The Two Wheeled Wonder

It has been good to see a lot more people using their bikes as practical transportation.  I love to see mothers with their kids or cargo in bike trailers.  There always seems to be a bike or two outside the grocery stores.  In hopes of getting more of you to take the plunge, I thought it would be good to reprint a column I wrote here in June of 2011:

“The bicycle is the simplest, most efficient, and elegant machine ever invented to move people over land at the local level.  Biking is the predominant mode of transport for people in the world.  It can get you where you want to go, bring home the groceries, keep you in great shape, provide a lot of fun, and, in our case, cut your carbon footprint way down.
 
[It’s time] for people all over the world to make a commitment to curb climate change by getting out of their cars and onto their bikes.  For those of you still in the contemplation stages, or maybe not even there, the outset of summer is a great time to experiment with bike riding, [and way more fun than a stationary exercycle – even at Portage!]

A bike can be had for as little as $5 at Granny’s Attic.  [Vashon Marketplace or Vashon freecycle may have a deal for you online. The place to buy or rent a bike is now Spider’s Ski and Sports in town.]  You may want to get a bike with electric power assist.  If you buy a used bike, be sure to get it checked out at the bike shop.  The important thing, for a good first experience, is to have a good workable bike.  

Having been an on and off bike rider for 30 years, I believe I understand the tortuous inner struggle with the resolve to ride the bike.  Riding for the first time in your adult life, or at least after many years, can be hard.  As you make your way gasping, with leaden legs, up those hills, you look for excuses never to do this again. However, along with gaining an intimate awareness of slopes, you will experience the Vashon roadscape that you never noticed before: the birds, trees, water views, and…. things!  If you wait another six months before trying it again, you will be back to the arduous square one. However, if you stick with it, you find fairly soon that it becomes easier.   Before long, you won’t have so much trouble on those hills and you will realize that you can go anyplace on this island with impunity.  This is a truly empowering feeling, not only physically but also to know that you have an option and don’t have to depend on gasoline. Ride with friends; working up hills is a lot easier with company.  Take your time.  If it is too hard, get off and walk.  Form a riding group [or join an existing one] and try to ride once or twice a week.

Alert:  biking provides you with a whole new world of …accessorizing!  If you are planning on bringing something home, you will need a way of carrying it. I have plastic bucket panniers that clip on to my bike rack that are really convenient and easy to use.  There are all kinds of baskets and panniers.  Some folks use a back pack, but I think it is easier to let the bike carry the load.   Besides carriers, there are helmets, mirrors, lights, toolkits, dingalings, bikewear (I don’t go in for that myself), and god knows what else.

Starting to use your bike in lieu of your car is another stumbling block.  Sliding into that comfortable car seat, turning the key, turning on the radio, and cruising to your destination is hard to pass up.  Try to start becoming conscious of the amount of money you are spending on gas.  Remember those times that your car broke down?  Instead of a moving pleasure palace, you now had a one ton pile of you-know-what, and, whatever you were planning on doing was now superceded by the task of getting the car(cass) off the road  and to a repair shop.  That should help you to start putting things into perspective.  

Of course, you don’t have to completely forsake your car.  Pick a nice day for your bike expedition.  Try out your accessories.  Strut into Cafe Luna with your bike helmet and have a good visit with friends (Save that stop at the tavern for when you are a little more seasoned).  After you get your moves down and your accessories fine tuned, you can ride in for your errands more often.  SPECIAL TIP:  The Strawberry Festival is a great time to ride into town.  There is something about gliding serenely into town past all those people hiking in with all their gear from far off parking spots….

Get into biking: you’ll be glad you did!  [And the rest of us will be glad also.]”

Comments?  terry@vashonloop.com