October 3, 2007

The Margin
St. Michael's employees who ride bikes

Tom Kingston l contributing columnist
tkingston@smcvt.edu

Each crank of the pedal brings one iota of good health to you. And that’s not all.

Robert (RJ) Vallie is a new member of our security department. Fifteen years ago he started an administrative job and spent a lot time in his office. That’s when he and some colleagues began going on mountain bike expeditions once a week for camaraderie and exercise. They’re still going at it.
      
Vallie is involved with Fellowship of the Wheel, a 250-member advocacy group whose mission is to create and maintain mountain biking opportunities in Chittenden County.

“We just finished building an 80-foot-bridge across wet-lands at Saxon Hill in Essex,” Vallie says. “Last weekend, I got to play on it for the first time.”

Angela Irvine, director of foundation relations, has no problem keeping up with students on the Cycling Club’s mountain bike excursions. Irvine began competitive cycling after she graduated college. Her team, The Bellas, participated in this year’s Great Glen 24-Hour Mountain Biking Relay Race. Irvine carried the team’s baton from 10 p.m. until 6 o’clock in the morning.

Irvine has been the adviser for the Cycling Club since 2001.

“The people associated with biking are just great people. They’re enjoyable. They have great attitudes and are focused. I’ve noticed that with a lot of the students who have been through the Cycling Club,” she says. “Bicycling is great for everybody. It doesn’t impact your joints.”

Elizabeth Gray, administrative assistant at the campus health clinic, was spotted with her bike on the Colchester Causeway on Lake Champlain. Gray gets her bike out several times each month.

“After the kids left home I started to have time to ride—to do the things I wanted,” she says.

 In addition to the causeway, Gray enjoys the bike paths in Burlington and Stowe. “The views are great,” she adds.

Jacqueline Murphy, director of admissions, was also spotted on the causeway. Shortly after graduating from St. Michael's College, she and her college chum Jennifer went on a spontaneous trek through Vermont, starting in Colchester, looping north to Lake Willoughby and eventually ending up back in Colchester.

“I had a tent, a sleeping bag and next to no money,” she says. “We experienced every kind of weather. It was a fabulous trip.” Afterwards, Jennifer went on to ride to Madison, Wis.

Many years later, Murphy and her oldest daughter celebrated her graduation from high school with a bicycle tour in Ireland.

Marilyn Scoville, a reference librarian, rides her bike to work on most days. While all of the cyclists mentioned so far have met their 50th birthdays, Scoville boasts that she’ll be turning 60 in June.

“I just love getting out on my bike,” Scoville says.

Some of the younger employees prefer to commute on bikes. Elizabeth Scott, library archivist, grew up with three brothers and sisters. Instead of fighting with her siblings for use of the car, she found her independence on the bicycle. It takes Scott about 45 minutes to ride in each morning from Jericho.

Scott had always lived fairly close to her job. After moving to Jericho, she continued to commute as an experiment. “I’m surprised at how easy it is,” she says. Now that she’s in the habit, it seems normal. “I notice little things. There’s mint planted near Lang Farm. While riding by, I can see it and smell it.”

Pat Delaney, assistant professor of anthropology and gender studies, also cycles in to work on most days from Huntington. “It’s great exercise, I’m trying to maintain a small carbon footprint and it makes me a happier person.” Huntington is 24 miles away, too time-consuming to bike in both directions. Delaney uses a carpool for the return home.

“My husband and I have chosen to have one vehicle, but we’d rather not have any,” Delaney says.

While living in Washington, D.C., Delaney was inspired by a friend who rode 30 miles every day. She began biking recreationally on weekends.

“The trail system in D.C. is quite good. It’s a viable form of transportation,” she says. “This morning I took a new route in and ended up on a dirt road and discovered Muddy Brook Park. Almost every day I discover something I hadn’t seen before.”

Check for my future column on people who use cars to get around campus.

Tom Kingston represented the City of Montpelier on the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission and was a member of the CVRPC E-Board, 1991 – 1996.