Green Mission
In addition to his goals on the bike, Tyler has a clear purpose: to minimize the impact of his racing on the environment; and to promote a healthy and environmentally conscious lifestyle. Raised in suburban Philadelphia, Tyler was instilled with the importance of a low-impact lifestyle. His parents generate their own electricity with solar panels, grow their own fruits and vegetables in their garden, and tend a chicken coop. Tyler strives to practice and promote these principles in his professional cycling career.
Green Tips
Here are five simple examples of ways that Tyler has committed to living a greener lifestyle.
- Spending a few extra dollars to buy local produce. Much of our grocery stores’ produce is shipped from all around the world, creating a needlessly large carbon footprint.
- Using reusable bags for shopping. Some grocery stores offer incentives for bringing your own bags, and some stores (like Ikea) have nobly phased out the disposable bag altogether.
- Turning off lights & unplugging electronics when not in use. Even when an electronic device is turned off, it still uses a small amount energy when plugged in.
- Using a bicycle or motorcycle for transportation instead of a car when possible.
- Recycling as much as possible. Even in areas with no recycling pick-up offered, there is almost always recycling drop-off available.
Tyler’s Carbon footprint
Professional cycle racing involves a significant amount of travel, and Tyler has committed to remaining carbon neutral by reducing the travel that he can and by offsetting the emissions of his air travel, time in the Jamis/Sutter Home team van, and the team car’s caravan time with carbon credits from CarbonFund.org. You can track his carbon offsets here: news
The carbon counter on Tyler’s homepage represents the miles Tyler has ridden on his bike, and the amount of carbon emissions an equivalent distance would have generated in an automobile. These are not miles that Tyler has replaced, as his training is not commuting, but it serves as an example of the magnitude of the positive impact that the choice to cycle rather than drive can have on our environment.