bicycle culture

[mimitabby]

of course most of us were born and raised in automobile culture. Go to the store; get the car. Go to grandma's house, get in the car. Go to work, get in the car.

We have to try to convert these impulses to include bikes whenever possible.

During the summer, the days here are long enough that i can ride in the day light to and from my work. But now it is quite dark, and i really really don't feel safe IN THE DARK especially if it's raining. (it's not raining yet, but it will)
So now if i want to continue to amass miles on my bike, i have to find other things to do during the week.

So the other day, it rained but i needed to go to the library 4 miles each way to pick up a book. I took my bike. It took a lot longer than driving but it was less frustrating and more exciting.

Last night we wanted to buy tickets to a dinner theater downtown. If you buy them on line they cost $7.50 more per ticket, so I decided I'd drive down there and pick them up.
I told the DH this and he said, wait for me to get home, we'll go together.
You guessed it. We rode our bikes down there. The weather got more forbidding, so for most of the 8 mile ride home, we rode the bus, but this was a lot more fun than driving in and out of downtown during rush hour traffic.
all in all a fun date.
I tell you all this, because we're all on the same page, trying to live a healthier fuller life with our bikes.
Mimi

[Kalidurga]

I have to applaud you, Mimi. All summer, I kept thinking the same thing about trips to the post office, pharmacy/grocery, etc. Heck, one of the LBS's I use is only 2 miles from my home! I should be able to hop on the bike with a backpack and go, but instead I pick up the car keys.

Unfortunately, I am by nature a sloth For some reason, I can't get myself into the habit of using the bike for anything beyond "excursion" riding, when I load it up on the car and go somewhere to ride it.

This year's goal was to increase my riding distance. Next year's goal: Get off the trail and get comortable with road-riding, with the side-goal of using the bike for errands and such. Reading posts like yours, Mimi, should help quite a bit in achieving that.

[Bike Goddess]

Mimitabby- You all up there in the greater Northwest are seasoned cyclists! Rain...what the heck, ride anyway. Yes, it's wet, but as you say, an adventure awaits each ride!

Of course, most of the time rain in the NW means the "drip". Never terribly hard, just wet! I used to run the entire winter when I lived in Bellevue, and, Vancouver WA.

I wish it were easier for us down here in California(SF Bay Area) to also ride when it rains. However, because it is warmer in the winter, when it rains here it usually POURS!!!!!!! We get these storms called the Hawaiian Express. When these big storms come in, we get 30mph winds and lots of water! No fun being outside!

I live in a small town that is surrounded by hills. The only flat part is the main street (exactly one mile long). Although riding in the rain is doable and I certainly have been caught in many a storm, it's not much fun and can be quite dangerous. Our local bike club has a "rain cancels" note on winter rides because of this.

[Eden]

sigh - I just wish people wouldn't steal bikes. If I have a short trip to make I usually walk, just because by the time I get the bike out, go to the place I want to, lock it up, get what I need, unlock the bike, put the bike back in the basement I could have already walked there and been back. If I felt OK leaving even a beater bike out I might do more short bike trips. Even so I do usually walk. If it won't take me over 1/2 hour to get there generally I walk. If walking would take too long I bike, driving I usually reserve for very long trips or errands that I have a very limited time span for. (or for taking the cat to the vet - I'm not nearly so brave as UK Elephant to try to strap the cat to my back! )

[Python]

I'm not nearly so brave as UK Elephant to try to strap the cat to my back! )

I'm trying to persuade hubby that he really, really needs to get me a Siamese kitten. I thought I could train it to ride on the bike with me too...

He says we've got enough pets at the moment

[Triskeliongirl]

Its not too dark yet here to commute both ways, but when the clocks change and the days get shorter, either I'll bike in and then hitch a ride home with hubby, or if I need to take the car for some reason he'll ride in and hitch a ride home with me. If we both need to go by car we'll carpool. 1/2 a workout is better than none, and we have a gym at work so if we are commuting less by bike we'll spend more time in the gym. Our climate is mild, so club rides go throughout the year. Usually arm and leg warmers and a wind vest are the most we need, occasionally long fingered gloves, ear covers, and a windbreaker if its very cold or windy out.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

For the past 3 months (since I started riding) my DH and I have been doing ALL our errands into town on bikes. Only drive when it's raining. I can't beleive how little I've been using my car the last 3 months. (we work at home)
The ride into town is only one mile to 2 miles roundtrip depending on where we are headed... but with a BIG hill coming back home.
Every time we have to go to the bank, the PO, the grocery for a couple of items, the drugstore....one of us just takes a bike now. DH has a nice basket on his hybrid, and I have a backpack I like for biking when I need to stash things. Wish we could do it all through winter coming up! But will have to quit when the roads get slushy or icey.

[Bikingmomof3]

I would very much like to do all our errands by bike, unfortunately I live in the most bike unfriendly town I have ever seen. I would be quite literally taking my life into my hands going to the grocery store. I am not that confident of a biker to brave those heavily congested roads with no shoulder and no sidewalk. However, I do walk for light grocery trips or trips to the library.

[Kitsune06]

Right on, Mimi.

On principle, unless it's totally unavoidable, I use my bike for errands, etc. Work is a lot more difficult, but when I start on a M-F 7-4 or 8-5 job, I'll definately be taking miz Cakes with me.

If we want to make a real change, we need to start at home. Our kids need to grow up knowing that bikes aren't just for playing- they're a real, valuable form of transportation. I don't want my child to grow up the way I did, looking at someone who bikes more than a mile to get somewhere as 'crazy' until I learned better.

I *so* want that xtracycle, though...

We can only get so far by telling folks around us...

This all goes hand in hand with the 'Meal Portions' gripe thread. The more 'convenience' we can leave behind, I think the better off we are.

Oh- one more thing.

DGF who works for GM wanted me to point out (lest she have to take calls on peoples' cars 'breaking' after months of non-use):
If you're seriously biking around and not using your car, take it out and drive it (or just run it, but driving is better) for close to an hour once/month. This'll help heat the engine and exhaust pipes etc and 'burn' out the condensation, etc, that would otherwise rust and start breaking down seals, etc. Cars suffer more from non-use than over-use.

Public service announcement over.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you're seriously biking around and not using your car, take it out and drive it (or just run it, but driving is better) for close to an hour once/month. This'll help heat the engine and exhaust pipes etc and 'burn' out the condensation, etc, that would otherwise rust and start breaking down seals, etc. Cars suffer more from non-use than over-use.

Public service announcement over.

Ok....Next month I think we'll have to drive about 8 hours round trip over to the Boston area to pick up DH's NEW BIKE!!

[Geonz]

I've gotten to that p;oint with my car. I used to be a sloth. It was a slow process. It's only gone 300 miles or so since July, since that was when I last filled it up.

One strategy is to find a map and draw a circle with a 1- or 2-mile radius, and find the trips in that circle and pick at least one to start turning over to the bicycle. Another is to have a "car free day" first Sunday of the month. http://www.car-lite.org/
http://www.friendsjournal.org/conten.../feature2.html

I stumbled onto this site about the time I got the Xtracycle and it quietly inspired me, though it's got a religion and politics in it:http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action..._enabled=false

We had a meeting last Thursday of some people who want to make things better for cycling, and we met with a lady who'd been part of a successful grass-roots movement to pass a smoke-free ordinance here. She talked about strategies and efforts to, essentially, change the culture by modifying people's defiition of "normal." Most people aren't going to *challenge* "normal" - but those people may just be susceptible to being convinced by what they see and heare that it's something different than they thought, and they won't challenge that either.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sue,
I really liked that FriendsJournal biking/walking article! We have a large Quaker center near us here, where I used to go on occasion when I was a teen. They helped my family through a crisis way back then, even though they didn't even know us. Though I'm not a Quaker myself, I just finished voluntarily helping them design a billboard promoting peace. Good people, with good sense.

[Kitsune06]

Geonz,
I really liked that article, too. I tend to be leery of organized religion in general, but Quakers are among those I can sincerely respect (generally anyone who can count as a conscientious objectioner in terms of war) and that article was very thoughtful and made a lot of sense.

I only wish I lived closer to town. Everyone talks about 1-2 mile rides to get groceries etc... is that round trip? It's 3 miles to my nearest store (one way) so that makes it hard for me to really *want* to get up and go, but I do... (better than driving) maybe... someday... I'll find somewhere to live on a real road...

[KnottedYet]

Kit - add Unitarians to your list of non-leery organized religeons.

We're pretty cool. Check us out. www.uua.org

Our church has a women's triathlon team, and the team has been working on getting more awareness of the biking option for churchgoers.

Like pointing out that we DO have a bike rack next to the building. We have no dress code, so I could even wear my bike skort to service if I wanted.

One of our ministers posted info about the Cascade bike club's $10 helmets sale. Now I'm starting to think of other ways I could push the biking lifestyle next spring (good weather brings out the bikers).

[Kitsune06]

Knot- they were already on my list.
But I'm not going to go into the 'who's on my list and who isn't' because I'd start offending people, and really, there are a lot of people in faiths not on my list (or on that other list) who are really, really great people. *shrug*