Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Joel Watson

Photo Credit: Christy Jens

Meet our latest "Caught On A Bike", Joel Watson. A social worker, former serviceman, southern gentleman, and avid commuter.

Name: Joel Watson

Age: 54 in April

Hometown: Dry Creek, Louisiana

Years in Salt Lake:Twenty-one. I came here with the Air Force

Number of bikes you own: One. A Gary Fisher 29er. When I was stationed in England I had a titanium frame that came with a Brooks saddle. That saddle was beastly for three months. After I broke it in I could do 85-100 miles and it was great.

Favorite Restaurant: Blue Plate Diner or the Red Iguana.

Favorite place to ride in Salt Lake: I like riding in City Creek. The Shore Line Trail is great if their aren't to many dogs.

Favorite place to ride in Europe: Northern England. No place is further than 10 miles from a Bed and Breakfast. Bikes are a form of transportation there. People aren't mad that bikes are awarded the same rights as a car.

Photo Credit: Christy Jens

Favorite bike accessory: Coffee mug holder and my Portland Design works rear light, the RADBOT 1000. People change lanes to get away from it. It is brighter than the planet bike super flash.

Where you see yourself on a bike in the future: On a Surly with racks on the front and back. I want to be able to go to IKEA and buy 100 lbs worth of book shelves and ride them home on my bike.

Your hopes and dreams for cycling: Twenty-years of democratic administration where riding a bike is not viewed as making you a communist sympathiser or an islamic secularist. The car has to go, it just has to. I want more bike shops to have a bike rack in front of their shops, and other businesses too. The Smiths on 400 N & 500 E has two of the crappiest bike racks. In Italy the bike racks are out in front of a business where you can see them, it detours bike theft.

Advice for new cyclists: Wear your lights, use hand signals, don't make yourself an enemy to traffic.

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