Bicycling advocate extraordinaire steps down

For Al Sturges, taking up bike commuting was the first step in becoming a bicycling advocate.

Since he started commuting by bike and getting involved in bike advocacy, Sturges has served in many roles with local groups, including a stint on the Active Trans Board of Directors.

After more than two decades of service, Sturges is stepping down.

Sturges said his interest in helping create better conditions for people biking all started when he took up bike commuting in Chicago’s South Suburbs — riding to and from the train to get to work.

Not long after he started bike commuting, a friend invited him on a longer bike ride. But Sturges was hesitant because he was riding a “cheap, maybe thirty dollar” bike.

He went on the ride with low expectations, but found he had no trouble keeping up. Since then, he has been riding regularly for recreation, competing in Senior Games races, as well as going on bike vacations with his wife Barbara.

After retiring from the Amoco Corporation in 1992, Sturges began volunteering at Active Trans. In addition to helping out at the Active Trans office, he administered a bike ride-ability survey of roads in the South Suburbs with other volunteers.

Later he served on the financial and policy committees for the Active Trans Board of Directors, and worked on Active Trans events like the Four-Star Bike & Chow as well as MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive.

In addition to his extensive volunteer work with Active Trans, Sturges started volunteering with the League of Illinois Bicyclists soon after its formation in 1992, and acted as the executive director 1995-2000, and also served as newsletter editor and board president.

As Sturges steps down from his volunteer work with Active Trans, we would like to recognize all of his contributions to Active Trans and the bicycling community as a whole.

Thank you, Al, for all your great contributions over the years in Chicagoland and throughout Illinois!