By Nicolette Milholin
Columnist

For those of us who enjoy trading in four wheels for two, regional trails are essential to safe and enjoyable travels.

While trails like the Perkiomen and Schuylkill River provide beautiful, scenic routes for appreciating local water and woods habitation, many essential trail linkages throughout the region are still needed.

Invigorating for sure, biking is also considered a legitimate form of healthy transportation, and it takes tenacity to ensure the success of such an alternative.

One such tenacious activist is Mia Birk, who recently penned her inspirational tribulations and triumphs with Joe “Metal Cowboy” Kurmaskie in the memoir “Joyride: Pedaling toward a Healthier Planet” (Cadence Press).

“When most folks think about bicycling, they think one of two things: either it’s a sport or a recreational toy. It’s a big leap for most to accept that the bicycle can also be a mainstream form of transportation for the masses, as it is in the Netherlands and Denmark, Japan and China. It’s even hard for those who ride for sport and recreation on fast road bikes or rad mountain bikes to get there,” explains Birk.

“My work is about creating conditions so that moms and kids and the elderly and everyone else can bicycle from where they are to where they want to go, without changing into lycra shorts or other ‘cycling clothes.’ I ride around every day in skirts and high heels, and never change clothes. It’s just how I get around.

“That’s why the cover of ‘Joyride’ shows me dressed for success, and I talk a lot about fashion on bike; I’m trying to create for people a different image in their minds than the sporty/toy image. The fact that I’m reasonably fit is a byproduct of daily bicycle transportation, not the goal.

“It’s virtually impossible for people who drive everywhere to envision their daily experience as including the bicycle for some trips,” she continued, “nor can they easily envision what bikeway infrastructure (for example, bike lanes, neighborhood greenways on low-volume roads, off-road trails, separated in-road ‘cycle tracks’) looks like.

“So in their heads, they picture riding on big roads with tons of cars, and therefore think that bicycling is ‘unsafe,’ and they are scared to try it. When good bikeway infrastructure is provided and people start riding, bicycle safety improves significantly — this has been proven in many European and American cities.”

Infrastructure, via building a regional trail network, is the focus of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s first “Active Transportation Summit,” which will feature Birk as the keynote speaker.

The summit will bring together interested enthusiasts and supporters from throughout the region to address challenges and contribute ideas for moving forward.

Birk’s advice is to “start with the League of American Bicyclists’ ‘A Step by Step Guide to Turn Your Town into a Bicycle Friendly Community’ — it’s in the Appendix of ‘Joyride’ and available online. A critical step is to create a visionary and holistic bicycle transportation plan.

“I will give an overview of 12 crucial keys to success in truly integrating the bicycle into mainstream transportation in my talk in Philadelphia. ‘Joyride’ contains all these keys and dozens more, and is the blueprint for how to empower people and transform communities, one pedal stroke at a time.

“As I work all over North America, I have come to see backlash against bikeway infrastructure as a normal part of the process. Change is hard, and it’s really hard stuff to overcome 100 years of car-oriented infrastructure and deeply ingrained habits. You’ve got to have thick skin and be in it for the long haul.

“Every single community that has taken bicycle transportation seriously and been willing to make hard choices and push through despite opposition has realized enormous health, safety, economic, livability and environmental benefits.”

Also raising awareness and funds for local trails, the Pennsylvania Environment Ride is an organized three- or one-day trip following the summit where cyclists can begin putting their beliefs into practice, as Birk says, “one pedal stroke at a time.”

—Nicolette Milholin is a literary columnist dedicated to interviewing authors, reviewing book, and promoting events. Visit http://bookboundcolumn.blogspot.com for links to her published columns and a list of recommended literary events.

If You Go:

Active Transportation Summit

takes place at

The HUB at Cira Center

2929 Arch St.,

Mezzanine level,

Philadelphia, PA 19104,

Thursday, June 23, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Registration: $50 in advance; $100 day-of.

Info: www.dvrpc.org/announce/2011-06_Active_Transportation_Summit_Agenda.pdf.

IF YOU GO

Pennsylvania Environment Ride

from the Susquehanna

to the Schuylkill

Elizabethtown to

Fairmount Waterworks

Three-Day Ride

takes place

Friday, June 24 to Sunday, June 26.

Registration: $75; raise $2,000.

Downingtown to

Fairmount Waterworks

One-Day Ride

takes place

Sunday, June 26.

Registration: $35; raise $500

Info: www.environmentride.org/?CID=25.