Friday, May 15, 2009

Ellen Fletcher

I just gotta say that Ellen Fletcher is my hero.

Ellen Fletcher


She's a perennial presence at the Palo Alto City Hall Energizer Station on Bike To Work Day. She rides her Breezer bike there in spite of her advanced age and recently poor health. She was at City Hall handing out maps, talking to people and encouraging them that they, too, can ride a bike to get around.

Ms Fletcher was instrumental in getting Caltrain's bikes on board program years ago, and before that she pushed for Southern Pacific to allow bikes on board, and she still actively participates in Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition discussion on how Caltain can improve the service for bicyclists. She also pushed for converting Bryant Street in Palo Alto into a bicycle boulevard, which is now named in her honor.

Ms Fletcher began riding a bicycle to get to her job as a teen in World War 2 England, and she's never stopped. Ellen Fletcher is totally an inspiration.

2 comments:

Adrienne Johnson said...

She is beautiful! I saw an interview of her once and she is fantastic. She's one of my heroes, too : )

bikesgonewild said...

...i doff my cap to mz fletcher...after reading her brief bio, i'd certainly agree...she really is an inspiration, isn't she ???...