Statesman

Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Outdoors

Media Credit: Luke Busta Luke Busta uses a road bike as his primary means of transportation.

"No lights, no parking spots, no stop signs. It's mega sweet," said Luke Busta, a sophomore at UMD. Busta has thoroughly enjoyed biking nearly his entire life, and has only grown fonder of it since he moved to Duluth.

Despite many factors that make Duluth somewhat hazardous for bikers, many people continue to commute by bike. The potholes, hills and sometimes treacherous weather are not enough to outweigh the benefits of biking for many.

"Last year we had a jump in gas prices, and tons of people started biking, and even more are this year. Everybody wants to bike," said Anders Osthus, a bike technician at the Ski Hut, a local ski and bike shop.

Saving money on gas is not the only reason for commuter biking. A rise in environmental awareness has also caused many people to start riding bikes as an alternate form of transportation. Duluth's citizens have certainly caught on to this trend.

Stacy Gerths of the Student Sustainable Coalition organized and ran a biking event outside the Kirby Student Center on Thursday, April 23. The event originally came from UMD's recent efforts to cut their carbon output.

According to Gerths, although some people can hack the winter and bike year-round, most people begin biking when the weather cheers up.

"There is great support for the cause in Duluth," Gerths said.

Several organizations supported UMD's "Bike Fest." Fit City gave $100 to the cause, and a group taking signatures for a new low emissions bill had a stand. Also, the local group Cyclists of Gitchi Gummi Shores (COGGS) made an appearance.

According to their Web site, COGGS is an organization that began in 1984 when the Superior Bikers and the North Shore Bike Club combined. They are a non-profit club that focuses on organizing events for bikers in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Mick Dodds, a board member of COGGS and employee at the Ski Hut, has been biking in the area for years. COGGS does a weekly ride on Tuesday nights up the North Shore.  Although the trails are still too wet to ride, Dodds said that they will ride all through the summer-weather permitting.

Many groups like COGGS cater to bikers in the recreational aspect, but as commuter biking becomes more popular nationwide, many larger cities have made accommodations for their citizens who use biking as transportation. Some Duluth bikers are still waiting for similar accommodations.

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