The power of a purple bike and a little girl


...
"I just wanted to ride to school, ride to Baskin-Robbins, ride to Wal-Mart," Elli said.
...
When Elli was 7, she wanted to ride her bike to school. But the Giammonas live off Mullan Road. Each day, 12,000 cars go by their home, and go by fast. Her parents, Luann and John, weren't keen on their daughter biking with speeding sedans.

But Elli rode on sidewalks back when the family lived in Austin, Texas, and she wanted to know why there wasn't a sidewalk on Mullan. Sidewalks, her mother explained, are expensive.

"Can you buy one?"

"Mmm. No. I don't think so. But here's an idea."

The idea was a brief lesson in lobbying one's government. Luann taught Elli the meaning of the word "petition" and told her how one works. Soon, an idea took shape.

Elli took writing utensil to notebook paper:

"Petition. We want a sidewalk on Mullan Road. With a rale."

She and her sister Kate, now 6, knocked on doors, as did her brother Nick, now 12, with a friend. Together, they gathered more than 75 signatures, and few people turned them down. It wasn't what Elli had expected.
... <a href="http://m.missoulian.com/news/local/article_82ce5f98-ab21-11de-80db-001cc4c03286.html">http://m.missoulian.com/news/local/article_82ce5f98-ab21-11de-80db-001cc4c03286.html</a>;

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
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