I’ve accomplished a fair amount in life; college, home ownership, sports achievements, gainful employment…but one area eludes me. That would be using my cloth grocery bag.

I grew up in the ’70s, when there were plenty of grownups around who liked to recall how their mom/dad/grandma saved everything “because they grew up during the depression.” It must have been an awfully bad time because people saved everything from strings to buttons and re-soled their shoes. I heard these things so often that I came to appreciate not wasting food or clothing or buying things I didn’t need.

Then along comes the “green” movement. Waste not, want not redux. Like many people I’ve been reading about how to live with a smaller carbon footprint. I take my bike instead of the car whenever I can, I burn wood from fallen trees and I have a cloth grocery bag.

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What do Boulder, Colorado and Madison, Wisconsin have in common? Both have earned the designation of a “Bicycle Friendly Community.” That means that the cities have incorporated bicycles into their infrastructure planning and have passed a rigorous rating system managed by the League of American Bicyclists.

We’ll explore here what it means to be a bike friendly community and how to encourage your city to apply for the status.

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How did Louisville, KY wind up with a bike loan program called “Freewheelin’?” The answer is Nate Kvamme, a former football player at Colorado State University who left college with a degree in Civil Engineering and an MBA. Kvamme found himself at Humana’s Louisville headquarters’ “Innovation Center,” with a drive to make positive change.

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Say Louisville and immediately the Kentucky Derby comes to mind. The city is known world wide for hosting the “most exciting two minutes in sports.” While the Derby and Louisville are well over a century old, the city has stayed fresh by welcoming new ideas and no one personifies that more than the city’s mayor, Jerry Abrahamson.

Two years ago, Abrahamson set a goal of making Louisville a Bicycle Friendly Community, the designation given by the League of American Bicyclists. Louisville applied and earned the designation of a “Bronze” community.

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Flat tires happen on occasion, but there’s no need to worry. As you’ll see in this video, fixing a flat tire and getting right back on the road (or path, or trail) is a pretty painless process. No jack required!

Road bike or mountain bike? And what’s that “hybrid” thing all about? In this video, we’ll arm you with the information you’ll need to zero in on the bike that’s meant for you and the way you want to ride.

How should I store my bike? What if I need to carry stuff with me? Going by bike is very simple and intuitive, but the answers to a few basic questions like these can help make it that much easier.

David Enigenberg, owner of the Trek Store of Schereville, Indiana, got some great news in November.

After three years of building support for a bike path to connect Schereville to the neighboring town of Crown Point the Indiana DOT announced that Crown Point and Schererville would receive a combined $1.5 million from the Indiana Department of Transportation for multi-use trails. The project also includes signage, landscaping, a gateway shelter and parking.

Enigenberg was on cloud nine when he got the news. “I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to give up.” His persistence in showing up and speaking up for the trail at meetings and lobbying for the trail paid off. The trail will run near schools, shopping and business so kids and adults will be able to ride or walk the trail to get to work or school.

Enigenberg isn’t stopping at this trail and plans to continue to advocate for cycling whenever he can.

Here are some quick tips in how to get the most out of your cycling experience.