Chapter 2
CAN YOU BIKE TO WORK?
To be honest, the sun is not always shining, big hills are difficultto climb, and not all offices have showers; but with the rightroute and the right equipment, these things are no big deal.
Planning the best route
Even if you live a long way from work it may still be possible touse your bike for all or part of the journey: you can take yourbike on buses and trains, buy a folding bike, or leave your bike ina locker.You will quickly discover that the routes you use by car are notusually the ones you would choose to use by bike. There areoften great shortcuts that you can take on a bike, and sometimesthe longer way can actually be better, for example, if there is aroute beside a river, or through a park; your journey to workmight take more time, but will become the highlight of the day.First you’ll need a good map. Check to see if your localmunicipality, local cycling groups, or bicycle shop have bike-specific maps with bike-friendly routes marked on them—theyalmost certainly do. Look on the Internet for maps and routeadvice for your area, and Google maps can be used to look atyour route (see also chapter 7, page 63).
Start by getting a high-quality bicycle-route map—try asking your local city council, or download onefrom the Internet.
10
BIKING TO WORK
If you work for an organization that has a travel department, thenyou can ask for advice on the surrounding bicycle routes. Mosthuman resources or facilities departments should also be able tohelp. There may also be a bicycle user group at work; they oftenmeet once a month after work, and can help you find bicyclebuddies to show you the best routes. Try to talk to anyone whobikes to work—tell them you are thinking about biking, and you’llfind that they will be eager to share their secrets, just as you willbe when you find that super shortcut through the park. If youcan’t find anyone to talk to, then it can be just as satisfying to bethe pioneer.Look at your current route, and if you are driving along a high-speed six-lane highway or really busy road, look to see if there areparks, smaller residential roads, or paths that you could use instead.It is not a good idea to try a new route for the first time whenyou are rushing to get to work on time, so give it a try oneweekend and look on it as good exercise. Once you have found
People often ask: What’s in it for the bike rider? How muchmoney does it save you to ride a bike? Do you know anyonewho started doing this and got really fit? The answers are that riding a bike to work is one of the most powerful daily actions that an individual American canmake. It has powerful political implications, it is good for theenvironment, and it has vast benefits for public and personal health. But if people are not swayed by sentiment, thenmaybe the bottom line will be more convincing. In a city likeNew York, where everything has its cost, biking is the most economical way to get around. — from
Cycle NYC
, courtesy of Transportation Alternatives(www.transalt.org)
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Biking to Work - An Excerpt
Chapter 2 of "Biking to Work" by Rory McMullan tells you how to plan the best route, integrate with mass transit, and look good when you get there.
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