Alice Nominee: Rainier Farmer

By BTA correspondent John McLaren

His associates have plenty of nice things to say about Rainier Farmer, a bicycling advocate who chairs the trail-blazing Alternative Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) at Oregon State University.

“Rainier does an amazing amount of work – and coordination of efforts – for bicycling and bicycle advocacy, for which he accepts little credit. He is very humble, and never self promotes,” fellow ATAC member Becky Garrett wrote, nominating him for an Alice B. Toeclips Award.

Farmer, 47, has been seriously involved with bicycling for about 20 years, and during the last eight he has headed ATAC. The committee, which operates under the OSU aegis but also serves the larger Corvallis/Benton County community, promotes biking, walking, car-pooling and public transit as means to get to and from campus and around town. It is currently working on a first-ever comprehensive Bicycle Plan for the university.

Farmer is truly motivated.

“Bicycling is simultaneously transportation, exercise and recreation,â€? he says. “I enjoy taking in the world around me, and knowing that there’s not a more energy efficient way to get around. By cycling, I’m doing something positive for my body, my mind, and our planet.â€?

Safety is also a particular concern of Farmer’s, a role that comes naturally to him though his job as radiation safety officer in the OSU Environmental Health and Safety Department. His work has “given him a keen understanding of what it takes to accomplish safe bicycle use both from the infrastructure standpoint, and from the bicycle user standpoint,” says ATAC member Brandon Trelstad. “Rainier is there – occasionally alone – championing the cause.”

As a promoter of transportation alternatives, the mild-mannered Farmer definitely “walks the talk.” He and his wife Penny car-pool into Corvallis from their home in Albany. She has a different work schedule, so she drives home while he either bikes or uses transit for the 15.9-mile return trip. The mode depends on the time of year and the weather; as a safety advocate he takes the bus when conditions make cycling hazardous on a heavily-traveled highways.

Farmer also earns plaudits for his leadership, speaking and writing in support of bicycling. “He guides our group toward accomplishing goals like examining bike parking issues, addressing problem routes and planning future amenities. He goes the extra step on his own time of visiting other campuses and communities to get good ideas to share,” says ATAC member Marge Stevens.

The versatile Farmer also plays standup bass with two bluegrass bands, The Kindreds and Bush Pilots, which perform at county fairs, restaurants, brew pubs and other Willamette Valley locales. He would like to haul the fiddle around on his bike, but it’s too large, “so music has to be a separate area of interest for me.”