There are different types of bikes and different ways to use them, most of us might think initially of biking to work, the grocery store, or of a pleasant cruise along the Provo River Trail. But innovative and dedicated, active transportation advocate Logan Millsap may have found, I may even venture to say created, a few uses for employing a bike that aren’t so widely known. On Tuesday I caught up with Logan at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the New UTA Pedestrian Bridge built over several lines of railroad track at the Provo FrontRunner Station.
Although a life-long cyclist who grew up in South Jordan, Logan wasn’t always so enthusiastic about biking. During the latter years of high school and while attending college “I was into cars, then on Easter Sunday (2021) the car died on the spot… so, I guess we’re going 100% [active transportation],” Logan quipped at the time. He had already “stopped using cars so much, since 2019, when I really got into biking and discovered BikeWalk Provo.” Not long after, Logan saw BikeWalk Provo’s screening of the award winning documentary film “Motherload” and bought a cargo bike: “the Madsen [bike by Madsen Cycles] made it possible to go 100%.”
Logan and Danielle have seven bikes, the electric assist Madsen being what they use most often for commuting into Provo together. “We’re both on the same page” when it comes to active transportation, “Danielle works in Springville and walks 15 minutes to work every day.” They also use the Madsen when attending events or going anywhere when they want to take a single bike. Both of them have been spotted in recent years sporting their decked out Madsen in the Grand Parade during Provo’s Freedom Festival, both in Mario Bros. theme costumes with Danielle smartly enthroned in the cargo box and waving to a cheering crowd.
In December of 2021 Logan’s sister Thia passed away, “I wanted to do something that kind of expressed her personality.” Thia “had a goal to live car free.” His brother Joe built a platform on a bike trailer for Thia’s casket, and with a solemn procession of mourners on foot stretching far behind, “Joe pedaled her [Thia’s] bike with the trailer from the funeral home to Historic Springville Cemetery.” “Take her on one last ride,” Logan adds in reflecting quietly on that day, a very cold December with snow covering the surrounding landscape as the procession moved along Springville’s streets. Logan publicly shared his experience to remind us “that streets are for more than simply moving car traffic.”
When in July of 2021 Logan and Danielle moved to another location “a couple of miles away,” they began packing boxes and threw a few into the Madsen’s cargo box for Logan to take over to the new place. “Started with a couple of boxes, then a couch, and as a point of pride moved everything else… over a week of packing and loading, the entire house.” Again, Logan shared his experience on social media to emphasize what can be done with active transportation. “I met a dozen of my neighbors before I even moved in, the neighborhood kids think I'm a superhero,” he states on his Facebook page in explaining more about the benefits.
Once, Logan loaded up “junk bikes, nine piled in the cargo box,” and hauled them on the Madsen to a recycling yard in Provo. There’s no end apparently to what Logan can do with a bike, or what he’s willing to do to advocate for better streets and paths in accommodating all those who wish to drive less and bike, walk or scoot more. Recently he presented a proposal at a BikeWalk Provo monthly meeting to study the possibility of a corridor from Springville to Provo, where today there isn’t truly a safe or comfortable pedestrian path.
I finished my chat with Logan during the “World Day of Remembrance” event held at Pioneer Park on November 19th. He had arrived after pedaling over seven miles in inclement weather from his home in Springville to participate in Provo’s 2nd annual, co-hosted recognition of those who have been road traffic victims. Snapping a photo of Logan standing by his MIAMI Citizen that he had chosen to ride that day, a rather unique bike and one of his favorites for commuting, I wondered how he makes it all look so easy.
