(1976-2026)
Honoring a Loyal Friend, Patient Teacher, and Tireless Bicycle Advocate
The Downtown Greenway community is heartbroken by the passing of Nicole Lindahl on August 7, 2026. To call her a bicycling advocate is certainly accurate, but it does not fully capture who she was or what she meant to this community. Nicole was a dear friend, a joyful presence, a patient teacher, and someone who was always willing to do the hard work and get things done.
If Nicole Lindahl was nearby, there was a good chance a bicycle was too – and it was almost certain that she was smiling. She was often riding a bike, walking alongside one, helping someone learn to ride, or planning the next way to make bicycling safer and more accessible in Greensboro.
At community events, Nicole was often the first to arrive. Long before the participants appeared, she was already setting up, organizing equipment, welcoming volunteers, and making sure everything was ready. She had a remarkable way of gathering people around a cause – not through pressure or fanfare, but through her own enthusiasm and example. People wanted to help because Nicole made the work feel meaningful, possible, and fun.
Some of our most treasured memories of Nicole are of her teaching children to ride. She was gentle, patient, and encouraging as she helped a nervous young rider find their balance or explained how to stop safely, follow road signs, and use hand signals. When a child finally pedaled forward without training wheels or a steadying hand, Nicole’s face would light up. She seemed every bit as proud and delighted as the youngster.
Nicole brought that same care to Bike Rodeos and learn-to-ride programs throughout Greensboro. At Wheels on the Greenway, Trails Day, local recreation centers, summer camps, and many other community gatherings, she helped children, teens, and adults gain the skills and confidence to ride. She connected people with free helmets, taught riders how to navigate streets and trails safely, and welcomed beginners without judgment. No matter someone’s age or experience, Nicole made them feel like they belonged on a bike.
Through her leadership with Bicycling in Greensboro, Inc. (BIG), Nicole also worked tirelessly toward a safer and more bicycle-friendly city. She helped champion bike lanes, trails, greenways, bicycle racks, repair stations, and other improvements that made riding more practical and accessible. Through BIG’s Changing Gears program, she helped provide bicycles to people experiencing homelessness, offering greater access to jobs, appointments, services, and other essential destinations.
More recently, Nicole helped found Triad Friends of Greenways, known as TriFroG, bringing her energy and commitment to another growing network of people working to support and strengthen greenways throughout the Triad. Whether she was meeting with community leaders, organizing volunteers, leading a safety activity, or helping one person learn to ride, Nicole approached the work with the same determination and heart.
For Nicole, a bicycle was more than a piece of equipment. It could be transportation, independence, environmental action, recreation, confidence, or connection. She understood all the ways a bicycle could change someone’s life because bicycling was woven so deeply into her own.
We will miss the sight of Nicole arriving with her bike, ready to work and wearing that familiar smile. We will miss her gentle way with first-time riders, her willingness to take on whatever needed to be done, and her ability to turn a shared cause into a community of people working together.
Nicole’s legacy is visible across Greensboro – in the bicycle infrastructure she helped advance, the organizations and partnerships she strengthened, the volunteers she inspired, and the many riders who are safer and more confident because she took the time to teach them.
To Nicole’s family, loved ones, friends, and colleagues, we extend our deepest sympathy. We are profoundly grateful for the friendship, leadership, laughter, and love she shared with the Downtown Greenway and the entire Greensboro community.
Greensboro is a better place because Nicole kept showing up. It is now up to all of us to keep showing up for the safer, kinder, and more connected community she believed we could build.