David Foster returned to Austin in 1993 after a three-year stay in Germany, where he experienced first-hand the joys and possibilities of living car-free in compact, livable cities. He went to work for Clean Water Action in 1995, becoming its State Program Director in 2003, where he oversees its programmatic work and helps plan and implement budgets for many projects. He served as part-time Executive Director of Trans Texas Alliance, a statewide transportation reform group, from 2001-2003. Foster serves on the board of many non-profits, including Envision Central Texas, Liveable City, and Austin CarShare, and has taught university-level classes in history and government. He and his wife Virginia have two grown children and two grandchildren.

What bike(s) do you ride?

I ride a Specialized Globe City commuter bike. I also own a 1981 Bridgestone Regulus which I intend to repair and ride some. My wife owns a Raleigh 3-speed which we intend to tune up so she can ride and so that I can put a child’s seat on the back for our grand daughter.

Are you car-free, a one car family or a 2 car family?

My wife and I own one car.

Do you commute to work by bike? If not, how do you get to work and why not bike?

I have been biking to work again for months, and now that the weather has cooled, I ride home as well. Earlier I would put the bike on a bus for the return trip.

Do you use your bike for other errands? Which ones?

I ride for work errands or to lunch during work. I run few errands otherwise and will drive on the weekend if it is 5 miles or more. I will use the bike for short trips on the weekend to the grocery store.

What can stop you from riding?

Hot weather, mainly; sometimes an early morning business meeting that requires clothing not suited to biking.

What has been your best experience on a bike?

Perhaps the time my wife and I crossed the Rhine River while riding from Heidelberg to Speyer many years ago with a couple of French friends.

What has been your worst?

A bad fall in Germany when the bike wheel slipped between the streetcar tracks and the paving stones.

What accessory on your bike could you not live without?

Rack and panniers, and above all the water bottle.

If you could be any fruit or vegetable, what would you be and why?

A carrot to match my hair. I have been called ‘carrot face’, but only by friends.

What do you wear on your commutes? Does your work offer any facilities for changing clothes or showering, or do you use an outside source such as a gym?

I wear a t-shirt and shorts and change into more suitable clothing once I arrive. We do not have showers at work and I do not clean up much.

What is the largest load you have carried on a bicycle?

I once rode home with another bike, holding it with one hand with the other hand on my bike..more than once, I think. I have carried many heavy things on the back of my bike. In Germany, I would ride to the American grocery store on base and come back with a loaded pannier, a loaded basket on the back rack, a backpack full of groceries on my back, and two loaded canvass bags, one on each handle bar. I drew a lot of attention.

How long have you been using a bicycle for transportation/errands etc?

I started in 1976 in Denton TX, then rode much in Germany in 1980-81; then rode from married student housing on Lake Austin Blvd to the UT campus in the 1980s while in grad school… then back in Germany again from 1989-93, when we did not have a car–I rode everywhere.

What physical & emotional changes have you noticed from cycling?

Loss of weight now that I have started again; a great feeling at the end of the ride. I get a rush when I complete my return trip home knowing that I have been able to climb those S. Austin hills.. I call these moments my ‘Lance Armstrong moments.’

Why did you start cycling?

Environmental reasons I suppose… in the wake of the 1973 oil embargo, which changed my perspective in a number of ways.

Do you wear a helmet when cycling?

Yes but do not believe in helmets should be mandatory.