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Psyched about cycling

Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle Federation, rides every day. He wants more people to join him.

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Bicycling is a simple solution for some very complicated problems, says Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle Federation.

Communities are constantly challenged to handled green issues and healthy living issues, and bicycling can help address both, says Hugh, who lives in Raytown.

“When you look at all the options that are considered, making your city easier for bikes and walking is by far the cheapest,” Hugh says.

He is frustrated with Kansas City’s lack of action toward making the city more bicycle-friendly, and he continues to work to move it in that direction. St. Louis is an example of a city making progress, Hugh says. In October the city earned the designation of a Bicycle Friendly Community (bronze level) by the League of American Bicyclists.

There has been an overall increase in the percentage of Americans riding their bicycles, he says. Usage is up 43 percent since 2000, according to the recently released American Community Survey conducted last year by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Many factors influence that number, including the economy and the price of gas, Hugh says. Despite the increase, the United States still lags far behind other countries in bike riding.

Hugh, who bicycles every day, became a bike enthusiast when his doctor told him to get more exercise. He became a bicycle advocate when he didn’t feel safe riding on the roads around his home, he says.

•For more information on bicycling in Missouri, go to www.mobikefed.org.

| Jan Landon, Special to The Star Send ideas for Green Home to home@kcstar.com or House + Home, FYI, The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108.

Posted on Sat, Nov. 07, 2009 10:15 PM

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