An Interview with Terry Coddington, Conway’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator
David DeRosa – Board Member Conway Advocates for Bicycling
An Interview with Terry Coddington, Conway’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator
It’s not everyday you meet someone who is living out their passion. I had one of those days last month when I met with Terry Coddington, an avid cyclist and devoted family man living his dream.
Some of you may have seen the video of Terry Coddington encouraging Conwegians to take the Future of Conway survey. In the video he gives a brief introduction of himself. Terry is a man whose life is “derailed” (in a good way) by his love of cycling, but this isn’t the whole story.
Nine years ago, his job brought him to Arkansas. If it was up to his relocation realtor, Terry would have ended up in Cabot. Lucky for us, he found the sense of place he was looking for in Conway. He noticed the developing bicycling infrastructure; the bike lanes and trails and a strong biking community.
Back in the 2010-2011 timeframe, the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and Conway Advocates for Cycling were working to earn the distinction of a Bike Friendly Community — a designation bestowed by the League of American Bicyclists. Conway first earned this honor in 2011 and it has since been renewed in 2019.
In 2011, Terry moved his family to Conway and continued to add value in his role with the insurance company that brought him to Arkansas. He got plugged into the community through cycling and soon was contributing to the biking community. However, after a few years the company decided it was time for another move. After numerous discussions, Terry decided he didn’t want to leave Conway.
How many of us would be willing to put a 17-year career on pause because of his love of family, community and cycling? Keep in mind this is a man who has lived in many places around the United States and has achieved noteworthy industry recognition. As he states in the video, it’s not just cycling that kept him in Conway, it is the overall quality of living. That says a lot about Conway and Terry’s values.
Terry was always athletic but not always a cyclist. He was encouraged to take up cycling by a coworker many years ago and has been peddling ever since. He is a practitioner of multiple disciplines of cycling including BMX, mountain biking and road cycling. In November 2020, he earned his second national championship in BMX racing. When I reached out to Terry last February, he was in Tucson, Arizona, participating in the 24-hours in the Old Pueblo, an epic single-track mountain bike race.
Now, Terry is leveraging his experience and passion to help others as a cycling fitness and skills instructor. His practice is called Cyclelogical. Additionally, he is the associate league director of the Arkansas High School Cycling League and he coaches the Conway Bearcats Bicycling Team, a composite National Interscholastic Cycling Association team from Central Arkansas. He must know what he is doing because the team, in its fourth year, were the 2020 overall champions and made the podium in each of the first three years. And this is against some really stiff competition from across Arkansas.
One of the really cool aspects of NICA is that it offers school children an opportunity to get off the couch and engage in a physical activity that is both individual and team based. Cycling helps children develop physically, mentally and emotionally. An added value is that cycling is a lifetime sport. Kids can continue to ride long after the team sports of football, baseball and soccer are over.
Terry was recently appointed Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator for the city of Conway. In this role he is tasked with creating and managing the cycling infrastructure in Conway. This includes trail development and maintenance. The overarching goal is to promote cycling, and to make Conway a destination for cycling events. Of course, to accomplish this goal he will collaborate with partner organizations such as the Bicycle Pedestrian Board (BPAB) and Conway Advocates for Bicycling (CAB), Conway Public Schools, NICA and others. If successful, he will add to the quality of life that attracted Terry and his family to Conway.
Committed to his personal goals and helping others achieve theirs, he believes that bicycling can transform our community for the better.
* According to the Arkansas NICA website “In 2009, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association was founded to replicate the experience the first riders were having across the country. Arkansas is the 17th league and is currently a project league under the NICA umbrella. The league started planning and preparing in 2015 for our first racing season in 2016.”