HE KNOWS THE WAY. Pedal evangelist Jeremy Gragert shows off a map of Chippewa
Valley bike routes during a Bike to Work Week kickoff event outside the Volume One
World Headquarters last spring.

Biking around the Chippewa Valley has many perks, and Eau Clairian Jeremy Gragert – who was recently named 2013 Volunteer of the Year by the Wisconsin Bike Fed – wants to make sure that Eau Claire continues to boost its bike-friendly appeal. “It has a lot more potential than it has realized over time,” Gragert said of biking in the Valley. “I just get involved in as many ways as I can.” In addition to volunteering for the Bike Fed, Gragert founded the Chippewa Valley Transit Alliance; is working to create a Chippewa Valley bicycle map; and was instrumental in promoting Eau Claire’s first major Bike to Work Week last spring. He says there are many ways Eau Claire could create better ways for bikers to travel around the community: “Whenever a road is redone, for example Brackett Avenue is going to be redone this summer, the city needs to take a look at how they can make it more bike friendly, particularly if it is a route identified in the bicycle plan as a high-priority bike route.” Gragert says winning this award is about more than just him and his accomplishments: It means something for Eau Claire as a whole. “Great things are happening in Eau Claire,” Gragert said. “There is a responsibility for every community across the state for bicycles because it’s good for the environment, it’s good to build a social city and not have big parking lots separating everything.”