Interview with ExperiencePlus! customer and bicycle advocate Lois Moss

Name: Lois Moss

Age (be as vague as you wish): 40s

 Where are some of the places you’ve gone with ExperiencePlus!?:  Italy twice plus France once.  Thanks for reminding me!  I should book another trip so I can use my Re-Cycle Rewards.

 Where is your favorite travel destination and why?:  Lucca, Italy.  The first time I was in Lucca was also my first trip with ExperiencePlus!.  Like many of the towns we visited, it is a small town that isn't on most tourist itineraries.  It is between Pisa and Florence, so most people miss it.  I have been back to Lucca three times now and I still discover things that I didn't see before.  I am so glad that X-Plus
introduced me to traveling off the tourist path!  

How did you get interested in bicycles & bicycle touring?  I remember the exact moment that I was re-united with bicycling.  Since it happened in England, it seems appropriate that I love international bicycle touring: 

Like most people, I rode a bike when I was a kid but left bicycles behind
when I got a drivers license.   I earned an accounting degree, worked for a
CPA firm and did the corporate scene into my late 20s.  I was working for my firm's sister company in London and ended up at a country house for a
weekend.   My friend liked to sleep in until noon but I am an early riser.
I was poking around her family's garage and found a bicycle.  Next thing I knew, I was riding through the early morning mists in the English countryside, passing cricket matches, hearing church bells, looking at Arundel Castle and seeing gorgeous views.  I have been riding bicycles ever since.

 We understand that you are involved with promoting alternative modes of travel.  Tell us about that.  Soon after returning from London, I co-founded Century Cycles bicycle stores in Cleveland, Ohio.  We grew from a single store to four locations and were listed numerous times on local and national "Best Bicycle Store" lists.
Part of the reason we were honored with these awards was because we helped put on bicycle events and were involved in bicycle advocacy.  I wrote letters to the editor, sent e-mail alerts when cycling issues came up, went to Washington DC to ask my congress people to support bicycle projects, sent press releases and, in a nutshell, got involved.  

I have been fortunate to be part of two projects that clearly show that one person or one bicycle can make a difference:

Bicycling Magazine's BikeTown - this is an experiment where Average Joes and Everyday Janes are given new bicycles to see if a bike can change someone's life.  Century Cycles was the retail partner when Cleveland was chosen as a BikeTown in 2005 and I was hired as the field coordinator the past two summers.  I have seen firsthand how bicycling can make someone happier, fitter, richer and better.

Clear Channel radio controversy - In 2003, morning shock jocks in Cleveland did a show encouraging listeners to do things like honk horns at cyclists, slam your car's brakes on, throw things at bikes, etc.  I knew we had recently sold one of the DJs a bike, so I called the phone number in our database.  He said they were just joking and their listeners loved it, so they escalated the "jokes" and kept egging on their listeners to harass cyclists.  I sent an e-mail to every cyclist I could think of and the war of the words began.  The controversy went worldwide and was covered by Good Morning America, the New York Times, CNN and Associated Press.  At one point, Clear Channel was receiving so many e-mails that their computers froze.  To this day, I still get occasional e-mails from people thanking me for orchestrating the e-mail counter attack on Clear Channel.

Can you describe some of the more successful & fun events you’ve sponsored through Walk+Roll Cleveland?  I sold my half of Century Cycles to my partner in 2006 and thought I would travel for a year or two.  Somehow, I got sidetracked and started Walk+Roll Cleveland.  The first year, we did two car-free days and opened an urban park to people by closing a 2-1/2 mile stretch of road to cars.  I didn't know it at the time, but Walk+Roll was very similar to Bogota's Ciclovia which is now being replicated in cities all across the US and Canada.   If your city hasn't already done a car-free event, they probably will be soon - they are sweeping the continent.  

Walk+Roll Cleveland has expanded its mission and is now taking on a
Walk+broad range of projects and causes that encourage people to bicycle and walk in their daily lives. 

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know:  I used to be incredibly, painfully, excruciatingly shy.  Somewhere along the way, I realized that people were all just people and talking to them isn't scary at all now.  I am still petrified of doing prepared presentations in front of a group, though.

What’s one outdoor activity that you’d like to take up?  Kayaking!  I used to row in an 8-person shell and loved it.  I have tried kayaking a couple of times and loved it, too.  I drive a Mini Cooper convertible, so the options for taking a kayak are a bit limited.
 
Anything else you’d like to share with us?  One person can and does make a difference.  You never know when taking the time or making the effort will be what moves something or someone over the tipping point.