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George Simmons, a retired Virginia Tech professor, said he was driving around Blacksburg when he started seeing a guy about his age covering the same ground on a bicycle.

"He looked like he was having so much fun, at peace with the world, part of the environment," Simmons said. "I asked myself, 'Why am I driving this dumpy old truck? It's crazy what you pay for gas.' I parked the truck and started riding my bike."

Simmons, who drives a Blacksburg Transit bus part time, had been cycling for a year before he finally met that other guy. "One day our paths crossed at the intersection of Main and Eakin," Simmons says. "I stopped, introduced myself and said, 'I want you to know what an inspiration you've been to me to get off my duff and start riding.' "

That's how George Simmons met Keith Moore.

Jeni Lamb, a senior at Tech, is a research assistant and database manager in the Office of International Research, Education and Development. Moore, an associate program director, is her boss. Two weeks into her job, the boss brought up the fact that she was driving the two miles to work. "He said, 'You bring your car in every day. Why don't you ride a bike?' '' Lamb, who grew up in rural Boulder County, Colo., told him, "I ride a horse, not a bike."

He was insistent. "There was no saying 'no' to him," Lamb said. A friend who was buying a new bike offered Lamb her old one. "Keith was so excited when I came in with my bike," she said.

That's how Jeni Lamb became a cyclist.

When Jonathan McGlumphy, a mechanical engineer, moved to Blacksburg in 2003 for graduate school, he found the area "highly conducive to being active." He took up cycling. During daylight saving time he bikes a couple of times a week to his job in Salem.

When Blacksburg began planning its reconstruction of Main Street through downtown, McGlumphy and others saw that the project lacked something. "It was lots of money for a major revamp without considering bike lanes," he said.

McGlumphy and Moore launched a petition drive to ask the town council to reconsider the plan or offer a reasonable alternative for cyclists. They collected more than 1,000 signatures, which they presented to the council in November. McGlumphy, a member of the town's Greenway/Bikeway/Sidewalk Corridor Committee, said the response was extremely positive. The town is now considering Progress Street, parallel to Main, as a potential north-south bike route.

That's how cyclists got the town council's ear.

Moore bikes in all weather -- rain, snow, cold, heat. He is modest about his activism. "The story isn't about me; it's about the issues," he said, referring questions to Beth Lohman, president of the New River Valley Bicycle Association.

"Cycling here is fantastic," Lohman said. "You can get out of town in five or 10 minutes and be on a lovely country road."

The 150-member bike association advocated for the Main Street petition, collecting signatures and attending the council meeting in support. Lohman said the petition came from Moore, though, not the association. "Keith was independent; he was the author," she said. "We supported Keith."

"I didn't charge out there with the idea of starting a bicycle petition," said Moore, who also said he's been biking since he was 7. "I'm representing bicyclists who just want to get from point A to point B. If parents want to go downtown with their kids to get an ice cream or see a movie at the Lyric, that's what they should be able to do."

Besides, he said, cycling is "just plain healthy. It solves issues of pollution, including polluting our bodies with too many carbs. Imagine how healthy we would be if everybody was riding around town. We've built our infrastructure for motorists. We have to take back the streets."

When Moore started gathering signatures, he solicited Simmons' help. "I was surprised he remembered me," Simmons said. "I got involved, and it was actually a lot of fun.

"I feel passionate about the bicycle way of life, but Keith is at the next level. Keith raised awareness of how many people ride bikes and the need to consider all forms of transport, not just automobiles. He is a very able spokesman for the bike community here in Blacksburg."

That's how one person made a difference.

To learn more about cycling in the New River Valley, visit nrvbike.com.

Giles County native Deanne Estrada is the communications coordinator for a global agricultural program managed at Virginia Tech.