Locals look to appeal to cycling enthusiasts with new group
It is not just city officials taking drastic strides to make Mount Pleasant more biker-friendly.
A local business and two Central Michigan University students also are trying to culture a cycling community through the formation of the Mount Pleasant Bike Cooperative and Mid Michigan Cycling Club.
Allison Quast, owner of Motorless Motion, 121 S. Main St., said she created the Mid Michigan Cycling Club three weeks ago.
Quast grew up in an avid cycling family. Her father previously owned Motorless Motion.
“It is not the name of a business,” she said, “it is a way of life.”
Quast recalled a school day years ago when she called her father to pick her up.
“I was sick,” Quast said. “My dad showed up with another bike.”
The Mid Michigan Cycling Club already had 47 members as of late last week, Quast said. Another open house is planned Saturday at Motorless Motion.
The group hosts group rides and hopes to promote bicycling awareness across the city, including talking to local businesses about placing bicycle racks outside.
The Mount Pleasant Bike Cooperative began with as a joint passion for bicycling between Mutamoia senior Nichole Crosson and Harbor Beach sophomore Joe Roggenbuck. The pair participated in Bike America’s nationwide bicycle ride last summer, which took them three weeks to accomplish.
After visiting a bike cooperative in Lansing last October, Mount Pleasant’s cooperative was born.
“I was really into the idea after seeing it,” Roggenbuck said. “I decided we should start our own.”
The group holds weekly meetings to socialize and cover topics of interest for bicyclists.
“We want to provide resources for people and knowledge for people,” Crosson said.
The group provides free tools for those needing bicycle repairs, free lessons on bicycle maintenance and eventually hopes to provide bikes to other members of the community.
