Faster Cars and Smellier Air

I was finally able to participate in Bike to Work Day this year.

There were a respectable number of bikes on the road, a few of which were operated by old folks who appeared to be in better shape than I am in.

As expected, there were also inconsiderate and clueless automobile drivers. And for some reason, Georgetown seems to be their Mecca. One behaved as though my bike and I were invisible, changing into my lane and forcing me to get out of the way to avoid an accident. On the way home, I was parked in the right lane at a stop light when a taxi cab driver behind me, in apparent frustration that I occupy volume, started honking.

But I received my free bagel and T-shirt. I self-actualated. It was a good time. Outpacing cars and trucks on a bicycle is always exhilirating.

So how many of us will be biking to work Monday?

If you look at commuting time, biking is by far my fastest route to work. The important factor isn’t the distance between my home and my office, but between my office and the gym. In my case, it’s about four city blocks. A little on the long side, but doable. I’d need to get better at getting ready quickly in a locker room environment, where I have to observe time-consuming protocols that aren’t necessary at home. It’s sort of like elevator-etiquette, but naked.

Since I’m currently commuting by subway and not by automobile, I suspect that the benefit to the environment of switching would be modest. I guess if enough riders made the change, it would relieve crowding and might make the subway more attractive (or less unattractive) to automobile commuters. Of course, extra trains and better schedule-keeping would accomplish that, too.

If nothing more, Bike to Work Day is valuable because it promotes dialogue, and reminds us that that we have alternatives.