Ep 139 The healing power of cycling with friends

Austin's Movetia Salter shares her transformative cycling story rooted in a cancer diagnosis, a new city across the country, and her rediscovery of the joy of riding a bike, especially with others. We discuss the importance of finding a comfortable upright bike (similar to a Dutch bike), integrating into several supportive social cycling groups, and the power of Austin's Dutch-inspired "All Ages & Abilities" protected and separated cycle network. Eventually, she also moved into the Mueller community, which features an entire network of protected bike lanes, separated pathways, and quiet low-speed residential streets, not to mention easy access by walking and biking to meaningful destinations including grocery stores, schools, restaurants, and much more.

Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- People For Bikes video: https://youtu.be/oSeKNYNb_Qc
- City Thread (Sara & Kyle): https://www.citythread.org/
- Major Taylor Austin Cycling: https://www.majortayloraustin.com/
- Austin Black History Ride https://www.instagram.com/blackhistorybikeride/
- Get There ATX https://www.getthereatx.com/
- Austin’s Yellow Bike Project https://austinyellowbike.org/
- Ghisallo Cycling Initiative https://ghisallo.org/
- Priority Bikes (my affiliate link): https://bit.ly/3nEXSiH
- Ep 72 with Briana Cohen - Ghisallo Cycling Initiative https://www.activetowns.org/2021/04/30/ghisallo-cycling-initiative/
- My playlist of Austin’s Dutch-inspired Cycle Network https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG12KGQK_4xiMRS9tI-V5C-Li1NHVnO3l

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Video timeline (chapters)
0:00:00 Cold Open
0:01:25 Interview kicks off
0:04:59 When the bike came back into Movetia's life
0:06:55 The power of finding people to ride with
0:08:42 Black History Ride
0:11:18 Priority Classic bike - a comfortable upright ride
0:14:34 Austin's Yellow Bike Project
0:17:45 Working through traumatic experiences
0:19:44 Balance bike method of teaching someone to ride
0:23:09 Eastside Social Cycling Ride
0:26:17 Living in the Mueller Community
0:29:06 Riding on the Boggy Creek Path / Reflections on access to safe paths
0:37:22 The PeopleForBikes Final Mile video
0:46:00 Moving past resistance to change
0:51:00 Movetia's final thoughts

All video and audio production by John Simmerman

Music:
- Intro and Outro mixed by John Simmerman

- My recording platform is Ecamm Live: https://bit.ly/3rwsUup

All video and audio production by me.

For more information about Active Towns effort or to follow along please visit our links below:
Website: https://www.activetowns.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ActiveTowns
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Background:
Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman. I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.

In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.

Since that time I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities".

This is my personal Active Towns Channel and it features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.

Thanks for tuning in, I hope you find this content helpful.

Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2022

Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. Any donations collected are used specifically to support the organization's mission.

To make a donation to Advocates for Healthy Communities go here: https://bit.ly/a4hc-donate