By Craig Shanklin, President of Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance and Scott Lyttle, Bike Utah
Southern Utah, centered around St. George, has long been considered a great place for cycling. Whether as visitors, commuters, casual recreational cyclists, serious racers or even elite Ironman competitors, Southern Utah has a large number of riders all eager for more places to ride safely. However, in spite of this growth in cycling, riders in St. George and the surrounding areas of Washington county, have not had a unified voice. There has been no group to speak up for the needs and interests of local cyclists or to serve as a resource to municipalities when planning cycling facilities or events. However, that has now changed with the recent formation of the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance, currently being organized as a non-profit and headed by a seven-person board of directors including Craig Shanklin (President), Ryan Gurr (Vice President), Kai Reed (Secretary), Denise Purdue (Treasurer) and board members John Reed, Tom Dansie and Lucy Ormond.
The mission of the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance is to promote the infrastructure, policies, attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge necessary to make bicycling safe, convenient, and inviting for residents of and visitors to Southern Utah. SUBA will work to help local communities reap the economic, health, and transportation benefits of increased bicycling.
One of its first priorities is to partner with Bike Utah to host the region’s first Bicycle Mini-Summit on September 26 in St. George. The afternoon program will feature Trever Ball, Utah Department of Health, Tom Danise, Town of Springdale, Scott Lyttle, Bike Utah, Kevin Lewis, St. George Convention and Visitors Office and more. The summit, entitled “Health, Wealth and Happiness…Cycling in Southern Utah” will be held from 1:00pm to 4:30pm at the St. George public library and will be followed by an open house and presentation at the new Intermountain Dixie Regional Health and Sports Performance Center from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. There is no charge to attend the summit. For additional program information or to RSVP, email [email protected].
A schedule for the summit is here
To learn more about forming a local cycling advocacy organization in your area please contact Scott Lyttle at [email protected].
