Opinion

Beat High Gas Prices By Being A Maverick:  The Unpopular Thing Is The Right To Do

By Gary J. Boulanger  

June 13, 2001

You wouldn’t know we’re in the midst of an energy crisis by the number of people driving their cars to work by themselves lately. There’s never been a better time to shift our thinking to intermodal transportation, that is, using the bus, the bike, and personal vehicle to get from here to there. I believe it’s up to the Tragically Hip to instigate a change of perception about bikes and buses, and I’ll throw my name into the hat first if need be.

Defined, Tragically Hip people, regardless of gender, are outwardly “cool”.  Sensitive to the latest trends inwardly but not publicly, both fashionably and otherwise. They dress to impress themselves, carrying themselves with an air of confidence. Demographics of the tragically hip are relative to their social standing or career status:  aged 25-45; ever-present cell phone; cool shades even on cloudy days; suffered a bout of depression when J Peterman went out of business; REALLY miss talking about the recent Seinfeld episode. Most likely, someone who’s Tragically Hip wouldn’t think much of riding the bus, let alone riding a bike, to their downtown office. As the owner of a bike shop where I once worked commented: “those who can’t drive, ride.”  

But here’s why I believe there’s hope for the Tragically Hip to contribute something tangible to society, and it’s all based on reverse psychology. 

As a card-carrying member of the Tragically Hip Club (ever since 1972), I always chose to do the opposite of what was popular. When short hair was the rage, I wore mine long, and vice-versa. When $100 sneakers did it for others, I sported Chuck Taylor All-Stars (still do, actually). As I slid into the middle of the Tragically Hip age bracket last May (35 on May 7), it dawned on me that my response to this latest over-indulgence in LARGE VEHICLE ownership shall be intermodal transportation.  Since early April, I’ve ridden my bicycle to my West First Street office from Oakwood an average of four days a week, while taking the bus an average of once a week.  

Suddenly, my sense of doing what’s right, according to the unofficial Tragically Hip manual, falls into accordance with my beliefs. Four weeks ago my wife and I donated our 1992 Chevrolet Lumina APV to St. Vincent DePaul. We’re a one-car family because we chose to change our lifestyle to accommodate alternative transportation. I have what RTA marketing director Jim Foster calls a “passion for intermodal transportation,” and I’m at peace with that label. In fact, I’ve become something of an intermodal transportation poster child in my neighborhood and at church. Others have begun to accept my non-verbal challenge to think differently about bikes and buses, and that’s pleasing. There are nearly 125 miles of safe, paved bikeways in Miami Valley, and nearly every RTA bus has a bike rack, so your bike rides free (in fact, both you and your bike ride for free through the end of August). 

So, what do you say, my fellow Tragically Hip Daytonians? Ready to go against the grain and see what it feels like to straddle that saddle or board that bus? Show them what you’re made of, and if you happen to see a fellow Tragically Hipster sporting a green messenger bag while riding an electric blue bike with mustache handlebars, elbow the person next to you on the bus and say, “now that’s what I’m talking about.”

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Gary Boulanger is the executive director of Bike Miami Valley, a non-profit bicycle advocacy group based in Dayton. He can reached at 937-463-2707 or garyb@bikemiamivalley.org.  

  © Copyright 2001 Cox Ohio Publishing

NOTE: Join Bike Miami Valley for the 1st Annual RTA Bike Day Thursday, July 26 at the South Hub on Lyons Road. Free refreshments from 7 - 11 a.m. courtesy of the Miami Valley RTA. Free bus fare for you and your bike, courtesy of the Regional Ozone Action Program.