Sadly, this is a cultural issue. We do so many things to create a perception that riding a bicycle is too dangerous, or too inconvenient. We lack facilities to “clean up” or even safely change clothes at our workplaces. In short, while infrastructure is a part of the problem, our cultural reinforcement of the idea that climate controlled transportation is the only way for middle and upper class people to travel is doing nothing to help our over crowded roads and cities.
Fewer Americans are biking to work despite new trails, lanes and bicycle share programs
Welcome to 2019, a year of renewal
Welcome to 2019, a year of renewal2018 was a tough year for many. I would call my 2018 a mixed bag. Not terrible. Not great. I lost a lot of fitness. I gained some weight. I made some friend. I lost some friends. I watched friends and family deal with losses and struggles. I dealt with my own losses. My oldest daughter got engaged. She also graduated from college. And got her first “adult” job. My son has found his adult niche and happpiness in hist professional life. My younger daughter continues to amaze with her battles against her fears. My wife went through a difficult work transition in which she left one job without a safety net for her principles. She landed back in a Kindergarten Classroom after almost 15 years away. I have watched her succeed, and in many ways blossom in ways that she did not during her first stint as a Kindergarten teacher.
So while there have been some negatives in 2018, I have to look at the balance as a net positive for the year. Dwelling upon the negatives just feeds the dark aspects of human nature and my personality. So, I choose not to do these things.
Looking forward to 2019 it is time to focus on renewing my focus on the positive things in life. Time to continue not only working to be a better me, but also to make the world around me a better place for everyone else. This year my goals are small in scale, but also simple.
- Each day, I want to bring a smile to someone else face, even if it is nothing more than a momentary bright spot in an otherwise drab day.
- Help change reduce the car usage by being one less car on the roads as often as possible (telecommuting, bicycle commuting, better route planning)
- Regain physical fitness lost in 2018, without sacrificing the mental fitness I gained.
W’intervals Start Tonight
6:45PM in the old HH Greg parking lot on Windward Parkway. Bring your lights, you MUST have them for this ride. Yes, we have street lights on the route, but that is simply not enough. Yes, I know that state law doesn’t require good lights, but I do.
The route tonight will be 8 x .5 mile intervals, with .5 mile recovery sections on Westside/Deerfield Parkway. ( The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28959216 ). The intervals will be at or near your personal threshold, and we will soft pedal the recoveries for everyone to come back together before the next interval. Red lights are GOOD for this kind of work.
Most of all, let’s have some fun, ride some bikes, and get stronger for the spring.
Looking for something different?
There are so many options in cycling kits out there, but unfortunately, I find that so many of us end up in team or replica kits, and honestly, I far prefer unbranded loud and fun kits, so I am always looking at other kits out there. So, for the next few weeks we are going to be posting some links to some really fun kit vendors as we stumble across them.
Todays is KOMRaid. We haven’t had a chance to give the product a test, but they are certainly hitting the loud and fun vibe just about perfect.
Starting your day with an early morning run is a great way to make sure your day can’t get any worse
Do Our Streets Make Us Unhappy?
Quite an interesting OpEd in the Washington Post. Some of the numbers quoted in the piece are very specific to Washington DC, however, the averages around the country for metro cities in terms land use are pretty close to those. The number of non-car homes is much higher in DC than many cities (like Atlanta that lacks robust transit options).
One particular quote really stands out, and it is something that we are hearing more and more from city planners, both large and small:
“We’ve built an unsustainable transportation network that makes all of us feel isolated, vulnerable and embattled, no matter how we’re getting around.”
While even if we have rich and robust non-car support in our transportation budgets and spaces, many people will still opt to drive, but the path we are on makes driving the only viable option, and that just makes the problems worse.
Food for Thought: Helmets
Now before you click through and read this opinion piece, I strongly suggest that you set aside your knee jerk reactions, and approach the piece with an open mind. The statistics world wide strongly support the position of the article, and do not support the knee jerk common sense reaction that most Americans have on the subject.
This is definitely not boring!