As evidenced solely by the number of bikes parked outside of our office, I think that the title of this post is fairly accurate. A year ago there would have been one bicycle (two at the most) parked out front. Granted, the bike on the far right has sat there for several months (accumulating dust) and the fourth bike is ridden by some European guy who takes it from the parking lot at Finlay Stadium (20th St.) to our office building (12th St.), but this picture still shows an improvement. My bicycle is the second from the left. I usually ride my mountain bike, but I broke a spoke on Tuesday.
One of my coworkers said that she admired me for riding my bike to work. “Doing it even once,” she said, “is beyond my comprehension.” She went on to say that she would not even know where to start in order to attempt a similar feat. All you really need is a bike and a plan, but I do understand where she is coming from. Commuting aside, the idea of riding a bike seems foreign to many adults. A lot of folks think they are just for kids. If you are curious, then Bicycling Magazine’s Biketown USA is a good place to start looking.
Next Friday, July 7th, 2006 is this summer’s third Bike2Work ride. It is organized by Bike Chattanooga, which is the advocacy umbrella for bicycling activities in the Chattanooga area. Basically, you get a bunch of people to ride to Miller Park together and eat breakfast (hey, who am I to pass on free Greyfriar’s coffee?). It is a good way to get yourself jump started into commuting by bike. It is also fun to meet and socialize with other cyclists. One year former mayor Bob Corker even showed up. Over the next week I will post a few thoughts and tips on how you can participate in this event.
7 Comments
I’d like to begin again, but I can’t handle riding the mountain bike in – too odd a stance for me. I’d like to migrate to a touring/road bike.
I would worry about getting sweaty on the way in. How does one deal with that?
stelmodad: What kind of mountain bike do you have (brand/year)?
auntmary: My sarcastic answer would be to grow out your leg and pit hair out and start talking with a European accent, or if you are a guy then just quit using deoderant and embrace your natural smell.
But seriously…those are both great comments/questions. I’ll address them in the next post. If anyone else has questions about the negative aspects of bike commuting, that is, what might be some common objections or concerns, then please post them here in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer them.
I’ve got an old Trek police bike.
Digging the self-portrait!
Scott,
I’m sorry. I wasn’t being negative, or sarcastic, just curious.
auntmary: No, it’s me who should apologize. I was trying to make a joke (why I said “But seriously…”) and am sorry it backfired. How to deal with the sweat issue is a really good question…especially since our office does not have showers.
One Trackback
[...] If you have been reading my family blog, then you are aware that I have recently committed myself to commuting to work via bicycle. So far the positives of getting to ride 113 miles a week have outweighed the negatives of ditching my car. Then an encounter like the one that occured today makes me so irate that the scale begins to tip the other way. It is bad enough to be nearly run off of the road, but being flipped off for confronting the offender added insult to my near injury. [...]