Steven Mitchell learned the hard way that bikes and cars don't always play well together, especially on roads designed for motor vehicles.
The vice president of Mitchell Auto Group in Simsbury, Conn., was on a cross-country bicycle tour in the late 1980s when a distracted driver sent him crashing backward into her windshield. Mitchell was not seriously injured.
"I love cycling and the freedom it gives you, but most state agencies refer to bicyclists and pedestrians as 'vulnerable users' because you are very vulnerable," Mitchell said. "Part of my mission is to make it fun and safe whether you're a motorist or cyclist."
His passions as a lifelong cyclist and third-generation auto retailer came together when the dealership group gave up a slice of an employee parking lot for a bike trail in 1997.
It was part of a much larger "rails to trails" program promoted by local governments and cycling enthusiasts who were turning abandoned rail lines along the East Coast into bikeways.
"In the mid-1990s, the rails-to-trails effort in Connecticut was advancing very nicely, and they were turning the rail line from New Haven to Northampton, Mass., into a bike trail," Mitchell said. "And they have been doing that for the last 20 years."
Mitchell became a big advocate of the program spreading across the East Coast generally and in the Farmington Valley where his family's dealerships are located specifically. He fought for the extension of the trail that runs along two dealership properties in Simsbury even when it meant butting up against neighborhood groups that argued the trail would bring crime and depress property values. In fact, proximity to the trail is now a selling point in the local housing market.
Gold standard
Mitchell's advocacy — and a commitment by the group's seven dealerships to bike-friendly practices — was recognized by the Washington-based League of American Bicyclists in May.
Mitchell Auto Group is the first U.S. auto retailer to achieve the league's gold rating for bicycle-friendliness. Both Steven and his brother Mark, who is president of the group, are regular cyclists. But Steven Mitchell, 60, jokes that his older brother leans more toward golf these days.
The cycling league singled out Mitchell for the eight years he served on the board of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, which lobbies for a multipurpose recreational trail stretching from the Canadian border to Key West, Fla.
The 3,000-mile route passes along a Mitchell Chrysler-Dodge-Ram store and Volvo store. The group's Subaru store in nearby Canton, Conn., is located near a different bike trail.
"People can come [in], have their car serviced and borrow a bike for free and a helmet and go out on a bike ride on the trail," Mitchell said.
The dealership group provided seed money for a nonprofit group, Simsbury Free Bike, that lends the two-wheelers by partnering with businesses in the region.
Community perks
A couple of times a year, the lower level of the Chrysler dealership is turned into a classroom with professional instructors who offer biking lessons.
"We are 150 feet from the bike trail and 75 feet from the road, so we can do a class on riding with traffic and go out with the traffic," Mitchell said. "We all learn as kids to ride a bike. As adults, we need to learn how to drive a bike," which means following the same rules as motorists.
Dealership employees also benefit, whether they ride to work or grab a bike during lunch. "We have this as an amenity, part of your benefit package, so to speak," Mitchell said. Some employees prefer to run or walk or eat a sandwich in a pretty spot.
Employees of the auto group and their families also are offered free bicycle tuneups once a year.
Besides promoting a healthy lifestyle, being bike-friendly is good for business, Mitchell said.
"I think it's a good thing to be seen as helping the community," he said. "We do this to help the community become a better place to live and work."
"Particularly at our Subaru store, I've had people text me and call me and say, 'Steven, I bought another Subaru from you, and I want you to know I bought it from you because of your advocacy with the bike trails,' " he said. "I've had that happen a bunch of times."