You Can Get it If You Really Want

I saw something today that made me stop. I saw a woman on a bike, pulling a trailer with two little bikes on it. It was unusual enough that I turned and chased her down. I had groceries flopping around in my bike bags so it was no hot pursuit. I caught up with her and congratulated her on a wonderful idea. School was about to let out and she was going to pick up her kids. She said it was a lot easier to ride to the school with the bikes than to get the kids up to ride. The kids are 6 and 8 years old. This was not a perfect picture. Her bike was a Walmart Special and in dire need of generous amounts of oil, grease. or opossum fat, anything to at least startle the rust. There were also no helmets around for big or little. I would like to see helmets but I will settle for one less car and a family on bikes. If you saw the traffic jam of SUV’s in front of the school you would jump for joy to see anyone not shoving a kid in the back of a car.

There has been a bit of talk lately, some e-mails flying around, about the lack of bike paths down here in the Rio Grande Valley. There are a few bike lanes and paths but they go nowhere and tend to be tacked on to four lane roads or share a double wide sidewalk with dog walkers and roller bladers. I have a theory as to why this is. The city planners see cycling as a recreational sport and not an alternative means of transportation. It is a valid point. There are very few people down here who commute by bicycle. It is a chicken and egg situation.
If there are more bike commuters will they build more paths or if they build more paths will there be more bike commuters? There is no need to outfit the valley with a comprehensive network of bike lanes and paths overnight. There is also no need for cyclists to wait until there are bike paths. However, unless more people start using their bikes as transportation and not toys, the city planners are not going to take bike lanes seriously.

Now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch (you guys know who you are) I will admit to wrapping my butt in lycra and riding for sport four or five times a week. I enjoy it tremendously. I will even admit to having a wife with a truck and (GASP!) going to the store in the truck. Sometimes I even throw the bike (gently and metaphorically) into the back of the truck and ride home from wherever it is my wife needs help at. I do try and use my bike as often as I can. It makes for some awkward moments, think two frozen turkeys and a six pack or beer, but I manage. I can’t think of a sport that rewards an old guy with bad knees as much as cycling even if lycra does make your butt look big. (Tip: Black is slimming, every other color makes your butt look like the Hindenburg.)

So what is the point of this ramble? I just like to see everyone leave the car at home once in awhile. Maybe, just maybe, there might be enough bike lanes someday that commuting is easy and fun, until then, we have to start somewhere.

post note: Bob went back to the vet on the Surly. He is still not happy. My other cat, Comet, at 14 was not much more impressed than Bob. I at least had the foresight to take them on separate trips.