It takes a serious commitment to eschew the convenient automobile and adapt to 100% active transportation. Especially if you find that intersection you must bike through daily “a scary one,” and even more, when you do reach your destination you have the feeling that some people “didn’t like me riding on a bike.” Yes, it takes a real commitment, but that’s just what Provo Neighborhood District 2 Secretary and Provost South representative Tana Hoover has made.
In 2019, after attending Central Wyoming College “on a full ride athletic scholarship” and graduating with an Associates Degree in Business Administration and Management, Tana moved to Provo from Payson, Utah. Payson was where Tana grew up, and where she “rode to school quite a bit,” developing her love today for pedaling two-wheelers around town. “I love riding my bike, and it’s important for kids to see adults riding on bikes,” Tana tells me during our interview at Java Junkie on Center Street, a street where you’ll frequently find her.
At the time of Tana’s move to Provo she was working for the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, commuting to work on FrontRunner along with her bike, then a Trek Marlin 4. Arriving at Salt Lake Central or North Temple Station, after traveling the 48 miles by train (“I liked the train”), Tana could then easily traverse the city streets to work and back home. Eventually, she did move to Salt Lake City, “to make it more convenient,” and was able to experience the active transport infrastructure of a large metropolitan area, infrastructure that continues to develop.
Tana moved back to Provo in 2023, taking up residence in the Slate Canyon area. Biking from home to the downtown district usually involved maneuvering through the roundabout on East 300 South and Seven Peaks Boulevard. The roundabout “was a scary one,” Tana smiles, “feels like you’re in a horror movie in the roundabout, looking back and seeing a car chasing you.”
Tana expresses to me that the support of other bicyclists is very important to her.
“It felt good finding BikeWalk Provo, others watching your back. I feel more comfortable now that I have experience and have found others.” What else motivates Tana to bike? “I like riding, it gives me a chance to admire my neighbors’ gardens, on 1350 East and others. Biking with my boyfriend in Orem at Orem Fest. Biking gives me a chance to work through my thoughts. Biking slowed me down and makes me the person I am today, passionate, community activist.”
Tana is 100% committed to active transportation: she shops for groceries, arrives at appointments, she’s out “riding all day long.” Recently, Tana upgraded to a Magnum Low Rider 2.0 Urban Cruiser, making it a bit easier for climbing Slate Canyon Drive. “The Magnum Low rider is an easy-to-mount low-step beach cruiser style electric bike well suited for urban cycling,” their website states. Tana then added a cool, Multi-Purpose Front Cargo Basket that offers a convenient space for carrying home a couple of bags of groceries.
So, what is it like being out there riding all day long? “I’ve only crashed once in six years,” Tana happily reports. But she wishes our Provo streets were “safer and more inclusive to pedestrians. Freedom [Boulevard] is a nightmare, people are impatient with me on the road. I would like to see more done for East Bay… it isn’t good now, the East Bay infrastructure. I really do like to ride in that area, like to shop at Sam’s Club and the mall [Provo Town Center].”
At Mayor Kaufusi's State of the City address this year, Tana responded to Brooke Christensen of The Daily Universe, "A lot of the things that stick out for me are our airport. Obviously, that’s huge. I’d love to see some more public transportation going to and from there and improving that." Look forward to Tana Hoover advocating more on active transport.
