Driving Reality

Consume any media from a major outlet and you'll likely be bombarded with car commercials depicting the "freedom" afforded by car travel. Either someone is driving down open roads or they somehow magically have streets all to themselves in a dense urban area. In both cases, the truth is vastly different. Think of the last time you were driving in the downtown area a big city. Were you the only one on the road? Unless it was the middle of the night, probably not. The reality is usually gridlocked traffic, honking horns, and frustration. Reality, even on most freeways, looks more like this:

Now of course I don't blame car companies. They're only giving people what they want, right? A big house in the 'burbs and a nice fast car (to sit in traffic)? Yet time and time again, the happiest commuters are those that have short commutes, especially those who commute by bike or foot. So maybe people don't actually want this but see no alternative? But in reality, you probably have a choice. Sure, some "super commuters" may have no choice but to drive to their jobs, but for most people, there are other options, most obviously biking, walking, and public transit. Some of these might not be as "fast" or "easy" as driving, but they are generally a whole lot less stressful (you can relax and read or get exercise), better for your health (more than 30,000 people were killed in automobile crashes last year, and the year before that, and the year before that), and cheaper (biking and walking are essentially free and transit is a bargain). Speed and "ease" aren't everything.

Another huge deviation from reality is parking. Too many people expect to just have free, plentiful parking at their disposal, just like in the commercials. Heaven forbid if there isn't an open space right in front of your destination! But the reality of parking is again hugely problematic. It's often over-supplied, leading to scenes such as:

This horrible waste of public space happens all over the United States. Parking (and traffic lanes) are usually built for peak capacity, which only happens a few times a day at best, so most of the time they sit open like this, wasting public space that could be home to businesses, green space, or wider sidewalks. Of course, then at peak times, some areas will look like this parking garage in Manhattan:

Again, a huge amount of space dedicated to the storage of a completely wasteful form of transport for most people! That's not to mention the huge amount of money wasted on paying for this parking! But you never see this reality in car commercials. And speaking of wasted money, no matter where you're driving (even if it is the "freedom" of the open road), you're going to eventually have to fill up your gas tank:

Car companies do show people at gas stations a lot, but never what they're spending and how much that adds up. I can't remember the last time I worried about the price of gas, since I have to buy it so infrequently. 

So what's the solution? Well, as I said, for some people, nothing much, unless you finally get a job closer to home or move closer to your job. But for many of us, exploring a few easy alternatives to driving isn't the barrier it might appear. You probably have a capable bike in your garage already. Pump up the tires and ride to the store or walk instead of driving! Far too often I see people drive mere blocks to the store and come out with less than a full bag of groceries. Just walk instead and get a little fresh air and exercise. Try to take the bus or train to work. Bring a book or some paperwork and see how much you can get done on that "longer" commute. Instead of arriving drained and stressed from driving, you'll arrive with a headstart to your day! While biking isn't always completely stress free (if confronted with hostile drivers or bad infrastructure), I'll take it over driving any day myself. I arrive feeling energized and ready to start my day. Riding is usually a blast and it's free. Plus, you get to avoid the frustration of idiots like this:

Next time you're shown the "freedom" of driving, think twice and consider what might actually make you feel free. FREE YOURSELF from the stress, cost, and harmful effects of driving.  Enjoy some fresh air, meet your neighbors or complete strangers, and see the world from a different perspective!

Bike "Friendly" Businesses

I really do appreciate the efforts that some businesses make to appear bike-friendly.  Putting bike racks out front does go a long way over nothing at all and I certainly appreciate steps like that.  Especially when the racks are fairly prominently placed so you don't have to walk through a sea of car parking after locking up your bike.  But bike racks alone do not a bike-friendly business make.  There are plenty of ways that this can be messed up.  One that I've observed far too often is racks that would otherwise be useful clogged up with shopping carts and other things.  I've seen two particularly egregious examples of this at a Target and Safeway.  In each case, instead of leaving bike parking open and creating an inviting situation, the parking is blocked with shopping carts.  In the case of Safeway in El Cerrito, CA, it almost appears as though this was being done intentionally by someone working there.  Luckily in this case, there are additional racks to use.  In the case of Target, it appears to be the case of someone putting the cart there by mistake.  Hopefully an employee removed it later so the person with their bike parked there isn't crowded out and can easily access their bike.

Another way that businesses can fail in this way is to provide absolutely worthless bike parking.  Again, Safeway is an offender here.  Again, the racks are located in a decent location, near the front entrance of the store.  But if you want to actually lock your bike up securely, this type of rack is worthless.  You can use the ends, as this bike owner did, but that means the whole rack can hold two bikes.  Otherwise, you're only able to lock your front wheel which can be easily stolen with or without quick-releases.  

May the Health Be With You

There are lots of reasons to ride and I'm sure I'll cover a lot of them in due time.  But for me, one of the best reasons is to stay healthy.  There was a time in my life when I wasn't very healthy.  I wasn't fat or entirely out of shape.  I played soccer and could run just fine.  But it would hurt.  I got shin splints.  I would be sore after games.  I didn't even realize at the time that all this was a product of being out of shape.  Finally, I decided to make a change and started doing a spin class on top of the soccer.  I slowly dropped some pounds and got faster on the bike and on the soccer field.  I didn't hurt after the games.  I could hike for hours without getting tired or sore.  When I moved, I started riding my bike regularly.  Eventually, my commute consisted of about ten miles of riding.  At this point, I could ride 50-60 hilly miles at a quick pace without a problem.  I would ride to parties up in the Berkeley hills (see photo below for views) and people would be shocked and comment on how "intense" I was.  But it was just something I enjoyed.  All of this isn't to brag or anything remotely like that; as a Minnesotan, it's not in our nature.  It's more to state that just about anyone can get to this point.  Riding is easy to start and the more you do it, the more you enjoy it and the easier it gets.  To me at this point, stopping riding seems harder than starting.  If I go a few days without being on a bike, I can start to feel the difference and feel sluggish and anxious.  Your body needs regular exercise to keep in shape.  Without, you'll just start to fall apart, simple as that.
If more of us rode bikes or walked to get where we need to go, we would save billions of dollars in healthcare costs.  Ailments and conditions wouldn't magically go away, but many of them would be significantly lessened.  Even small amounts of activity count for a lot if you're currently not doing anything.  Say that instead of driving that half mile to the grocery store or your friend's house, you walk instead.  By walking there and back you've walked about 20 minutes.  The CDC recommends that you get 22 minutes of exercise each day, so by simply walking that short distance, you're done.  It's really not hard to get enough exercise each day, you just have to make the right choices.  I love riding to get that exercise and feel so much better for doing so.  I guarantee, start getting exercise and you will, too!