Kids learn about alternative transportation. A Greeley Tribune article about a field trip promoting Clean Cities. Graham Hill participated in this unique learning experience. 4/19/08
21 Wheels teams up with new Boulder dealer: Smart Motorcars to sell new Segways and SmartCars. 21 Wheels owner Graham Hill rides his Segway on a regular basis. Featured in the Daily Camera, 1/9/05 [ article ]. Registration necessary.
21 Wheels is on the List!
21 Wheels has made the first annual list of Colorado’s Best Workplaces for Commuters, which spotlights employers that are committed to reducing traffic and air pollution and improving quality of life for commuters. 21 Wheels is one of 149 Colorado organizations, representing nearly 90,000 employees, which offer their employees key commuting benefits such as employer-provided transit passes, vanpool subsidies, bike commuter facilities, onsite day care, and telework programs. More information on this program at the Colorado's Best Workplaces for Commuters website.
Superbia! -a new book by renowned sustainability advocates Dan Chiras and Dave Wann feature Transportation strategies that have worked in 21 Wheels founder Graham Hill's Boulder neighborhood.
Eco-passes (encouraging bus use), car-sharing, electric bike sharing and solar-powered lighting are some of the progressive strategies successfully promoted by Graham in this neighborhood. Read an excerpt from this new book.
Evil Genius in the Garden of Eden, how corporations profit from the toxins that make us sick. A new book from Vic Shayne features a contribution from 21 Wheels owner Graham Hill:
'The current U.S. transportation system, corporate politics and the American mindset (affected by marketing) must evolve sensibly to enable us to move into a more realistic, sustainable energy paradigm.'
Read an excerpt from this new book!
2003 Pollution Prevention Champion.
21 Wheels' Graham Hill receives American Lung Association award!
The Boulder County Business Report article July 11, 2003 (pdf)
Boulder-Denver corridor plans
Daily Camera Article June 2003
21 Wheels owner evangelist for alternative transportation
Boulder County Business Report staff writer Caron Schwartz Ellis reports on the growing alternative transportation business of 21 Wheels. Article Link.
Daily Camera Article May 24, 2003
A Boulder Neighborhood benefits from Electric Bike Grant.
Daily Camera writer Todd Neff reports on a grant providing 53 households in a Boulder neighborhood the use of electric bikes and a solar-powered recharging station. All provided by 21 Wheels. Article link.
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CO Congressman Mark Udall tries a Segway, with encouragement from 21 Wheels founder Graham Hill as Officals tour US36: 4/22 |
The Colorado Daily Article April 22, 2003
Elected officials tour U.S. 36
A coalition of local and state officials took a bus tour of U.S. 36 recently. They hope to raise funding and support for multi-modal use to improve congestion on the highway.
Read the story by MARIA BONDES at ColoradoDaily.com
Daily Camera Article October 13, 2002
E-bike empowers cancer victim
But motorized bicycles not allowed on Boulder paths
By Mary Butler, Camera Staff Writer
Adenocarcinoma has ripped through Sally Kletzky's abdomen, stomach and lymph nodes.
The one-in-a-million cancer pulses through her sturdy frame, defying life-saving, every-other-week chemotherapy treatments, which robbed her of thick brown hair and sometimes leaves her powerless.
A walk with the dog or bike ride became things to fear as her physical strength was no longer dependable.
Seventeen months into her fight against the rare disease, the Boulder woman said she has found new freedom and control in an unexpected place. She bought an electric bike, which allows her to experience the outdoors with the backup of a motor to give her power when she loses her own.
"I can control the bike and go where I want," said Kletzky, 51. "It helps give me faith in myself and my body."
Control has become a slippery commodity in her new life, where an unseen enemy — a fast-moving ring cell carcinoma — has taken charge.
Electric bicycles, which can travel at up to 18 mph, are treated the same as conventional bicycles in California. But in Boulder, where about 100 people own motor-assisted bikes, they're only allowed on off-street paths if their motors are disengaged.
Earlier this year, the City Council set aside the issue of legalizing e-bikes on trails for more study. Many people in public hearings voiced concern about adding congestion to trails and noise to peaceful areas.
The issue is expected to be revisited next fall, said Marni Ratzel, a Boulder transportation planner.
Buying time
Kletzky doesn't have time to wait for motor-assisted bikes to be legalized, though. She spends her days in chemotherapy, cancer support groups, learning more about her disease, getting alternative therapies — and spending as much time as possible with friends and family.
"I'm buying time," she said. On days she feels strong, Kletzky has begun cycling to her friends' homes to visit and going on trails for pleasure. She only turns on the motor when she needs to, and never at a high speed, she said.
On a recent afternoon, Kletzky accompanied her husband, Ed, while he ran Boulder's Bobolink Trail. She pedaled to exhaustion, pushing herself on the 15-mile ride until she fell.
"I cried," she said. Because it hurt, not because she was sad.
Kletzky rolled up her pant leg to show the bruise where the bike hit her leg in the fall. Thankfully, the skin didn't break. Cuts that used to heal in days now pose a grave danger for infection.
"This is my badge of honor," she said.
The assurance of knowing she could continue even if her body didn't, she said, allowed her to go further by activating the motor with thumb lever. Experiencing the crispness of the fall air, the wind around her body — even the sight of prairie dogs, which make her laugh — was and is an invigorating force.
"I'm still here," she said.
Chance meeting
At Boulder's September Fall Festival on the Pearl Street Mall, Kletzky and her husband stopped briefly at a booth to look at an electric bicycle on display.
She didn't ask any questions, but she took a card. The bicycle stuck in her mind, and finally she called Graham Hill, owner of 21 Wheels, a "new mobility" gallery that sells "e-bikes."
Tears crept into her eyes as Kletzky recalled her first experience riding a motor-assisted bicycle, which Hill brought to her.
She pedaled from her home near Bear Creek Elementary School toward the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a short drive, but a steep and difficult climb for even the fittest cyclist.
"It was a beautiful day, and I was half way up to NCAR," she said. "I kept saying out loud 'Wow, this is cool.' I could make it."
Hill equipped her Trek mountain bike with a motor within a couple weeks. Donations from the Diana Price Fish Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping cancer patients enjoy life, and Sandra Foa, a cancer support group friend, helped offset the cost.
Friends of Kletzky said the e-bike has helped her keep a positive attitude.
"It's just that normalcy of getting out and about that I think is an exciting thing for her," said Beverly Irons, a friend who drives Kletzky to her Denver chemotherapy treatments. "It's something that most of us take for granted."
Even though she can't control her disease, Irons said, Kletzky has attacked it from every angle through therapy, information-gathering and positive thinking. And then she shares what she learns with others who might benefit.
"She teaches through her experiences and makes sure they're out there for other people to know about them," said Lezlie Wright, another friend who drives Kletzky to her chemotherapy appointments. The women met about 20 years ago when their daughters began Girl Scouts.
That's why Kletzky wanted to share her e-bike experience in the newspaper, Wright said.
"She's got to be the strongest person I've ever met," she said. "She had some times in the beginning when she felt the depression and negativity, just like anyone who's facing this sort of thing would. But somehow she just turned that all around into a positive thing. She's gone 150 percent ever since."
Contact Mary Butler at (303) 473-1390 or butlerm@dailycamera.com.
More information about electric bikes can be found at www.21wheels.com/links.htm, www.electric-bikes.com and www.zapworld.com. Information about the Diana Price Fish Foundation, which helps cancer victims enjoy life, can been seen at www.dpff.org.
