see if we can expand that program,” Owen said.
He said he supports “anything we can do to help people become healthier, [and] help them not have to spend as much on healthcare costs.”
He raced on Sunday, he added—four months after a total knee replacement—and attributed the significant reduction in regular rehabilitation time to his cycling training. Being in better shape speeded the recovery, he explained.
Owen hopes to present bicycle-related issues that are unique to the High Country to the N.C. senators, especially because cycling is “becoming a big tourism attraction up here,” he said.
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