Climate Connections: Bicycling is freedom
Amy Cilimburg
We all have our heroes and mentors. I admit to having many, and one of these is long-time Missoulian, octogenarian, peacemaker, and bicycle evangelist Ethel MacDonald.
Now age 87, Ethel has been biking around Missoula for over five decades, and she’s an icon—known around town for arriving at myriad community events on two wheels, with a bright vest, and whenever possible, with her sweet dog Lela in her bike basket.
Ethel is, of course, so much more than biking. She has been a longtime advocate of open space, serving on the open space advisory board for over a decade, and the Bitterroot Trail Alliance called her “one of Missoula’s preeminent advocates for sustainable and active transportation.” Ethel doesn’t just live out her values on a personal level, she works tirelessly to advocate for systemic change as well.
In 2020, we at Climate Smart Missoula wanted to honor Ethel’s passion and advocacy and bestowed upon her one of our coveted “Smarty Pants Awards, a Masters in the Fine Art of Community Building and Bicycle Riding! This was the height of the covid pandemic, and we didn’t have the opportunity to celebrate Ethel as publicly as we wanted. And though I presented her with this award and we’ve been friends for years, I realized I wanted to know more about what biking meant to her – and that many in our community likely wanted to know too. So we recently sat down in her living room and talked.
The first thing she shared with me is that “bicycling is freedom, and it opened my life in so many ways.”
She learned this the summer after she left her husband and moved into town from the country, many years ago. She biked all over town looking for a home for herself and her kids and was lucky enough to find one close to where two of her boys went to school. She told me:
“I found that with my bike I could get around just about everywhere. And my bike was simply more enjoyable – it became a nice bike ride and a little exercise. And I also became a fanatic about not driving because of air pollution and traffic congestion. I felt I was helping my town, the planet, and the climate so I just didn’t drive much. I totally enjoyed being independent and free of spending money on gas and polluting the air!”
For years, Ethel did have a car and would carpool (of course!) to her teaching job in Arlee. Once she retired, she found it was a big nuisance to keep the car. Why pay for car insurance if you hardly drive? So three years ago, she sold her car to a fellow cyclist and soon after purchased an electric bike, making it easier to ride up hills and pick up 35 pounds of dog food and other essentials. She believes the e-bike didn’t change her riding much but did make grocery shopping more convenient. And she knows that for those who have to go uphill to get home, e-bikes can be great.
As we talked more about biking and her car-free life, Ethel made sure to sing the praises of her other transportation favorite -- our Mountain Line transit system, finding that she can get just about anywhere she needs to on the bus, especially now that they have longer hours and weekend service! Riding the bus or walking have been her go-to winter options when the roads are icy.
And sustainable transportation has taken her far beyond Missoula. Ethel has traveled the world with her fold-up bicycle, from France and Europe to New Zealand, South America and Alaska. When touring she would be hosted by locals via “Warm Showers”, a service only open to those traveling on bike, and then she’d return the favor, opening her home as a host to over 420 bicyclists over the years. An amazing way to meet adventurous and kind souls from around the world.
We reminisced about all this as Ethel grappled with the idea that these trips –overseas and locally, by e-bike— are now a thing of the past. With some persistent and aggravating health issues, Ethel has now donated her two electric bikes—one to Free Cycles’ director Bob and his wife, and one to us at Climate Smart Missoula. We aim to make Ethel’s e-bike available to those who’d like to give it a try and see if it’s a good fit. Ethel doesn’t slow down easily, and she is looking into a recumbent bike that might suit her needs, and I for one sure hope that works out. So does her dog Lela.
One last thing: Ethel was one of the founders of Women Bike Missoula, and when sharing about this group she emphasized that the bike truly is freedom for women in particular, for transportation, recreation, and socializing. She noted that “biking has opened up my life in so many ways and in Missoula too, with many women friends. Bikes build confidence and have been my independence.”
Ethel—slight in stature, yet a force for freedom. May we all get outside and experience the joys and freedom of active transportation, whether that’s a regular bike, an e-bike, the bus, or our own two feet.
Amy Cilimburg is the executive director at Climate Smart Missoula. Climate Smart Missoula brings this Climate Connections column to you twice per month. Learn more about our work, support our efforts, and sign up for our e-newsletter at missoulaclimate.org.