Meet Mary Kaye Black

Mary Kaye is the Coalition's Eastern Arizona Representative, and currently serves on the Board of Directors. 
I currently live in Gilbert, but I grew up in Graham County. Since I spend a lot of time in Eastern Arizona, I cover that area of the state for the Coalition.
I started cycling a few years ago when I had to use a bike as my means of getting back and forth to school after wrecking my truck. I realized that I just loved the feeling of being able make the bike move faster or slower depending on my effort. One day as I was riding home after class at Mesa Community College, a road cyclist sailed by me with little or no effort, and I realized the cyclist that had just passed had given me a goal.
A few years later I got even more serious about cycling and started tracking my miles, and realized that one of my favorite things about cycling is that it a huge, "humbler." You can ride the same course several days in a row and not have the same experience. Some days are hot, some days you have a head-wind, and some days are cold. The days that keep me cycling and keeping my wanting to learn how to ride better the days are typical sunny Arizona days when the pedals seem to have more than just the power that I give them to turn around, and I feel like I am flying.
I got involved with The Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists when I had progressed enough on my own that I wanted to explore roads / highways outside the metro area and saw changes that needed to be mad to make cycling safer for everyone.
Arizona has some incredibly gorgeous scenary and great places where all types of cyclists, be they mountain bikers, road cyclists, those who participate in BMX, or those who are just out for a short ride on a cruiser can relax and have fun. We simply all need to work together and with our state and local governments and communities to make sure we keep cyclists in mind and make thing safer for all of us.