Conrad Erb
Washington, D.C.
Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, I graduated from Eastern Mennonite University in '04 with a degree in Economics and Peace Studies. With the intention to eventually return to school for additional study in environmental economics, public policy or law, I have spent my years since college working as an assistant to Ralph Nader at the Center for Study of Responsive Law in Washington, DC, and establishing my own photography business, (Conrad Erb Photography).
My interest in cycling began in the late 90s', when I had my first taste of rolling around a mountain on two wheels in Colorado. Road biking came later in high school, when I didn't own a car, so I used a bike to get around. I later got to know some of the great cycling stories in American sport - (and continue to happen) on bicycles; the Race Across America, Eddie Merckx, Lance Armstrong, among others; and I was hooked.
I enjoy cycling not only for the sheer fun of it, and because of its beauty as a minimalist and sustainable mode of transportation. Bicycles are affordable in nearly every part of the world and can be maintained with common tools and basic mechanical skills. Everyone can learn how to ride, and 8 of them can ride together in the space required for one car. And most importantly, a bike will get 250 miles to the gallon (of milk).
A cycle moves you quickly enough so your distance at the end of the day feels significant, but affords opportunities that a car does not; to appreciate the people and places along the way, to feel the temperature and pressure changing as you climb and descend, and to occasionally remember this minor miracle: a rider whizzes along the pavement support by a coil of air enclosed in a thin rubber tube.
Despite the convenience of automobile and air travel, I appreciate the fact that a metal frame, a chain and two wheels is all it takes to go just about anywhere you want until you hit an ocean.
My interest in cycling began in the late 90s', when I had my first taste of rolling around a mountain on two wheels in Colorado. Road biking came later in high school, when I didn't own a car, so I used a bike to get around. I later got to know some of the great cycling stories in American sport - (and continue to happen) on bicycles; the Race Across America, Eddie Merckx, Lance Armstrong, among others; and I was hooked.
I enjoy cycling not only for the sheer fun of it, and because of its beauty as a minimalist and sustainable mode of transportation. Bicycles are affordable in nearly every part of the world and can be maintained with common tools and basic mechanical skills. Everyone can learn how to ride, and 8 of them can ride together in the space required for one car. And most importantly, a bike will get 250 miles to the gallon (of milk).
A cycle moves you quickly enough so your distance at the end of the day feels significant, but affords opportunities that a car does not; to appreciate the people and places along the way, to feel the temperature and pressure changing as you climb and descend, and to occasionally remember this minor miracle: a rider whizzes along the pavement support by a coil of air enclosed in a thin rubber tube.
Despite the convenience of automobile and air travel, I appreciate the fact that a metal frame, a chain and two wheels is all it takes to go just about anywhere you want until you hit an ocean.