Day 64 of My Car-Free Experiment – Countering Objections, Part 3

Today's picture: OK, I'm an aging bike geek. But on cool, autumn days I can get away with riding to work in a wool suit and silk tie. I'm stylin', if only in my own mind.

Sloppy weather may require some rain gear and creativity, or the ability to transport clothes and find a place to change into them.

Women seem to have some extra objections to cycling for transportation because it's more difficult to arrive at their destinations looking their best. But you never know until you try.

This is Part 3 of my series countering objections to cycling for transportation.

"But I need to dress well for work"

If you're like most working people, you're in the habit of driving in your personal vehicle – comfort-controlled, with your choice of music or radio personalities at your fingertips, all protected from the elements. Depending on what you drive, your car may be as comfortable and well-appointed as any room of your home. You sit down, turn the key, and away you go.

That's passive transportation. The car does all the work. We sit in the lap of luxury. Life is good.

But then we complain about our bulging waistlines, trouble finding time for the gym, and not being able to eat what we want. So, it seems, our comfortable cars aren't helping us improve our looks, our health, our attitudes, or our zest for life; still we drive instead of riding bikes or walking – even for short trips.

Oddly, people in other parts of the world seem to make cycling a fashion statement. They're riding bikes to offices and factories in Amsterdam, London, New York, Paris, San Francisco – yes, and even Louisville – and they're looking sharp along the way. Just yesterday, in San Francisco, an SF Bike Expo fashion show made headlines. It wasn't a look at the tight fitting spandex of bike sport either. The show was all about the everyday wear for cycling to work in the streets.

On the opposite coast, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's agenda to create a greener, bike friendly and car-free New York is gathering some energy among the fahionistas.

Reuters News Service reported several months ago that luxury apparel maker LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton asked students at the Fashion Institute of Technology to create chic yet affordable cycling gear. “We want to do everything we can to raise the profile of biking in New York,” Janette Sadik-Khan, commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, said at the news conference to announce the winning design.

The blogosphere is loaded with sites aimed at this subject. One of my favorites is Vélocouture (translation: bike fashion). It shows how incredibly good looking men and women can be on bikes. And the writers explore simple things like chain guards to protect your high fashion from grease. No cure, however, has yet been discovered for helmet head.

Ride in Style

Perhaps the biggest fashion statement of all is just the act of riding a bicycle. Lots of merchandise jumps on the "green" bandwagon, but nothing quite sets you apart as being serious about your planet as riding a bicycle does.

So, if you don't have one, get a bicycle and start riding it. Figure out what works for you. Take the lane and don't give it up to some fat motorhead barelling up from behind. Light yourself up like a Christmas tree and act like you're driving an invisible dump truck. Now, THAT'S some fashion imagery for you!

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin
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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

Day 63 of My Car-Free Experiment – Overcoming Objections, Part 2

Today's picture: My first commuter bicycle was a Schwinn Varsity 10-speed – a classic that lasted me 39 years and lives on with a new owner out there somewhere.

This is the second in my series of blog posts countering the chief objections to bike transportation. Today we look at the bicycle cost factor.

"But I can't afford a special commuting bicycle."

You don't need one. Your old beater bike gathering dust in the garage will do the job if it's properly adjusted and maintained – and thieves will find it less attractive. With the cost of operating an automobile at around 54 cents per mile, the money you save commuting by bicycle on an average 10-mile round trip can buy a $400 bicycle in four months time. After that, your transportation is practically free.

My first commuter bike was a 1970 Schwinn Varsity I bought for a little more than $100 when I was in college, where it served as my main form of transportation. In the '80s I had equipped it with a kids' seat and used it for the occasional neighborhood spin. Then, for a couple of years it dangled on a hook in my garage.

Sometime in the mid-'90s, my buddy and fellow newspaperman Joe Ward convinced me to drag the old bike out and overhaul it. We spent a Saturday taking the bike completely apart, cleaning and re-packing all the bearings with new grease, and fine-tuning the gears and brakes.

That bike lasted me a total of 39 years. I sold it for nearly half the original purchase price. Someone at Parkside Bicycle Boutique will get the deal of a lifetime when they purchase that bright yellow classic. The Chicago Schwinns have a story to tell because of the amazing manufacturing process that created them. The Varsity specifically has been called the most important bicycle in history.

Caution: Don't make the mistake of buying a new Varsity at Walmart. It's not the same bike I bought nearly four decades ago. Reviews indicate that your $229 investment in the new Schwinn will require costly upgrades to turn it into a really good bike. You're better off shopping at a real bike shop, where you'll get real, lasting value.

My Second Commuter

One Christmas in the late '80s I bought the whole family mountain bikes at Bardstown Road Bicycles. I got a sweet deal buying four at once. We hauled them on the back of the minivan on many summer vacations. Mine, a green Fuji Sunfire, became a great commuter – with the addition of fenders, lights, a rear rack and panniers. I rode that Fuji to work for years before I handed it down to my son, who had long since outgrown his Christmas Fuji Sunfire.

My Current Commuter

A couple of years ago I decided to buy a better bike for my daily commute to work. I found lots of great solutions, but finally settled on a terrific value at Bicycle Sport: the Trek FX7.3 hybrid. It's not as fast as the skinny road bike I ride across longer distances, but a bit more beefy and sure-footed is what I'm looking for on my commute to work. I've pimped it out with some pretty sweet accessories that make me more visible and give me cargo-carrying options. I spent about $600 on the whole setup. Prices haven't increased that much since then, so you can get pretty much the same setup for under $700 including tax today.

If you currently spend $50 a week on gasoline, your fuel savings alone probably will pay for your new commuter bike in just a few months! After that, you're practically home free!

Oh, by the way, driving a new sedan 15,000 miles costs an estimated $8,095, according to the AAA "Your Driving Costs" study for 2009. That works out to 54 cents per mile of driving. The IRS allows 55 cents for business tax purposes.

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin
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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

Day 62 of My Car-Free Experiment – Because Bikes Are Faster

Today's picture: Brian Young has been commuting by bicycle to work from the Highlands since the beginning of the summer. He works for Humana at Fifth and Main Streets. What got him started was simple: the need for speed. Brian, 28, finds it's faster by bike than by car.

"If I bike to work it takes 15 minutes, but if I drive it takes an extra 15 minutes to walk from the parking lot – sometimes in the rain," he said. Brian bought his bike a couple of blocks from the office at the Bike Depot. On Thrursday morning when I caught up with him, Brian was locking his Jamis mountain bike to a Metro bike rack. While you're eating a cheeseburger or texting your sweetie, watch for the invisible bicyclists like Brian Young.

Like most of us, Brian Young is in a hurry. He doesn't like getting stuck in traffic. But these days, he simply doesn't get stuck – he can ride around the congestion. And like a lot of bicycle commuters, Brian finds he can actually save time on his door-to-door commute by using his bicycle. Which leads me to the first in my series of blog posts countering the chief objections to bike transportation.

It's too far. It would take too long.

You'd be surprised. Because of traffic in urban centers like ours, cycling generally takes less time than driving for trips of 3 miles or less – and about the same time for 3 to 5 mile trips. For longer trips, consider that you're saving time by combining your daily exercise with your commute.

If your commute is less than 10 miles round trip, the difference in commute time will be insignificant. Even if your commute is longer, 30 minutes of extra sleep isn't as invigorating as a morning ride. You'll arrive at work alert and arrive home relieved of stress at night.

I have pals at work who live in my neighborhood and are sometimes amazed at how they may pass me in traffic only to find me at our ninth floor office ahead of them! It's like some kind of Houdini trick.

On Tuesday, in a downpour, my trick may have seemed all the more cruel. I rode to work wearing rain gear over my suit pants and stowed my suit coat in plastic in my bike pannier. I parked for free in the basement of the very building where I work. There, I stripped off the wet rain gear, slipped into my suit jacket and popped up on the elevator in a snap – dry as a bone. Others, who pay to park blocks away from our offices, arrived later on and soaking wet.

Gee, I hope I didn't appear to be gloating too much. Don't you just hate the smugness of those cyclists?

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin
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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

Day 61 of My Car-Free Experiment – On A Special Mission Today

Today's Picture: Going car-free can be inconvenient for certain trips. For example, how do you get your 50-pound boxer to the veterinarian? If my dog Miya were a tiny dog, like the one shown here, I could carry her on my bike in a basket attached to the handlebars – or on a harness like the one securing this pup. TARC is out of the question – only working dogs allowed on board. No problem. I understand. Who wants a strange dog drooling on your shoes, right?

That leaves one non-automotive possibility. Dare I even suggest it? Walking! Fortunately, Miya doesn't seem to be feeling or acting really ill. She just has a case of the green apple two step. Her bowels are in an uproar, so to speak. I know, TMI! GROSS! Ewwwwww!

OK, get over it. Grow up. This is a serious situation. Work with me, people! It's bad enough that I've got to leave work a little early (and explain to my boss about the dog doo), race home on my bicycle, change clothes and shoes, and walk my best friend practically five miles round trip to the Chenoweth Animal Hospital. But along the way, I need to collect a stool sample and deposit it in a zip-lock sandwich bag so the good doctor can send the sample to a lab to check for parasites. And I need to get there before the vet's office closes.

Good thing Miya the wonder dog loves long walks. She's always ready for a stroll. The only wild card seems to be whether she'll keep up a good pace or stop to sniff every telephone pole, parking meter and fire hydrant along the way. Oh, and one more thing: will she produce a good "specimen."

Mission accomplished. We made it in plenty of time. Within a couple of blocks of the Chenoweth Animal Hospital, as I was carefully picking up the specimen in a baggie, it seemed that Miya's unmentionable little problem may already have resolved itself somewhat – if my judge of firmness is any good. We might get lab results tomorrow. Meanwhile, Miya's life is pretty much as usual. See what I mean?

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin

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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

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Day 60 of My Car-Free Experiment – And It's Really Raining!

Today's picture: Commuting by bicycle on clear, crisp autumn evenings is nirvana compared to the pouring rain we experienced tonight. But foul weather didn't stop more than a dozen avid cyclists from converging on Third Avenue Café and filling the bike racks for Car Free Happy Hour. The event is further proof to me that cycling is gaining traction locally – and not just with the bike-club crowd.

Tuesday's Car-Free Happy Hour was Louisville's second such event. It was organized mainly by word of mouth and social networking through blogs like this one. It was nothing like a club event.

Bike clubs typically have organized rides, where everyone shows up dressed in colorful spandex and they all take off together in pelotons. Many club riders arrive in their cars at the start of the ride, with bikes on top, or on the back . Most club rides are called off when a downpour moves in, like the one Tuesday night.

This Car Free Happy Hour is something altogether different. People mainly dressed in regular clothing – probably whatever they wore to work – started showing up at about 5:30 p.m. and gathered at a long table. A few of the riders were already vaguely acquainted, but fluorescent-colored name tags were a big help to most of us.

We introduce ourselves, order food and drinks, and the conversations start to take shape. The latest news: bike parking on the street – just like in Portland, Oregon! And did you know there's covered bike parking at the airport? Before you know it, eight or ten topics are flying around and they all revolve around riding on two wheels, walking, hopping a bus, finding ways to get around without relying so much on cars.

Exactly as advertised, it was one car-free happy hour that quickly became two. And then came that long, chilly ride home in the downpour.

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin

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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

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Day 59 of My Car-Free Experiment – Here's My Lunch Suggestion

Today's picture: Scott Render is one of the people keeping Louisville's Bike Plan moving forward. If you haven't been keeping up with the Metro's efforts to become more bike-friendly, take a look at www.bikelouisville.com, one of the many Websites Scott handles in addition to his other duties in Mayor Jerry Abramson's office.
One reason I really hit it off with Scott: he rides a bike to work in all kinds of weather.

Today' blog post will start out as sort of a restaurant review of The Bodega at Felice on East Market St. Last Friday I had the pleasure of lunch at a table of people there, all dedicated to improving the bicycling experience on Louisville Metro streets: Nina Walfoort with TARC; Andy Murphy, a serious cycling advocate and volunteer who worked on the Bike Summit back in February; Rolf Eisinger; a Metro employee and bike racer who wears a lot of hats these days; Trisha Finnegan, a Humana associate involved in the bike sharing movement known as Freewheelin; Tom Armstrong, a bike mechanic, advocate, fellow blogger, and Kilt wearer; and Scott, whom I've already introduced. We're all involved on the Education and Encouragement "E-Team" that's working on a Louisville Bike Plan.

Back to my restaurant review: The Bodega's Mediterranean salad with chicken was one of the best things I've ever had for lunch, anywhere. But what impressed me most was the bicycle rack out at the edge of the parking lot. It probably will hold a dozen bikes. I think the restaurant only spent about $35 for it. But the rack demonstrates something smart and forward-thinking about the restaurant's owners and managers. It's amazing what a even the cheapest bike rack can do to improve my view of any business. It makes me want to recommend the place to everyone I know. Ride to The Bodega, try the bike rack and see if you don't agree that's one incredible Mediterranean salad with chicken!

Over lunch, our group talked about things like bicycle parking that tend to encourage cycling instead of motoring to Metro destinations like The Bodega. Just something to think about next time you're considering a place to eat, shop, or whatever.

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin

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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

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Day 58 of My Car-Free Experiment – Saying Thanks To Public Works!

Today's picture: Just saying "Thanks," Tom Armstrong shook hands with Charlie King, one of the crew members who helped last week to pave over a rough set of tracks on Washington Street. Bicycle commuters use Washington Street as part of an east-west bike route downtown.

Like most people, I complain a lot about things that seem to get in my way. One example: rough pavement gives me a difficult – and sometimes dangerous – ride and often breaks my bike spokes. So whenever I get a chance to thank the people who try to keep the roads smooth, I'll be the first to do it. On Friday afternoon I had one such opportunity. Tom Armstrong, Scott Render and I had a chance to meet a crew finishing some work on Washington St. To find out more, take a look at Tom's blog. He's an amazingly talented bicycle mechanic, a League Cycling Instructor, certified by the League of American Bicyclists, and a dedicated bicycle commuter. He sometimes wears a utility kilt instead of trousers and a very urban bike helmet.

Last Friday Tom and I attended a committee meeting in follow-up to the Mayor's Bike Summit held back in February. Tom, Scott Render from the Mayor's Office and I took a side trip after our meeting to take a look at the smooth work on Washington St. I had to get back to work, but my two pals went on over to River Road to check out another rail crossing smoothed over by the crew. Thanks again, Charlie! And pass the word.

Registration Open for RAGBRAI XXXVIII

By the way, only 250 days until RAGBRAI XXVIII. If you're interested in riding your bike across Iowa next Summer, block out your calendar for the second week in July, 2010. You may want to join a really fun group of bicyclists from Louisville and Southern Indiana who will make the annual trip through the corn fields. In case you're wondering why anyone might want to spend a week riding nearly 500 miles across Iowa, consider that National Geographic ranked RAGBRAI seventh on their list of the Top Ten American Adventures. If you're interested in joining a Louisville group heading to Iowa in 2010, leave me a comment and I'll point you to more details.

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin

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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

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Day 57 of My Car-Free Experiment – Hate Your Commute? Move!

Today's Picture: Home Sweet Home. "walkable neighborhoods" closer to public transportation suddenly look like good investments. They also make it a lot easier to go car-free. I live in the old George Rogers Clark Elementary School, just a few miles from work, shopping, coffee shops, great restaurants, and scenes like the Louisville Water Co. reservoir, where I walk my dog.

For about 15 years I lived on a suburban cul-de-sac and enjoyed the bucolic surroundings – a buffer of woods out back, some breathing room between me and my neighbors, no through-traffic to keep the kids from playing ball in the streets. But all that changed when I moved to Crescent Hill/Clifton – a moderate bike ride from Downtown Louisville.

Follow this logic for a minute:
If all the healthcare reform debate has taught us anything, it's this: staying healthy is a lot cheaper than trying to get well when you're sick. And one of the first rules of staying healthy is to get enough regular exercise. The exercise frequently recommended is walking or riding a bike.
So – why live in a place where you can't get your daily exercise by simply walking or riding a bike to your destinations? What could be simpler?

Of course, you may be rich enough to afford life in the exurbs, where it's a significant car trip to the gym. But don't forget to factor in 55 cants per mile because that's how much it costs to drive to what? – the stationary bicycle and treadmill you're renting there?

I'm no Warren Buffett, but if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly, now might be a pretty good time to to think about moving before you get any more stuck than you may already be out in the burbs, all dressed up with no sidewalks, no Heine Brothers – and no economical way to get to the coffee shop. Do I complain about $2 cups of coffee? Heck, no! My transportation to get that fresh brewed Tanzania didn't cost me $3. And I don't have a car payment.

The tea leaves I refer to in the previous graph are reports from U.S. News, Yahoo.com, and Ziprealty.com, just to name a few, reporting that moving closer in might be a good investment. Most people believe gas prices will spike again. When money gets tight, people start to think more seriously about how they spend their time and money, experts say.

Some questions to ask yourself:
So, do you really want to keep up those back-breaking payments on a trophy home miles from nowhere – or will a 1,500 sq. ft. condo do the job, surrounded by neighborhood shops, local restaurants, and people who actually meet on the streets to visit and let their dogs sniff one another?

Can you do without that Chevy Subdivision SUV, scale back to one economical car, and save another $6,500 a year? And what about your time! Can you justify sitting in traffic for hours a day, when you could zip to work – and just about everywhere else – by bike or on foot?

The bottom line:
Add up the costs where you live today – including your motorized living space.
Factor in all your transportation costs – not just your car payments and gas purchases.
Consider what your leisure time is worth – and where you'd chose to spend it if gas cost $8 a gallon. You might be better off moving closer in. While the recession has made it hard to sell homes, many are trying to exit the exurbs and long highway commutes, for more walkable neighborhoods closer to public transportation and their jobs.

Take the challenge and see what you're missing!
My friend Tom Armstrong reminded me of the Cliff 2 Mile Challenge. It's a great way to get started with bike trips within two miles of your home. There are three steps toward taking the challenge: Get the Facts, Build Your Bike, and Map Your Ride. The Website helps you pick a bike or dust off the one in your garage, find routes to destinations in your two-mile radius, and take the challenge to drop your car keys and ride or walk within that radius.

Of course, if you live in an area where there's no place to go within two miles, you might want to start by calling a good Realtor.

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin

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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

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Day 56 of My Car-Free Experiment – Should My Bike Run on This Stuff?

Today's Picture: I like to joke that my bike runs on whatever I ate for breakfast this morning. But Froot Loops and Fudgsicles? If you believe the processed-food industry, you're eating health food when you go "coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs." The Smart Choices campaign was yanked from the shelves a few days ago after some federal regulators noticed some of those smart choices were pretty stupid.

After my post about the freedom we Baby Boomers enjoyed in the 1950s and '60s, my twin sister, an elementary school teacher, reminded me of another sad by-product of inactivity and poor nutrition among today's children. It's worth noting that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $147 billion in healthcare costs are related to obesity, including juvenile diabetes. Kathleen writes:

"As a teacher of first-graders I found nearly a quarter of the kids were noticeably overweight. These were the kids who would beg me to let them back in the classroom when I had them outside to play! They'd just stand around until I taught them to jump rope. I'd have to say, 'Come on, walk the track with me' – then they'd beg me to slow down. I was walking too fast. Imagine that, a woman in her 50s out-pacing a six year old! It always saddened me. I would try to engage the heaviest of my little kids, day after day, in play with me. They huffed and puffed and pleaded, 'Are we going in soon? Can I go in and get a drink? I gotta use the bathroom.'

"One day a truly obese little fellow was allowed back into the classroom to use the bathroom. When minutes passed and he didn't return, I came inside to investigate, I found him asleep – or passed out – on the bathroom floor with Pokemon cards spread out all around him. It's sad. I talked to his mom about his sluggishness, and suggested he be checked for diabetes. She commented, 'Oh yes, I know about diabetes, it runs in the family, but Dustin doesn't have it.' I wanted to say 'NOT YET!' What did the little guy eat? Cookies, snack cakes, potato chips? But it's not the kids' fault. It's the parents who allow them all the junk and fast food and keep them captive and entertained by TV and video games.

"There's a bike rack outside my school. On a sunny day you might find six bikes. So, out of 300 kids we might have six bike riders.

I remember row after row of bike racks when we were in grade school. Sometimes they were so full I couldn't find a place for my bike and then I just had to put it down beside the racks. I hated not having a good parking spot for that cool Raleigh Sport in sixth grade."

It disturbs me that kids don't run and bike as they always have in the past. Instead, too many are carted from place to place in cars and buses. And it's equally shocking that the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association ever joined hands with the processed-food industry in their "Smart Choices Program" that approved special labels for a long list of supposedly healthy foods. Their SMART CHOICE products included Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, Fudgsicles and lots of sugary-sweet breakfast deserts kids love.

With about 70 percent of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare spending going for treatment of obesity-related illness due to inactivity and poor food choices – and incentives for good nutrition and exercise virtually impossible to find in health reform bills – I wonder if real health reform isn't a long time coming.

PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.

freewheelin

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Enjoy the ride home.

See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround

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