A Bicycling Challenge

I've been biking for more than a month now. It's definitely getting easier as I go along, but I've been pushing myself lately to bike further before catching the bus, or bike the hill outside my apartment once a week - it's a doozy and half the reason I ride the bus.

What's caught my attention is that Saturday is Moving Planet's Rally to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels. They challenge us to bike, skate, or walk to work or school, to do our errands, or in a rally march to various renewable energy sources.

There isn't a rally planned for my area, and with midterms approaching I'm not sure I could organize one this quickly. So, instead, I'm putting forth a challenge to myself and to you. Do one errand that seems "a bit too far" by a non-fossil fuel method.

My plan is to bike to the Farmer's Market. It's four miles each direction. Since planning this, I've had a mechanical problem with my bike and will be trying to get it fixed in time to participate. It will probably take me 45 minutes each way, but I'm willing to try; plus, I need the exercise. If you can, join me in seeing how fossil fuel-less transit can be an option.

Edit: My bike is out of commission for three days, until the pedal bearings can be replaced. So...I guess I'm experimenting with fossil fuel-less transit by walking to the bus for the next few days. I'll try to repeat this next week, when the bike is functional.

See Jane Bike to Work

I've finally got my dream commute. I now live two miles from my school/work, instead of thirty!

Since gas is expensive and time to exercise has been getting scarse, I've taken my repaired bike and put it to good use. Before heading out, I asked around for some advice. Redditor wirehead has been biking for a long time in both urban and rural environments, and had some great advice for me, the novice biker:


Image from Treehugger



First off, he believes that people are more capable of biking than they think. 60% of trips are within five miles, and the average, out-of-shape person can handle that without too much hassle. I'd be concerned about hills if I'm still building muscle, but over flat ground, small errands won't be an issue. Panniers are helpful for doing real errands. I'm not using this idea yet as I'm still conquering the hill outside my apartment, but it's something to think about. People don't realize that the risks of cycling are not as bad as you'd expect. I've noticed that, while I have to pay attention still, people are fairly courteous if you drive close to the edge of the road, obey traffic signs, and use your hand signals. But no one is happy if you ride on the sidewalk and speed through stop signs. Just don't.

When factoring in the time difference between cars and bikes, he reminds new bikers to figure in parking. It's quite easy to park a bike, but hunting for car parking takes longer and often involves walking to your destination afterwards. I can park my bike in front of every building I need, which is awesome on a college campus where most parking is a shuttle ride away. Use Google Maps' biking directions to see if there are shortcuts for bikers, and don't forget that using a bus can be a good way to get around tough spots.