The month of May is Bike Month in Napa County and across the Bay Area.
Each year, the Napa County Bicycle Coalition honors one or two individuals as Bike Commuter of the Year for their dedication to riding to work or school. To adapt to changes in everyday life due to the pandemic, we’re honoring two Bike Champions of the Year during 2021 for their commitment to riding a bike for everyday transportation.
We hope that the stories of this year’s winners inspire you as much as they’ve inspired us!
Kate Miller
Kate Miller’s earliest memory of riding a bike is riding around her childhood neighborhood in Castro Valley and avoiding her older brother’s attempts to play chicken. She started commuting by bike in the mid 1980s when she lived in Seattle. She recalls being mistaken for a bike messenger, because in major cities like Seattle, those were the only people found riding around the city.
Kate has continued biking in Napa County for the last several years, where she works as Executive Director of the Napa Valley Transportation Authority. Even throughout the pandemic, she continues to make a dedicated effort to ride her bike for transportation, like leaving the car behind for shopping trips. You might catch her riding in Carneros – her favorite spot to ride in Napa County.
Greg Stueland
If you’ve ever seen a bicyclist riding around Napa Valley on an Xtracycle longtail cargo bike, perhaps transporting groceries or project materials from ACE Hardware, odds are you spotted Greg Stueland.
Although his first memory of riding a bike was hitting a hole when learning to ride downhill at age 6 and falling into a mud puddle, Greg has been dedicated to biking for everyday transportation since August 2009. Greg rides every day – “it’s my main method of transportation” he reports. His average bike commute ranges between 6-10 miles per day, though he sometimes surpasses that on longer commutes to places like St. Helena, Sonoma, and Vallejo.
In addition to riding for transportation, Greg has been a member of the Eagles Cycling Club since 2003, leading as president on six different occasions, and has directed the Tour of Napa Valley event six times. Greg’s favorite place to ride in Napa County is Mt. Veeder Dry Creek or Pope Valley – for sport riding, he assures us, not on his cargo bike.
