This article is the seventh in a series profiling the varied and amazing nominees for the 2008 Alice B. Toeclips Awards, which will be presented to five winners at the Alice Awards & Auction on March 22nd. This profile was written by BTA correspondent John McLaren.

Susan Remmers is an above-the-knee amputee who loves riding bikes – she has three – so she knows a thing or two about overcoming obstacles. “I do think it enables me to more fully appreciate the variety of challenges one might face when trying to access bikes,” she says. With this background, combined with 20 years prior experience helping run non-profit companies, she seems well suited for her current post as executive director of the Community Cycling Center. The nonprofit CCC exists, after all, “to broaden access to bicycling and all its benefits.”

The center does this, Remmers says, by providing “a welcoming environment for beginners and experts alike, offering classes, clinics, camps and clubs to meet the needs of people from all walks of life choosing to share in the simple pleasure …of riding a bicycle.”

It took Remmers about 10 years to get back into bicycling after she lost part of her left leg and suffered other serious injuries in a 1987 auto accident. She began her long recovery by removing the left side pedal and crank and pedaling with her right leg only, but that didn’t work. Michael Sylvester of Portland’s Bicycle Fitting Services helped her adjust to riding with a prosthesis. Now she rides up to 30 miles, but generally sticks to flat terrain and avoids heavy traffic.

She took over as the CCC’s executive officer in April 2006. She already was familiar with the Center, since she lives just a couple of blocks away and had been donating bikes and parts to it for years.

She heads a permanent staff of 22-24 people that grows to about 37 in the summer. More than half are shop staff, refurbishing donated bikes to sell or give away. The CCC donates hundreds of bikes, along with helmets, lights and accessories, to low-income kids and adults every year. About 2,000 volunteers support CCC events and programs, like the Holiday Bike Drive and the Bike Safety Club.

The CCC operates on a belief that bicycles can be a tremendous catalyst for change, Remmers says. “Whether riding for fun, fitness or transportation, the bicycle is an elegant and powerful tool that enhances individual health, creates a cleaner environment, and fosters liveable communities by changing the way one moves through life.”

How’s Remmers doing?

CCC employees have seen their benefits grow, gaining health insurance and paid days off as a result of Remmers’ efforts. And says CCC Board Chair (and fellow Alice Award Nominee) Margaret Weddell. “She has been a solid, steady guide in a period of transition. She is decisive, yet measured in her considerations. She inspires high quality and has been a great steward for the organization.”

Next nominee: Bike commuting coach and ambassador Teri Redwolf

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