Advocate of the Month: Loren Chandler
Name: Loren Chandler
Pronouns: He/him
Occupation: Software Support Engineer
Associated Advocacy Group: Orem Bicycle Coalition
Title at associated advocacy group: Founding member? We don’t really have titles/positions.
What was your first bike?
Probably a hand-me-down from my older sisters, but my first memorable bike was a new Huffy with a banana seat and ape hanger handlebars that I got for Christmas when I was about 8. It was kind of embarrassing because BMX bikes were the ‘in’ style for kids at that time, but I rode that bike all over the neighborhood, including off of many dirt jumps. My first bike since I got into cycling more as an adult about 8 years ago was a Bianchi road bike.
What is your most memorable bike ride experience?
I’ve had so many memorable experiences riding a bike I can’t pick just one, but the top handful would probably include riding in the Saints to Sinners and Salt to Saint relays with my friends, the Huntsman 140 ride from Delta to Salt Lake, and the Spudman triathlon in Burley.
How did you become passionate about bicycle advocacy?
It’s just part of my nature that anytime I find something that I think is truly great I want to share it. When I saw a post on Facebook somewhere from Brayden Santo about starting a local coalition specific to our city, I really wanted to be a part of it because I felt like there are a lot of Oremites that would really enjoy cycling here if given the opportunity.
What is your focus or interest when working to better your community?
I think just educating people and families about the cycling opportunities and routes that are here already and showing how fun and safe riding bikes can be is my biggest focus. There’s also a policy and infrastructure side to bike advocacy, but if we only take an ‘if you build it they will come’ approach then a lot of people will miss out on a lot of fun and usefulness of what we already have now.
How did you build your relationships with the Orem Bicycle Coalition?
By showing up to meetings and by being willing to lead rides and help with events. Even just showing up on a somewhat consistent basis will let people know you’re serious about bike advocacy, and eventually, there will be a task that needs doing that will fit in with your level of comfort and skillset.
How does the Orem Bicycle Coalition promote cycling amid your group? We organize community rides, rides of silence, and active transportation demonstration rides. We plan educational events (currently we are doing a series of bike rodeos at community police picnics) and organize (city-sanctioned) pop-up infrastructure projects. We also attend city meetings and advocate as citizens for permanent cycling infrastructure. We learn about local cycling events and happenings to see what synergies there may be there. We maintain an active Facebook page and group to let our community know about our rides, other events, and other relevant info. We try to structure our meetings to cover the 5 E’s of the League of American Bicyclists so that we have a well-rounded approach.
How did you learn who to talk to in order to get things done?
Knowing people and processes in local government is not one of my ‘skills’, but there are those in our group who are more connected than we can lean on for that. For other things, I like to use social media to follow local companies (bike shops, manufacturers, event organizers, etc), cycling community groups, and other nearby local and state advocacy groups to see who is involved in the community, the kinds of things that they are doing in their areas of expertise, and find opportunities to work together towards common goals.
What do you find the most rewarding about your work?
I think seeing new people, especially kids and families, discover how rewarding riding a bike can be, whether it’s for fun, togetherness, fitness, transportation, etc, is the most rewarding.
What advice do you have for someone who is interested in Bike advocacy, but has no idea where to start?
Join a Utah cycling group on Facebook and ask what kinds of advocacy or volunteer groups they may know of in your area. They will probably have lots of ideas for you, like general bike advocacy groups, bicycle collectives, groups that help maintain local trails, groups that help coach high school cycling teams, etc. Pick one or two that interest you, and join their groups or show up to their meetings and introduce yourself. If you show you’re willing you will soon be put to work.
How do you make sure you are taking care of yourself and avoiding burn out?
Splitting up larger projects among multiple people, recruiting new people to the group, and spacing out projects and events.
How is the Orem Bicycle Coalition engaging future generations to continue advocacy work?
By example! As we work on educational projects for kids like bike rodeos, etc, and when school starts this Fall we’ll be contacting the 3 Orem high schools to see if they have students from their student councils, sustainability committees, etc that would like to represent their schools and neighborhoods at our meetings. We’ve also worked with OYCA (Orem Youth Cycling Association), the local high school mountain bike group, on several projects, including an Orem Cyclefest event in 2018.
What future projects do you hope to see happen in Orem and with the Orem Bicycle Coalition?
We would like to see more of our 20’ish local elementary schools invite Bike Utah in to present their Youth BEST Program, also more progress on the city’s bicycle and trails plan. As more education and infrastructure improvements take place, we’d like to help again with the Bike Friendly City application, hopefully, to go from our current Bronze to at least Silver status. We would also like to get Orem Bicycle Coalition registered as a 501c for fundraising purposes, a little budget would help us to spread the message more effectively.
Do you have a follow-up question for Loren? Would you like more info about your local bicycling advocacy group or have a specific active transportation project you’d like to see initiated? Do you know an advocate we should highlight? Email info@bikeutah.org!
