This is great news. Bicycling somewhere instead of driving is a great way to keep the air clean, stay healthy, and save money. There is talk of electric cars, fuel cells, and ethanol, but talk is cheap. Bicycling is priceless action.
People think the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was BP’s fault. Maybe it was. But, on a deeper level, it was the fault of America’s addiction to oil, and our willingness to pay someone to dig in the deepest, darkest, most precarious spots on earth to keep our cars running.
Now, having said all of that, I have to acknowledge that when I’m driving on a narrow road, which I often am, and there is a small group of bicyclists in front of me, which there often is, I get a little frustrated and impatient.
My frustration with bicycles is deep rooted. When I was 10, I hit a bump and flew head first off my bike onto the sidewalk. To this day, my two front teeth are plastic.
When I was in college, my front wheel popped off and I hit the sidewalk—head first again.
Then, when I first moved to New York City, I opened the passenger-side door at a red light and wham! pinned a bike courier against a parked car.
Following that incident were a few others, where my honest mistakes led to less physical pain, but instead to loud swearing directed at me.
The frustration and impatience I feel at bicyclists really comes from this deep-rooted impression that I am going to do something wrong that will likely get someone, probably the bicyclist, hurt. It turns the otherwise straightforward driving experience into an obstacle course and stress test.
I find myself thinking, “Go ride on the sidewalk!” For everyone’s benefit, of course.
I imagine most Americans find themselves somewhere on this spectrum, with the ideals of bicycle transportation on one end and the realities of day-to-day driving on the other. Either you’re a bicyclist, a driver, or somewhere in between, like me.
The trick is to take it all in and realize that we are all one nation that has to get along as the changes of our time unfold. Drivers need to be more patient and careful. As for bicyclists, they should follow all the rules and, most of all, be friendly and courteous to drivers.
When the drivers see you smile at them, they will be more mindful next time, and they may just be riding a bicycle next time you see them. It’s sappy, but true.
Who knows where the bicycle trend might take us? In the 19th century, the United States had manifest destiny, whereby the early Americans believed that they would one day stretch their nation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. It worked.
Then, there was the Civil War, when the North felt it was necessary to abolish slavery so that the country could move forward. It worked too.
Could it be the United States’ destiny, to forsake cars all together one day, and instead rely on mass transportation, smaller and more self-contained communities, and far more bicycling and walking? I don’t know. But the thought of it keeps me from honking my horn when someone is riding a bike in front of me.
