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choosing to ride bikes to work instead of driving
Chris Green rides his bike to work on Tuesday. Green is an English
professor at
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An assistant professor of English at
He is a rare, yet increasing species of American
commuters.
Green is among the more than 488,500 people (according
to the last United States Census in 2000) who said they bicycled to work.
That number is growing, up from 466,856 in 1990, and
expected to grow nationally as record high gas prices cause commuters to
re-think their path to work.
Still, bicycle commuters only account for 0.41 percent
of commuters in spite of the fact that more than half of all Americans live
less than five miles from where they work.
Some people are working to change that.
Today is National Bike to Work Day. Sponsored by the
League of American Bicyclists, the day is set aside to promote commuters to consider
pedaling to work as a way to save money, help the environment and get daily
exercise.
Green, who has been living in
An ardent environmentalist who donates money to offset
the carbon emissions created by his other car, Green said going down to one car
saves a couple thousand dollars a year in expenses since he does not pay for
insurance, taxes, repairs and parking -- not to mention gas.
Then there is the aspect of better health.
"I also get to exercise, which I didn't get enough
of on a daily basis and that is incalculable in its benefits," Green said.
"Also, when you're riding, you're smelling the
places and really seeing the places so much more than being insular inside your
car."
Green said before bicycling to work, he was one of
those seven out of 10 Americans who fail to get the minimum recommended 30
minutes of activity per day.
According to the American League of Bicyclists, an
average 150-pound person will burn about 500 calories during a leisurely paced
30-minute bike ride to and from work or school.
That means bicycle commuters can shuck those stubborn
five to 10 pounds in about two to three months.
Franklin Furnace,
Kinnan, who also plays
tennis, said bicycling the two hilly miles two or three times a week has been a
great additional workout and energy boost at work.
"I feel better at work, and I've noticed a
difference in my energy level," Kinnan said.
"I'm just more energized when I get to work and feel a lot better
physically and enjoy the aesthetics part of the ride, too. It's peaceful and
just a leisurely ride."
Green, who usually rides the sidewalks along
"I ride in the rain and in the snow," Green
said. "Only in the worst snow do I have to walk."
Riding in all conditions, Green wears a backpack with
extra clothes and other gear and uses ski gear in winter. For safety's sake,
he's got reflective tape on his bicycle, his clothing and gear.
Even taking safety precautions, Green has twice been
hit on his commute home by left-turning cars as he was crossing the street in
the pedestrian crosswalk on Hal Greer.
Both sped off, and thankfully, Green was not injured in
either accident, although his bicycle was banged up.
Jeff Joy, owner of Jeff's Bike Shop,
"They're talking about bike lanes, and they're
talking about different greenways and bike paths to make it easier, but it is
not that difficult now," Joy said of bicycling in the city. "You can
take
Joy said with gas creeping up to $4 a gallon, he's seeing a substantial increase in folks coming
in and getting geared up to commute on a bicycle. It's something the majority
of Americans use just for recreation and health purposes.
A national survey of bicycle use in February 2003
showed that of the 20.9 million people riding bicycles, the majority reported
doing so for exercise/health (41 percent) and recreation (37 percent) while only
5 percent reported commuting to work by bicycle during the previous 30 days.
"We've seen a number of people coming in and
needing to get into better shape and thinking that they should start riding to
work since gas is so expensive," Joy said. "People are buying new
bikes as well as fixing up old bikes. I wouldn't say it's been a huge number,
but it's been a noticeable change."
Joy said the bike shop can get someone on the road for
not a lot of money.
"I would say a lot of people can spend less than
$50 and get their current bike they have on the road or our new bikes start at
about $300 for a good quality bike they could ride to work," Joy said.
"The Trek hybrid and the Trek 7100 with shocks, those are perfect commuter
bikes."
Joy said riding four or five miles into work is easy
for the average person, even if they're not in that good of shape.
"If you're talking about an average person that
doesn't want to take a shower at work then riding four or five miles is not
that bad," Joy said. "I think once someone would try that, they would
know you don't have to kill yourself. Just take an extra 20 minutes and just
take a ride. You'll find it's not that bad. You can usually pick less traffic
areas instead of the thoroughfares and there's not that much traffic at
all."
Kinnan said he can bike
to work in about 10 to 15 minutes from his house on
"I wished I would have done this from the day I
moved here -- I love it," Kinnan said.
"It's funny, you drive a certain road or route for several years and yet
when you either walk or take a bike ride, you notice things you never noticed
before. Things you've probably passed a thousand times and never paid
attention."