Bremen is BYU's sustainability manager; he was hired during the COVID pandemic and "worked remotely from New York City where he was living until February 2021." In New York Bremen lived in high-density housing and commuted by subway and Citibike, "which works well when public transit options, grocery stores, and parks (Central Park was a few blocks away) are all nearby." Bremen right away tells me that he's "a big fan of walkable, rideable neighborhoods and a minimalist lifestyle."
That’s just what I wanted to hear for the writing of this BikeWalk Provo story!
Before moving to Utah Bremen connected with Austin Taylor, a previous BikeWalk Provo Director. Austin suggested a few apartment complexes near public transit lines and Bremen eventually settled in Orem near the College Connector Trail and the UVX station at University Place. Most days he walked, bussed, or biked to his office in the University Services Building north of campus. Eventually, he sold his car and went 14 months without another one.
Bremen bought his bike, a Trek FX 2 commuter bike, from Mad Dog Cycles in Orem. He mentions, "an email from Trek said to fully offset the carbon cost of manufacturing my bike, I'd need to ride 430 miles that I would have otherwise driven." That apparently didn't take long, "my longest ride so far was 65 miles from Inlet Park at Utah Lake to Great Salt Lake State Park via the Jordan River Parkway Trail and North Temple Road" in February of 2022. “It was fun—and cold!”
In May of 2023, Bremen bought a home in Provo. "It's a five-minute walk from Provo Central Station and a five-minute walk from the 400 South UVX station. I live between two great biking thoroughfares, 200 East and 400 East, that take me straight to BYU; South campus is one and a half miles away, north campus is three miles away.” Most days, Bremen bikes, buses, or walks to work, and occasionally he works from home.
"I like the variety of options that living close to BYU gives me. One of the best parts of my commute is seeing the dragon in the backyard of Clint and Rachel Whipple."
Bremen had asthma as a child, and he's still sensitive to air pollution, which he tells me "in Utah County comes mostly from vehicle emissions and heating and cooling buildings. Knowing that I'm not burning fossil fuels to get to work gives me peace of mind.” Even with a history of having had asthma, one of Bremen's passions in life is running, and he's participated in about forty marathons. In New York, Bremen was a pacer for the New York City Marathon over a period of six or seven years.
"Running in Utah, I stick to the trails and avoid city streets. Too many drivers are on their phones or speeding or both. They run red lights. They turn corners when pedestrians are crossing." A few weeks ago here in Provo, Bremen witnessed a car running a red light and just missing a student in a crosswalk by inches. “The same thing recently happened to me at my bus stop,” he also mentions. “We all need to drive better or not at all.”
"I love my job at BYU. It's the best job I've ever had. We teach our community members to care for the earth and one another as a way of honoring the Creator. We look at energy, water, waste, dining, transportation, curriculum, community partnerships, local conservation, and gospel principles of love and stewardship to find ways to reduce our environmental impact." Hearing this touched on my own concerns and gave me the impression that BYU may be leading the way environmentally here in Provo.
"I'm excited to be working at BYU during the sesquicentennial in 2025. It's going to be an amazing year. I hope that stewardship and sustainability will be a big part of the celebration. Two things I'd still love to see: fewer cars (some of us need to drive, but not all of us need to) and more clean energy. I sit on BYU's rideables committee, energy committee, and sustainability committee, so we're looking at each of these issues."
