Joe Breeze article




Two Wheels, One Voice.

Citizen's Bicycle Coalition

Bicycles as Transportation

By Joe Breeze

In the 1970s I was part of a group of Northern California bicycle riders developing a new breed of bike that would later be known as the mountain bike. Our backyard, Marin County's Mt. Tamalpalais, became the birthplace of a new bike and a new sport. Now, twenty years after our first mountain bike races, mountain biking has come to the Olympic Games. An Olympic mountain bike event certainly affirms this bike's popularity. But the sporting element is really only the tip of the iceberg of the mountain bike's broad-based appeal.

While we were developing the mountain bike (read: just having fun) it became apparent that this bike was headed somewhere. A startling discovery for me was that when non-cycling buddies would borrow our bikes, they would come back with huge smiles on their faces and exclaim, "Where has this bike been!"

The bike had struck a nerve. Thanks to the fat tires, the upright seating and a cushy saddle, the bike was comfortable and forgiving, reasonably lightweight, and enjoyable for anybody. And people could use it not just to get to the woods, but also to get to the store or to work.

Racing has garnered the lion's share of mountain bike media attention in the ensuing twenty years, but there is so much more to cycling than race bikes. Bicycling is different from most other sports because its basic element, the bicycle, can also be very useful in day-to-day life. I consider cycling a superior mode of travel in many instances, but one that is still practically a secret in this country. There are many reasons it's a secret, but even more reasons why the secret should be let out of the bag.

Consider the following: Traveling by car can be an effortless experience and with it there is the potential to save time. The internal combustion engine and automobile are incredible tools. A multi-billion dollar industry has been built around disseminating information about the automobile. Practically every third television commercial promotes the car or reminds us to use a car. It's now a natural response: You need to go to the store? Hop in the car; it's so easy! Everybody does it! Life in the U.S. is designed around the car. From the moment our parents plop us down in front of the TV we are subjected to a blinding array of car-culture messages generated by some of the sharpest minds on the planet.

Over the last 35 years there has been a greater awareness of the benefits of exercise. A longer, healthier and more active life has its draw. And sitting in a car is generally sedentary.

A person on a bicycle is the most efficient form of personal transport known. That is, for a given distance of travel, less energy is consumed than with any other form of personal travel. A person on a bike can accomplish an errand and get exercise in less time than it would take to do the errand by car with a stop to work out at a gym. And of course to pay for car maintenance, gasoline, insurance, and gym fees, you have to spend more time working.

Aside from the healthy body and mind that riding a bike promotes, there's another incentive.

Using a bicycle for transportation is good for the environment; it means one less car on the road. If you don't feel the direct effect of your diligence in this regard in your own lifetime, perhaps your children will. And using less oil makes our country more self-sufficient, lessening our need to procure oil from other countries with all the complications and expense that involves. Even if in the future we develop safe and clean alternatives to oil to meet our energy needs, there may still be global warming to contend with. It is important for people to recognize that there is more than one choice when making day-to-day transport decisions. Use of bicycles in our daily lives is part of responsible living.

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Is bicycling important to you? Do you ride your bike to work or to run errands? Is bicycling a regular practice in your family? If you would like to see more people using the bicycle as transportation, join the Citizen’s Bicycle Coalition of Bike Miami Valley. Your voice and example can change lives, and return the streets to our children.

The Citizen’s Bicycle Coalition of Bike Miami Valley meets every fourth Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Wright Memorial Public Library in Oakwood, 1776 Far Hills Avenue.

Citizen's Bicycle Coalition

The mission of the Citizen's Bicycle Coalition is to create livable communities through enhanced bicycle safety education, promotion, and advocacy.

Call 937-463-2707 or send an email for more information.

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