Cami Taysom is an avid bike rider, so she is happy to show her support for May’s Portneuf Valley Bike to Work Month. And that’s no big deal for her because she rides her bike to work on a regular basis.

    However her Bike to Work commitment took her all the way to Salt Lake City’s annual Melaleuca Conference this past week. She did the trek Wednesday and peddled the 180 miles in 11 hours and 30 minutes.

    “It was so fantastic,” Taysom said about the trip. “It was a little cold, but I’m glad I did it.”

    Taysom said it made her appreciate all the blossoming flowers and leafing trees she observed as she made her way south and into even greener pastures.

    “The sun came out and followed me all the way,” Taysom said.

    The Pocatello rider was especially pleased to discover a 19-mile long section of bike trail near Roy, Utah called the Rio Grande Western Trail. And she sailed into Salt Lake City on the Legacy Parkway Trail.    

    Taysom is a nurse in the Emergency Department of Portneuf Medical Center. As a self-described health and fitness nut, this mother of four and grandmother of two fulfilled a long-time goal when she reached Salt Lake City.

    “It’s been on my bucket list,” Taysom said.

    Prompted by Bike to Work Month, Taysom seized the chance to combine exercise with doing something to help the environment.

    “I’m just trying to get there with the least environmental impact as possible,” Taysom said prior to the trip.

    Taysom had friends and family checking on her along the way, and supplying extra gear in case of a breakdown.

    She only encountered two obstacles.

    The first was when he cell phone died near Ogden and she couldn’t use GPS to find the quickest route through the downtown area.

    Then six miles before she arrived in Salt Lake City at the convention site, she suffered a flat tire.

    “It was just this tiny sliver of a piece of glass,” Taysom explained.

     Taysom and her family enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities, including hiking, biking, rafting, mountain climbing, camping, and back-country skiing.

    “I love to do anything outdoors,” she said.

    Taysom has been involved in the biking community in the Pocatello area for quite a while, participating in the City Creek Pedal Fest every year. This year she plans on participating in the up-coming Spinderella ride, a biking opportunity designed just for women.  

    As a nurse, Taysom sees first-hand the effects on the body caused by lack of exercise, and she is enthusiastically in favor of anything someone can do to improve their health through exercise.

    “I can see the effects of people not taking care of themselves, and it’s very sad for me,” she said. So she is eager to encourage others to get more exercise, be it hiking, biking, walking, or anything else.

    As far as making another run from Pocatello to Salt Lake City, Taysom is up for  it.

    “I would do it again,” she said.  

    May is Portneuf Valley’s Bike to Work Month, which includes biking events, the Employee Challenge, prizes, and more. For more information see the website at www.pokybiketowork.org.

    (Michael O’Donnell contributed to this story.)