Meet the 2022 Bike Champions of the Year
Given to individuals for inspiring bicycling in their Bay Area communities, this award recognizes individuals in the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties for their commitment to bicycling as the primary mode of transport. This year’s winners are incredibly inspiring. Our youngest 2022 BCOY is just 21, and our oldest ever is age 85. And one winner is visually impaired and never misses a pedal stroke. Others are deeply involved in their communities to address multiple and overlapping needs. The one thing they all have in common? A love of pedaling, the desire to make a difference, and the ability to inspire others.
Kellie Scott, Alameda County
Oakland resident Kellie Scott is the founder and president of Major Taylor East Bay Cycling Club (MTEBCC), a cycling club aimed at growing the community of competitive cyclists of color in the East Bay Area. The mission of the MTEBCC is to develop the skills of black cyclists, promote health and wellness in black communities, and promote safe cycling practices. Their membership is open to all. They are dedicated to creating an open marketplace environment for both budding and seasoned cyclists to train together and cross-pollinate for the betterment of the community as a whole.
Kellie was nominated to receive the BCOY award by Dave and Ashlie, who both know Kellie through group rides. Her favorite part of riding is her communities; she hosts weekly rides for cyclists at all levels, from novices to seasoned veterans, with an emphasis on safety, group ride dynamics, race strategy, and fun. Kellie puts in a lot of time, love, and work to strengthen the communities she is a part of and dedicates herself to uplifting others.
Kellie's origin story for the Major Taylor East Bay Cycling Club was born out of a deep need for community connection. She started off as a lone rider, training inconsistently and floating from one group ride to another, but she longed for the community and acceptance that she felt when she rode in L.A.
"In summer of 2020, I decided to build what I needed, “ says Kellie. “Something that fostered a community and camaraderie that went well beyond cycling. Something that would blow the doors off the gatekeeping culture and provide open access to the competitive sport of cycling that is so vibrant here in Northern California. And most of all, something FOR black people and BY black people."
Kellie started with trying to build a regular ride for about 6 months, riding with 2 to 3 people and by herself a lot of the time. After she created a Facebook group in the fall, 12 cyclists came, and things began to grow from a core few to exploding to a growing gathering. People were waiting for a rallying point to come together both physically and metaphorically.
"The story of Major Taylor East Bay being birthed from a place of resilience is the story of black people,” she says. “It’s the story of black culture in the SF Bay Area. And it’s the story of Marshall Major Taylor himself. Finally, we have hope that the legacy lasts just as long as the great tradition that it was birthed from."
Najari Smith, Contra Costa County
If the definition of “bicycle champion” is ever inducted into the dictionary, then there will be a picture of Najari Smith right next to it. If something bicycle related exists, Najari has done it.
He started off by joining the Richmond Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, which advises the city on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects. Soon after he began organizing regular, frequent community bike rides, which he dubbed Rich City Rides and officially established it as a fiscally sponsored non-profit in 2012. The rides are extremely popular in the community (over 300 rides with over 20,000 participants) and often incorporate an educational aspect and/or community clean-up activities. Rich City Rides also regularly hosts bicycle clinics and repair workshops from the bike hub at Unity Park, a park located on the Richmond Greenway that they proudly helped design and build.
The non-profit hub at Unity Park serves as not only a space to refurbish bikes, but also as an educational hub, where local residents, primarily youth, can learn bicycle maintenance and take classes on bicycling. After spending enough hours learning, they can earn a bicycle for themselves.
Two years after founding the non-profit, Najari, along with his partners Taye McGee, Mykee Ramen, Rafael Fernandez, and Josue Hernandez co-founded the for-profit, worker-owned cooperative Rich City Rides Bike Skate Shop in downtown Richmond. The Bike Shop serves as a community pillar, welcoming youth and families to get everything they need to ride for health, endurance, and commuting while supporting the local economy. The bike shop is proud to provide these services that help people explore and enjoy bicycle commuting with a low carbon footprint and a high return on health and wellness. Now, Rich City is continuing to expand, recently moving into an old motorcycle repair shop to create a larger community space, the Rich City Gallery, that will be used for community events, classes, gatherings, and as an art gallery.
In just a little over a decade, Najari has changed the bicycle landscape in Richmond and beyond.
Marty Albion, Marin County
Marin resident Marty Albion has been mountain biking and road riding in Marin for many years. He’s an inspiration to those that know him and ride with him. According to one nominator, “He exemplifies the pure joy of riding better than anyone I know (and I know tons of riders).”
After an accident last year, many thought that it would be the end of his cycling career. But at 85 years old, Marty is still going strong. He is the founder of the Dirtbags, a mountain biking group (a select group of friends), and a member of the Old Spokes.
Marty says that cycling keeps him young. “Most Dirtbags are 20-30 years younger than me. They see me riding and keeping up with them and they want to be doing the same when they are my age…still shredding!” Says one of the Dirtbags, “Marty is my biking superhero.”
Originally from Michigan, Marty attended the University of Michigan for undergraduate and medical school. He moved to Marin in 1962 where he practiced medicine in Greenbrae until he retired in 2010. Marty and his riding buddies can be found in Point Reyes, China Camp, Mt Tam, or in the Marin Headlands. His favorite trail, if he has to pick one, is Bolinas Ridge. And Linda, his wife of 42 years, regularly joins him for a road ride.
“I plan to keep at it for as long as I can!” says Marty!
Terry Tracy, Napa County
While Terry Tracy has been a longtime recreational cyclist and mountain biker, it wasn’t until late in 2020 that he bought an electric-assist bike and became a dedicated bike commuter. “That was a game changer because I no longer had the excuses of ‘I'm running late’ or ‘I don’t want to show up to my meeting sweaty’ as reasons to drive my car. I can get to most locations in town in about the same amount of time with my electric bike as a car when you consider looking for a parking spot.”
Terry, an architect who lives in the city of Napa, fastened a custom designed box to his bike rack to carry prints and architectural drawings without wrinkling them – as well as groceries and other items. “I now use the bike about 95% of the time in town when I'm not carrying a large load. I use it all the time to pick up prints, visit the building department, go to meetings, go to the gym, or meet friends to play tennis.”
He continued to ride his e-bike through a recent back injury and actually used it to assist his recovery. “Biking was the only exercise that didn't hurt my back, but I couldn't bend over to reach my drop handlebars on my road bike and I couldn't push hard on hills. I normally don't use my e-bike on recreational rides for exercise but it came in really handy and allowed me to ride with my hurt back.”
Terry now logs around 30-40 miles each week commuting and running errands. “I like doing my part to cut down on pollution, greenhouse gases, and energy consumption. I recently filled up my car with gas for just the second time in six months.” His favorite commute paths are the river trails between Lincoln and Trancas or south of Third Street.
Tammy Wong, Napa County
Tammy Wong began riding later in life, motivated by her growing awareness of the climate crisis and wanting to be healthier. “I’d been thinking for awhile to replace car trips with bicycle trips for short errands. After all, I do live in American Canyon and our city is like five miles wide.”
She had been riding her bike sporadically until last May when she participated in a Bike to Wherever Days event and decided then to bike regularly. “I replaced my 3x/week car trips to my community garden plot with bicycling trips.” In total, she biked 147 miles last year, the majority of which would have been fossil-fuel car trips.
Tammy is also an advocate for making the streets of American Canyon safer. After her neighbor was nearly struck and his dog was struck and killed by a speeding motorist, she worked with another neighbor on a traffic calming project, tracking speeds of over 70 mph in a 25-mph zone and installing pilot traffic calming measures. She then worked with the Fire Department and the Public Works Department, and they agreed to install speed cushions in her neighborhood—the first in American Canyon on a public street! That success has not slowed her advocacy, though. She and another local resident have since launched a Change.org petition to stop speeding throughout her hometown.
Tammy likes how biking allows her to pedal fast or slow, depending on her mood or the weather, and enjoy the fresh air. “There’s just some aspect of pedaling really fast, feeling the rush of air on your face, that reminds me, just for a moment, of being a young and carefree kid.” Her favorite spot for a recreational ride is the American Canyon Wetlands out to the Brazos bridge.
Paul Valdez, San Francisco County
Paul Valdez is a Bay Area native who rides his bike for every occasion, but especially to grow a deeper appreciation for his city. Through biking, he is able to create meaningful relationships with folks in San Francisco, and encourage others to find the joy in biking that he does.
According to Paul, “The bicycle has allowed the peaceful freedom to navigate our incredible city. Biking is my ‘everyday,’ as it is my means to get to work, do shopping, run errands, be with friends, and visit and support our local small businesses in the different neighborhoods that characterize our remarkable city.”
Paul brings his joy of biking to the streets of San Francisco, and uses it to reinforce the importance of sharing the roads safely. For example, when a MUNI bus stops behind him at a stoplight, he always turns around and waves to the operator. Not only does that acknowledge that he and the bus have an equal level of sharing the streets, and most operators then drive safely behind him – and it has the added bonus of bringing a smile to their faces! He also always says hello to fellow riders and “road-waves” to people on opposite sides of the street. That heightens their awareness of each other and builds community.
But he also inspires people to take up cycling. “Three of my friends witnessed my heightened well-being during the heart of the pandemic,” said Paul, “and at different times, each one of them bought a new bike and started riding throughout San Francisco!”
Paul’s impact doesn’t stop there. He’s a firm believer in supporting local small businesses. If a shop he frequents needs a bicycle rack in front to encourage others to bike there, he will request one for them. “It is a great joy to see their businesses thrive, says Paul,” and the image of bicycles parked in front of their stores is glorious!”
Amol Patwardhan, San Mateo County
Amol Patwardhan first learned how to ride a bike at the age of 5, though it wouldn’t be until later on in life, that he would discover the explorative nature and joy that comes along with cycling. In his college years, when he would bike across the 545 acres of his campus in Mumbai, Amol quickly learned the importance of safe roads for cycling. Coupled with his awareness of the impacts of motorized vehicles, Amol became committed to using his bike instead of a car when he moved to San Diego. If bicycling wasn’t an option, he would use public transport. Today, Amol rides his bike to run errands, ride recreationally, and commute 14 miles round trip to work.
Friends, family, and colleagues who are new to biking often seek out Amol’s help on what to buy, safe routes to commute, how to ride safely, and more. His wife introduced him to the world of group rides, where he would take sweep responsibilities and swiftly repair any flat tires.
Amol hopes to encourage his community to find the empowerment that comes with cycling. Not only does his cycling cost a fraction of the up keep of motorized vehicles, it offers a freedom that cannot be found by car. His hope is that in the not-too-distant future, cycling will be regarded as much more than a recreational outlet, but instead an integral part of life. By incorporating bicycling into our daily lives, he hopes we’ll see a global shift away from dependence on fossil-fuel based vehicles and be the positive impact our planet needs.
Ari Feinsmith, Santa Clara County
In every sense of the word, Ari Feinsmith is a tireless champion of cycling infrastructure. He started bike commuting in college, witnessing first-hand the lack of safe bicycle infrastructure in Sunnyvale. This inspired Ari to work to make cycling safer in his city and get more people riding, so he joined the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC). At age 19 (now 21), Ari became the Team Leader of the Sunnyvale Team of SVBC, AKA Bike Sunnyvale (bikesunnyvale.org).
Over the course of the last two years, Ari has made a massive impact. He has led 11 successful advocacy campaigns to lobby the City Council to improve street design for bicyclists and get bicycle-friendly city policies, including making Active Transportation a “City Priority,” getting a traffic lane on his street temporarily converted to a pedestrian/bicyclist pathway, extending it for another year, and passing a study issue to investigate making it permanent. He also successfully lobbied to get bicycle improvements added to Sunnyvale’s bicycle plan.
Over the pandemic, Ari realized that there were many potential riders who weren’t riding because their bikes were sitting in their garages in disrepair. To get more people riding, Ari led eight free bicycle repair events in Sunnyvale, attracting many attendees, including the Sunnyvale Mayor and a City Councilmember. To date, he and his team of volunteers have fixed 328 bicycles, and even an elderly man’s walker!
Ari also organizes community bike rides and tables at events where he educates people about the importance of stress-free bicycle infrastructure and encourages them to become members of SVBC.
Through his work, Ari has seen how events can bring a community together and create so much joy. His bicycle advocacy has inspired him to major in civil engineering and pursue a career in transportation, where he will strive to make streets safer for all. He plans to transfer to UC Davis in Fall 2022.
Robert Lucky, Solano County
Robert Lucky rides his bike anywhere anyone might want to go—to the grocery store, doctor’s appointments, work, and band rehearsal—easily logging 15 miles in a single day. So you might be surprised to learn Robert is also visually impaired.
“This champion has been a fighter all his life,” says Jason Gillis, one of Robert’s BCOY nominators. “Losing his eyesight at the age of 14, Robert never could seem to quit his favorite activities, such as riding his bike through the neighborhood and [riding] his skateboard. I hope he has the chance to inspire others as he has me.”
A longtime rider of skateboards, scooters and bikes, Robert started biking for transportation in December 2020. He says he prefers the independence it gives him, rather than taking the bus or asking someone to give him a ride. Completely self-sufficient, Robert has equipped his Radrunner Electric Utility Bike with a cargo container.
“I work for Uber Eats delivering food on my bike,” Robert says. “People are always surprised to see me delivering food. Most bike deliverers are in a mass populated city like San Francisco. Everybody wants to get a bike after talking with me, and they ask where I got mine. It is inspiring to get on my bike every day and explore a part of the city I wouldn’t normally see if I was in a car.”
Robert also plays live music in a Bay Area band. He’s been seen riding with his instruments on the back of his ebike. Those who know him say he’s a gifted musician.
“Robert's challenges of being blind have never stopped him from anything. He is talented in singing and playing music. He can play any instrument by ear,” says Jennifer Swan. “He's an amazing guy whose disability doesn't stop him...even from riding his bike.”
Juan Chavez, Sonoma County
Every Tuesday evening at 5:45 you will find Juan Chavez setting up his custom stretch cruiser bike and speaker system at Humboldt Park. Soon he is walking around greeting new and returning riders, helping folks with last minute fixes to their bikes. Between 50 and 70 riders arrive from every walk of life – individuals and families, cargo bikes to BMX/cruisers, every age, race, gender expression, and ethnicity gather to build the most diverse, creative bike parade that fills the streets with music, laughter, and joy.
It was just over a year ago when the pandemic inspired Juan to reach out to his friends Chad Hunt and Juanes Rios with the idea of the Santa Rosa Taco Tuesday ride. “People needed to get out and connect to one another! What is a better way to do that than on a bike and sharing tacos together!” he says.
Each week more riders heard about the event and started sharing photos, videos and letting more and more people know about how much fun they were experiencing and the new friends they made. By last summer the Santa Rosa Taco Tuesday Bike Ride was featured in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, resulting in over 75 riders arriving the following Tuesday! The Taco Tuesday Facebook group now has over 500 members. In addition, the ride the was recently featured in the city of Santa Rosa’s Out There Insider’s Guide.
Juan has been part of bike culture his entire life. As a young adult living and working in Roseland, he learned to wrench on his own bikes and took those skills to the neighborhood, helping kids repair their bikes in his front yard. Over the past several years Juan has been part of the custom stretch bike community as a member of NorthBay Kruzers and 707 Bike Life, building two-wheeled works of art and showcasing them at events all over the West Coast. Prior to launching the Santa Rosa Taco Tuesday ride, Juan hosted a pop-up bike show in downtown Santa Rosa that drew over 170 riders.
Seeing multiple and overlapping needs in his community, Juan joined the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition and utilized its cargo bicycle lending library to help volunteers with the non-profit Impact Foundation distribute emergency supplies and offer help to homeless individuals living on the bike trails. In addition, Juan collaborated on a bike-inspired float for the local art happening Winterblast and rallied members of the community he’s built to donate to the purchase of twenty bikes he and a team of volunteers assembled for local kids at Christmas.
Juan has inspired hundreds of people throughout Sonoma County to come together on bikes and build a joyous and diverse community. His steadfast dedication, his willingness to support the creative efforts of others, and his hopeful outlook toward the future are just some of the reasons Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition chose Juan Chavez as our Bike Champion of the Year.