One of Jeff Bruchez’s earliest memories is of flying down a Utah trail, on a bicycle, after his brothers, but at 6 years old being too small to reach the brake levers.
“Needless to say, I careened out of control, finding a boulder to absorb my momentum, albeit while inflicting a good amount of damage,” he said of the accident in Park City.
It was just the start of a lifetime on two wheels, including his new job as coordinator of Transportation Services’ Bicycle Program, which is responsible for making life easier for cyclists on campus. The program registers bicycles and offers education on riding safely, oversees bicycle parking, provides lock-cutting service, picks up abandoned bicycles and runs auctions twice a year to sell unclaimed bikes.
Bruchez [pronounced brew-shay] comes to UC Davis from Bikes Make Life Better, a Bay Area-based company that helps other companies and organizations promote bicycling, by providing bicycle fleets and parking design, and arranging events and incentive programs.
“I was able to implement a world of bike programing, really focused on showing people the fun that bicycling can be, while illustrating the utility that bikes could provide to them daily,” he said. “I view bikes as a tool that can change the world.”
Transportation Services, or TAPS, rolled into 2020 with a new executive director.