Rhodes: Bike? How about a horse instead?

Auditor Dusty Rhodes won't be bicycling to work any time soon.

During a discussion at today's county commission meeting about the subject it was noted that Andy Dobson, a senior planner on the county planning commission, sent a memo to staff last month asking for suggestions for a "bike commuting program. "

Rhodes sent a sarcastic response suggesting the establishment of a "county stable" so employees could ride horses and buggies to work. Other suggestions: turn off the computers for two hours each day and write the county paychecks by hand.

Rhodes said he got some anonymous responses agreeing with him. A county stable must not be in the county's budget.

Commissioner Pat DeWine said Wednesday he is biking to work on Friday.

"The County Recorder twisted my arm," he said. Apparently Rebecca Prem Groppe and DeWine are meeting at Awakenings in Hyde Park around 8:45 a.m. to bike downtown.
Commissioner David Pepper suggested they stop in Mount Adams, where he lives, and he'd bike the rest of the way (downhill) with them. Commissioner Todd Portune commended the idea, though noted he didn't have a hand-crank cycling machine yet for himself.

UPDATE: Pepper says he was joking around about it at the meeting, but actually he had planned to bike to work. He thought just biking from Mount Adams would be cheating. So he's now biking to Awakenings to meet the others, then biking downtown.

Portune, suggested the county find ways to let more employees work from home and that all local governments should be looking at solutions to the fuel crisis.

On a side note, while David Pepper isn't biking on Friday, he has made a commitment to do a Tour of Hamilton County by running a 5K race every weekend in a different community.
"It's a great way to get out in the county," Pepper said. One weekend though, he couldn't find a local race so he had to run one in Kentucky. "They looked at me like 'what are you doing here?'"