Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
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MOUNTAIN PATROL Mirte Mallory enjoys a midday jaunt on one of 100 WE-cycle bikes. and provide a fun, efficient, and independent means of transportation around Aspen." Denver, Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis were among the first US cities to launch a large-scale bikeshare system. Mallory, who founded WE-cycle with Linden Mallory and Philip Jeffreys and serves as its executive director, was inspired to bring bike-sharing to the Rockies during a trip to Paris. "Having seen it so successful on such a large scale in European communities, I started to think about how it could work in ours," she says. She also recognized the potential for environmental sustainability and a way to improve the lives of commuters, tourists, and locals. Mallory is the granddaughter of photographer Ferenc Berko, considered a founder of Favorite bike trail: modern Aspen. He ushered in a new era for "[To ride from] my the city by photographically chronicling its downtown office transformation from mining town to jet-set to the base of the wonderland, with the glossy images landing in Smuggler Trail, hike the trail, then Life and Time. Drawing upon her family backWE-cycle back to ground, coupled with her ongoing role as vice the office is an chair of the Pitkin County Planning & Zoning ideal pick-me-up." Commission, Mallory pinpointed the commuSmall-town ethos: nity's key needs and areas for improvement. "Aspenites are "Through community surveys, we have convery involved. We're diverse tinually identified traffic congestion as one of and multifaceted; the [detriments to the] quality of life here," she it's that Aspen says. "I was eager to be part of the solution in can-do spirit!" implementing a program that can address some of our traffic and parking challenges." WE-cycle will provide 100 bicycles at 12 stations across town; the number of bikes per station will vary, depending on where users end their rides. Participants can keep track of the number of bikes at each station via the CycleFinder smartphone app or the WE-cycle website. The popularity of bike sharing has expanded, growing from 60 programs in 2007 to nearly 500 worldwide today. "The concept represents a host of positive benefits," Mallory says, "from improved air quality and transit [issues] to reducing obesity and diabetes, increasing our overall health, and promoting a sense of community." Fostering public engagement is fundamental to WEMIRTE MALLORY LAUNCHES A FULL-SERVICE BIKE-SHARE cycle's mission. "As an organization, we believe in PROGRAM IN OUR MOUNTAIN RESORT TOWN. BY KAITLIN CLARK shifting gears from an 'I' culture to a 'we' culture," she explains. "It's not as individuals that we'll be able to tackle many of our global and communal challenges, he latest endeavor from Aspenite Mirte Mallory isn't just business, but [as a collective]: We're all responsible for our community's future. Often it's personal. Three years in the making, WE-cycle debuts in Aspen when you are riding around on a bike, you are more sensitive to topograthis May as one of the nation's most sophisticated bike-sharing pro- phy, landmarks, the environment, and you're just paying more attention in grams. "Bike sharing is a transit alternative that allows people to make general. It's a way of engaging all of these different sensibilities into one short trips on a bicycle," she says. "As a nonprofit [with public and private common activity." One-day ($7), three-day ($15), seven-day ($25), and season funding], our goal is to reduce vehicle trips within Aspen's downtown core ($55) We-cycle passes are available. 855-501-RIDE; we-cycle.org AP INSIGHT T 66 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSE DITTMAR well spoke-in ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM 066_AP_SP_TP_Mallory_SUM_Fall_13.indd 66 5/7/13 11:10 AM