I Voted… Now What (2)

To see the origin of this post, go here. Today, I begin to lay out a positive vision for what I would like my community and nation to become.

I envision a country where every child can safely ride a bike to play, go to school, or go out with friends and family.

This may seem like a strange place to start and too pedestrian (no pun intended) to constitute a “vision.” But a lot is packed into this dream that would change many things about our lives.

First, a bikeable community is one not built around and for automobiles. It is a community that does not engineer roads to maximize vehicular throughput, with intersections designed to stack cars and travel lanes made to enhance speed.

Instead, streets are designed to reduce speeds, separate different users of public spaces, and encourage even novice cyclists to ride. This moves people out of cars for short trips and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, crashes, and noise.

Second, when children can bike safely, they will bike, and their parents will likely go with them. Daily cycling can be a public health intervention that people enjoy. With childhood obesity on the rise in the US and the concomitant increases in cardiovascular disease and Type II diabetes, biking can provide needed intervention.

(Side note: My grandson moved from a bike-unfriendly community to Davis in September. He is a generally healthy teen, but when he came here bicycling became his means to get to school, about three miles from home. He has already remarked about getting more exercise and feeling better. He competes with himself to see how quickly he can make his trips to and from school.)

Third, a child who can cycle is a child who can learn, at a strikingly early age, to make decisions and take responsibility for their and other’s safety.

If you never cycled at a young age, you may not fully grasp the experience of sheer freedom that comes from powering yourself across terrain. To bike is to begin to learn to be independent—in a good way. Learning to control a bike is a heady endeavor. You learn how efficiently your body can move from one place to another.

Fourth is the exhilaration of the wind in your face, your slightly elevated heart rate, and your somewhat higher-than-walking perch on your bike seat. These combine to make bicycling an essential mental health break.

But only when the route is designed with you, the cyclist, in mind. If your route is designed for motor vehicle throughput, your ride will be neither fun nor relaxing. Few children will attempt it, and fewer parents will even let them try.

Am I claiming that designing for and using bicycles can help heal our bodies, minds, and planet? Yes, I am. Having lived in a bikeable community for a quarter century, I can confidently say that biking is an ingredient in creating planetary and personal health.

Installment 1

Installment 3