He slowly opened the dirt-encrusted plastic milk carton filled with dried green leaves, poured some into a small ceramic cup, and added water. He stirred it with a reusable metal straw, and began to sip his exotic drink. The steaming liquid let out a strange aroma.

“Want some?” he asked.

Ian Klepetar’s lifestyle is as unique as his yerba mate tea. He has been biking for most of his life, but in 2008 he started biking for a cause. While out “galavanting the world,” Klepetar witnessed a biker get hit by a car, and saw the scene of an accident that involved a walking pedestrian. Meanwhile, two pedestrians were hit in his hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York. He decided it was time to take action.

“The two deaths in a two month period were the catalysts that made me think ‘this stuff can’t be happening!’” said Klepetar.

That catalyst kept things moving. To begin, Klepetar put up posters around town advertising a meeting. After people showed up, Klepetar realized he knew little about the next steps.

“Everyone in the room would look to me, like ‘What do we do next?’ and I didn’t know anything but I was just like, ‘I know we’ve got to change this!’” said Klepetar. He believed that these instances were not merely accidents, but were a direct result of poor city planning that created an unsafe biking environment. Hoping to alleviate these dangers, he began formulating ways to incorporate “bike infrastructure” into the structure of basic cities.

Starting at home in Saratoga, he worked at building his dreams into reality. He created a bike plan for the city, introduced a bike or walk to school day for children, and installed bike racks. “I took two years of my life and committed it to changing the way things were happening,” said Klepetar. Finally, he built Bike Benefits.

Bike Benefits starts with a customer purchasing a sticker that they place on the back of their helmet. Once the sticker is obtained, the customer can go to participating stores and receive discounts for biking. Stickers cost five dollars and provide a wide variety of “benefits” for customers.

After his two years building up different bike programs and introducing Bike Benefits, Klepetar decided he had to leave Saratoga. So, he went to Argentina and taught English. While Klepetar was away, with the help of a friend, he was able to create a website and expand the Bike Benefits program. After this year abroad, Klepetar came back to the U.S. and hit the road. He has been biking for four years.

Saratoga, Pittsburgh, Burlington, Rochester, Buffalo. Klepetar has been biking through these towns and others, aiming to plant the seed of the Bike Benefit program and to spread his message throughout the country.

On his quest to spread this message, Klepetar has had to give up certain luxuries. Currently, he is living in the backyard of a woman he met at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op. For Klepetar, a basic tent is just as good as a house and a lake serves as the perfect bathtub. He enjoys the solitude and freedom of his minimalistic life. As for clothing, he has boardshorts—they are easier to wash—and two or three t-shirts. But for his program, no sacrifice is too big.

Klepetar’s Bike Benefits program has been successful in many cities across the country and he hopes the same for Ann Arbor. In order to make a difference, he wants to get 60 high caliber businesses involved. Until his goals are met, he won’t leave Ann Arbor to raise bike awareness elsewhere. It is important to set a strong foundation before he leaves the program to flourish on its own.

Klepetar believes he can reach his goals here in about a month or two.

“[My goal is that] people are really using the program and that it has the ability to create awareness and change transportation choices for individuals,” he said. So far, Klepetar has gotten Bivouac, Silvios, and Banditos involved in Ann Arbor and about 3 or 4 businesses in Ypsilanti. Although it may sometimes be tedious work, he has gotten multiple positive responses.

In the near future Klepetar plans on heading back to Wisconsin to see how his program there has grown. For winter, he plans on spending his time skiing and waiting tables in Utah, while taking a break from “elevating bike culture.” But, he will continue to work where his passion lies.

“Making a living is like essentially doing, maybe doing work you’re not invested in. Life’s work I see as investing your energy in something you really believe in,” he said.

Klepetar is not completely devoted to just the Bike Benefit’s program. Although he finds it very valuable, he is starting to feel ready to pursue other passions and ideas that have blossomed in his active mind. However, he will always encourage others to transition away from “over utilized tools” (vehicles) to “underutilized tools” (bikes).

Family life isn’t currently a concern. When he feels ready to settle down, he will. But for now he is committed to doing his “life’s work.” He would like to see someone else take over Bike Benefits, so he can start some other bike-friendly programs he has envisioned. Klepetar has many goals for bikers and is striving to create the bike-friendly world he sees in his mind.

“Bicycle travel has become popular, people biking cross country, so I guess the idea, you know, you show up in the next town or city and there are these bike friendly businesses,” he said. Ann Arbor is becoming that next city.