Photo credit: Charles Dharapak “” Associated Press
It looks like the ‘Mountain Biker in Chief’ is taking care of his peeps during his final days in office. The lame-duck president is working with the National Park Service to make it easier to open trails to mountain bikes and an authorization could be signed as soon as next month. Current Park Service regulations make the process for approving mountain bike access in National Parks cumbersome and the new rules would give park superintendents more flexibility in opening more trails to mountain bikes.
In related news, President Bush also signed a bill this month that makes it easier for employers to encourage employees to commute by bike. The bill, signed October 3, lets employers give up to $20 a month tax-free to employees who choose to commute to work via bicycle. Sure, $20 a month isn’t much incentive for folks to switch to bike commuting the same way $5 a gallon gas probably is. If you’re lucky enough to work for a company that pays you $20 a month to ride your bike to work, how about sharing the love and buying a singletracks membership this month? 😉
