Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Ken Gronseth

Ken poses with his commuter.
He built the frame himself.

Meet this week's "Caught On A Bike", Ken Gronseth. Builder of his own bikes, sewing repair man, and one of the nicest people you could ever hope to encounter in a bike lane.

Name: Ken Gronseth

Hometown: New Mexico, but has lived in Salt Lake City since the 1970s

Occupation: Bike mechanic at Bicycle Center, consultant, and sewing repair rock star

Number of Bicycles owned: Four. But my favorite bike is my commuter. I built the frame myself. I have four bikes because you need the right bike for the job.

Favorite Restaurant: The Red Iguana, because it is all around good Mexican food

Favorite place to ride in Salt Lake City: Millcreek for all around riding, but I probably ride Emigration more.

How has cycling in Salt Lake changed since the 70’s? You see more people giving the right of way to cyclists. But going east to West, whew, there are only a couple of ways to get to West Valley on a bike. Urban development has made biking more of a challenge but there are also more bike lanes. The bike path to the airport is nice.

Why do you ride a bike? Two reasons, I don’t have to pay for gas and it is great exercise for the body and mind.

What are your hopes and dreams for cycling? More bicycle infrastructure in Salt Lake City. If you look at other big cities, Portland, Denver, city officials have done more to create bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Salt Lake City keeps talking about an East to West corridor to parley for 30 years, it would be nice to see that happen.

It would also be nice to see more businesses with decent bike racks. It is rare to come across a decent rack. More people on bikes would be great. Lighter weight bikes have made it easier to get people on bikes all the time. I bike in the dark two nights a week. Modern day technology has made it possible to bike in the dark, but people are always seem so amazed when I ride my bike in the dark.

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