Profile: Mike Gerke, pedicabber and cycling advocate
The lifelong bicycle lover lives a car-free lifestyle, educates aspiring cyclists, and would like to see Atlanta allow pedicabs on its streets
Two years ago, Mike Gerke and his wife quit their jobs, sold their belongings and moved from Green Bay, Wisc., to Decatur to open Easy Living Pedicabs. The lifelong bicycle lover lives a car-free lifestyle, educates aspiring cyclists, and would like to see Atlanta allow pedicabs on its streets.
How’d you get involved in pedicabs?
Fifteen years ago, my wife and I were housesitting in Albuquerque, N.M. I saw an ornate rickshaw in a Chinese restaurant. I was enamored with it. I spent eight months investigating the vehicles and the business. Back then there weren’t a lot of people doing it. I bought two and started a part-time pedicab business in Wisconsin. Basically it’s a way to get paid while reading a bicycle.
What was it about Decatur in particular?