I got asked to be written up in the employee newsletter because I ride my bike to work. One of the questions was what advice I might give to someone who wanted to get to work by some means other than a car. I found myself writing not about any nuts and bolts of using a bicycle, but about why one might want to do so in the first place.
If a person wants to do something, he tends to find a way. If he doesn't want to do something, he finds a way not to. So one of my missions is to point out that there are real reasons to want to. Giving up a car for a bike is not necessarily a great sacrifice. I find that the more I do it, the more I want to and the less I want to use a car
One of those reasons came up today when I took the main commuter to the bike shop for a spring tune-up. The price will be about a hundred dollars. This will be the second tune-up since I bought the bike five years ago.
In the days when we had two kids in day care, we "needed" two cars on-line 24 hours a day seven days a week. They got a lot of use, and they would need repairs. Getting one in for repairs was sometimes a logistical mess, and the price would always be hundreds of dollars. After years of living that way, it seemed normal. As I have driven less, the car repairs have been less frequent. Today when I got the quote for the bike repair, I felt relief that it was "only" about a hundred dollars, and I could observe the contrast between that relief and the fear I felt waiting for the call from the car repair place with the inevitable news that I was in for another multi-hundred-dollar repair bill.
So using a bicycle instead of a car saves a small amount of money in the price of gasoline (which probably is used up in bike repairs) but it produces potentially bigger savings in the cost of car repairs that are not needed, or at least postponed. In addition, it reduces some subtle stress when a person knows that if his transportation breaks down, the price to fix it will not break the bank. And then, if a person has a couple spare bikes, the stress from the threat of being immobilized is reduced. A couple spare cars is not an option for an ordinary person.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Take this driver awareness test
And oh by the way, take this driver awareness test. I was amazed; maybe you will be too.
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/
I don't have time to drive
Because everyone I work with has seen me bike to work for enough years to be used to it, I don't get many chances to use one of my favorite lines, "I don't have time to drive to work." In the days when I had to hurry from work to day care to pick up the kids, I didn't have time to ride, but now that the kids are more self-sufficient, one could make the reverse argument.
I ride 6.3 miles and it takes 35-40 minutes. With a stiff tailwind, a lighter bike, and some motivation, I probably could do it in 30--my record is 28--but not every day. I think we could use half an hour as a nice round number for the time of a one-way bike commute.
If I drive, I take a longer route on the freeway, and it takes about 15 minutes. I can do it in maybe 12 if traffic is light, I hit some key green lights, and I break the law. But I think that a quarter hour is a fair round number for the time of a one-way car commute.
If I want to do right by my health, I should be getting 30 minutes of exercise every day. Of course I don't "have" to, but that is a choice with consequences, so says the doctor.
So I could spend an hour a day in one of two ways. I could go to work by car, spending half an hour at it, and then spend half an hour getting some exercise. Actually, it would work out to be more than an hour since there is time to change clothes and, in the worst case, actually drive somewhere to do that exercising. Or, I could go to work by bike, spending a little more than an hour also, and skip the exercise period.
Looked at that way, I would be crazy to drive to work when I could ride a bike. I would be wasting half an hour a day. I don't have time for that.
I ride 6.3 miles and it takes 35-40 minutes. With a stiff tailwind, a lighter bike, and some motivation, I probably could do it in 30--my record is 28--but not every day. I think we could use half an hour as a nice round number for the time of a one-way bike commute.
If I drive, I take a longer route on the freeway, and it takes about 15 minutes. I can do it in maybe 12 if traffic is light, I hit some key green lights, and I break the law. But I think that a quarter hour is a fair round number for the time of a one-way car commute.
If I want to do right by my health, I should be getting 30 minutes of exercise every day. Of course I don't "have" to, but that is a choice with consequences, so says the doctor.
So I could spend an hour a day in one of two ways. I could go to work by car, spending half an hour at it, and then spend half an hour getting some exercise. Actually, it would work out to be more than an hour since there is time to change clothes and, in the worst case, actually drive somewhere to do that exercising. Or, I could go to work by bike, spending a little more than an hour also, and skip the exercise period.
Looked at that way, I would be crazy to drive to work when I could ride a bike. I would be wasting half an hour a day. I don't have time for that.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Bike commuters lead the way
One of my reasons for starting to ride my bike to work instead of driving was to reduce the use of oil. I would hear the comment that one person can't make a difference, with the implication, I suppose, that therefore it is pointless to try. But the question remains, does it make a difference?
Well, one person riding a bike doesn't make much difference in national oil use, but it makes a difference in something else. I arrived home at my driveway one day just as a neighbor walking her dog intersected my path. She commented that she sees me pass her house every morning. I take the same route to work every day, and so must others, and so others must see me also. Many may curse, some may applaud, but everyone is seeing a guy using a bicycle for everyday transportation.
In other countries, that is no big deal, but in the USA it is rare. However, the state of affairs of every individual using his own personal motorized transportation appliance to go everywhere he has to go is starting to break down. The fuel for those appliances is getting expensive, the economy is slowing, the streets are getting crowded. It isn't sustainable. It is possible that at some point people will start to think that there might be a better way. If they start thinking of bicycles, that is where today's bicycle commuters have made their difference. When, at some future time, more people start moving around by bicycle, it won't seem so strange to future motorists because they will have seen us doing it for years already. Motorists in the future will be more understanding of future cyclists because they have been trained to be more understanding of the present ones, just be seeing them on the streets every day.
Well, one person riding a bike doesn't make much difference in national oil use, but it makes a difference in something else. I arrived home at my driveway one day just as a neighbor walking her dog intersected my path. She commented that she sees me pass her house every morning. I take the same route to work every day, and so must others, and so others must see me also. Many may curse, some may applaud, but everyone is seeing a guy using a bicycle for everyday transportation.
In other countries, that is no big deal, but in the USA it is rare. However, the state of affairs of every individual using his own personal motorized transportation appliance to go everywhere he has to go is starting to break down. The fuel for those appliances is getting expensive, the economy is slowing, the streets are getting crowded. It isn't sustainable. It is possible that at some point people will start to think that there might be a better way. If they start thinking of bicycles, that is where today's bicycle commuters have made their difference. When, at some future time, more people start moving around by bicycle, it won't seem so strange to future motorists because they will have seen us doing it for years already. Motorists in the future will be more understanding of future cyclists because they have been trained to be more understanding of the present ones, just be seeing them on the streets every day.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Sidewalk or street
When I started riding a bike to work, I rode on the sidewalk, even though I knew it was against the law in Minnesota. I thought that the street I rode on, two standard lanes in each direction with no extra width for bicycles, was too dangerous, and that if I got a ticket I would contest it with that argument.
After some time passed, I got tired of riding on the sidewalk because of various obstructions (garbage carts) and the curb cuts, and started riding on the street. Now after some years of that I feel like the sidewalk is too dangerous and the street is safer.
So which is it? Either riding location must be as safe or as not safe now as it was then, but now I think one is safer when before I thought the other was safer.
I think that the generally accepted view is that riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous, and after trying both ways I think I understand why.
I realized it some years ago on vacation in a strange city, when I was making a left turn onto a busy street, started to go, and...boom...some guy on a bike rapped the side of the car as he blasted in from the right, on the sidewalk, and swerved around me to my rear.
The situation with bikes on the sidewalk is that at intersections, drivers are not expecting high-velocity traffic on the sidewalks. I think that in the back of the driver mind is the belief that what can be expected on a sidewalk is something moving at pedestrian speed. I think that unconsciously a person knows how far down a sidewalk he has to look to see something that could intersect his path if that something is moving at pedestrian speed. If something is moving faster, and is at a distance such that with its greater speed in could intersect the path of a car, that faster thing will be farther down the sidewalk and the driver of the car will not see it because he unconsciously will not look that far down the sidewalk.
So the danger of riding a bicycle on the sidewalk comes mainly at intersections. There are more variables for everyone to process at those points, and thus more possibilities for errors. A driver could make a right turn and not realize that a bicycle is coming up from the right-side blind spot. A person on a bike has to do extra checking to make sure that there is not a car in a position such that if the driver does not see him, the driver will do something that could hit the bicycle. Generally, drivers are looking out for other vehicles on the street, and a bicycle that is on the street behaving like a vehicle will be noticed more. Being noticed is being safe.
Are there exceptions? Probably not legally, but I do ride on the sidewalk at a particularly nasty intersection where, if I were behaving correctly, I would be in one of the middle lanes of six automobile lanes. I suspect that most drivers are happy to have me breaking the law at that particular spot.
After some time passed, I got tired of riding on the sidewalk because of various obstructions (garbage carts) and the curb cuts, and started riding on the street. Now after some years of that I feel like the sidewalk is too dangerous and the street is safer.
So which is it? Either riding location must be as safe or as not safe now as it was then, but now I think one is safer when before I thought the other was safer.
I think that the generally accepted view is that riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous, and after trying both ways I think I understand why.
I realized it some years ago on vacation in a strange city, when I was making a left turn onto a busy street, started to go, and...boom...some guy on a bike rapped the side of the car as he blasted in from the right, on the sidewalk, and swerved around me to my rear.
The situation with bikes on the sidewalk is that at intersections, drivers are not expecting high-velocity traffic on the sidewalks. I think that in the back of the driver mind is the belief that what can be expected on a sidewalk is something moving at pedestrian speed. I think that unconsciously a person knows how far down a sidewalk he has to look to see something that could intersect his path if that something is moving at pedestrian speed. If something is moving faster, and is at a distance such that with its greater speed in could intersect the path of a car, that faster thing will be farther down the sidewalk and the driver of the car will not see it because he unconsciously will not look that far down the sidewalk.
So the danger of riding a bicycle on the sidewalk comes mainly at intersections. There are more variables for everyone to process at those points, and thus more possibilities for errors. A driver could make a right turn and not realize that a bicycle is coming up from the right-side blind spot. A person on a bike has to do extra checking to make sure that there is not a car in a position such that if the driver does not see him, the driver will do something that could hit the bicycle. Generally, drivers are looking out for other vehicles on the street, and a bicycle that is on the street behaving like a vehicle will be noticed more. Being noticed is being safe.
Are there exceptions? Probably not legally, but I do ride on the sidewalk at a particularly nasty intersection where, if I were behaving correctly, I would be in one of the middle lanes of six automobile lanes. I suspect that most drivers are happy to have me breaking the law at that particular spot.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The urban biker's five-bike stable
A car costs thousands of dollars. A new one is many thousands for purchase, a used one is fewer thousands for purchase plus unknown thousands for repairs. If a person can get by without owning one at all, it might be reasonable to divert some of those thousands to other transportation, specfically, bicycles.
One should have proper tools for the jobs one is expected to do, and if one is doing a job that saves thousands of dollars, it seems appropriate to have enough tools of good quality. So if the job is to get around by bike and not have to use or even own a car, spending a bit on bicycles does not seem out of line.
This line of thinking leads to the concept of the urban utility cyclist's basic five-bike stable. This is just my current idea, and yours will vary. A person could get by with just one, but sometimes a special tool just makes certain jobs so much easier. So here is my current five-bike goal.
The basic commuter. This bike gets person to and from work most days, and can run some errands. Mine is a Trek 4300 with the classic milk crate attached to a rear rack. It has fenders, and a homemade light with a 20-watt halogen spotlight. It can go in all weather except snow.
The winter beater. This is for riding in parts of the world where there is snow. It has studded tires and is old enough that I don't worry if it starts to rust away. It has acceptable lights, but not ones that require a heavy battery. It is light enough to drive through some snow. In the summer, it does double duty as a backup bike or as the multi-modal bike, one that is light enough to heave up on the bike rack on the front of the bus. Mine is Diamondback that I got used at the bike store.
The urban errand bike. This is a bicycle with no quick-release anything on it, something that is not a big theft target, and would not cause great financial loss if it were stolen. Mine is a Schwinn Suburban that I found for free on the curb in the neighborhood. It has a generator headlight that I salvaged from the garbage. Currently the rear derailer is broken and it is in the bike shop being modified to a single-speed, which should decrease its theft value even more.
The folder. This is used for those times when nothing else will do, like when taking the car in for repair and then proceeding on to work. Mine is a Sun Rambler-7 that was my 2007 Christmas present from my father-in-law.
The cargo bike. This is something that can haul at least four standard bags of groceries. I don't have on of these yet. I am thinking that my budget will allow for only an Xtracycle at some future time. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a bakfiets, but even when we can dump one car, thousands for a bike is not going to be in the picture.
One should have proper tools for the jobs one is expected to do, and if one is doing a job that saves thousands of dollars, it seems appropriate to have enough tools of good quality. So if the job is to get around by bike and not have to use or even own a car, spending a bit on bicycles does not seem out of line.
This line of thinking leads to the concept of the urban utility cyclist's basic five-bike stable. This is just my current idea, and yours will vary. A person could get by with just one, but sometimes a special tool just makes certain jobs so much easier. So here is my current five-bike goal.
The basic commuter. This bike gets person to and from work most days, and can run some errands. Mine is a Trek 4300 with the classic milk crate attached to a rear rack. It has fenders, and a homemade light with a 20-watt halogen spotlight. It can go in all weather except snow.
The winter beater. This is for riding in parts of the world where there is snow. It has studded tires and is old enough that I don't worry if it starts to rust away. It has acceptable lights, but not ones that require a heavy battery. It is light enough to drive through some snow. In the summer, it does double duty as a backup bike or as the multi-modal bike, one that is light enough to heave up on the bike rack on the front of the bus. Mine is Diamondback that I got used at the bike store.
The urban errand bike. This is a bicycle with no quick-release anything on it, something that is not a big theft target, and would not cause great financial loss if it were stolen. Mine is a Schwinn Suburban that I found for free on the curb in the neighborhood. It has a generator headlight that I salvaged from the garbage. Currently the rear derailer is broken and it is in the bike shop being modified to a single-speed, which should decrease its theft value even more.
The folder. This is used for those times when nothing else will do, like when taking the car in for repair and then proceeding on to work. Mine is a Sun Rambler-7 that was my 2007 Christmas present from my father-in-law.
The cargo bike. This is something that can haul at least four standard bags of groceries. I don't have on of these yet. I am thinking that my budget will allow for only an Xtracycle at some future time. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a bakfiets, but even when we can dump one car, thousands for a bike is not going to be in the picture.
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