Climate and the Bicycle

I remember my first real bike. It was a red, used, single speed, wide tire, heavy duty monster. It was a hand me down from my mom.

Lucky it was overbuilt as we miniature bicycle Attila the Huns had to see how many of us could ride the steed simultaneously.  We also tried to set new land speed records on the neighborhood hill.

Little did I know this was great training for my future flying career as bicycle riding taught me that doing stupid things can, and will, end up in a crash.

Bicycles were also freedom. Do you remember your first bike ride? I and my friends were free to roam as far as our legs would take us. Freedom is a common theme with bicycling. In fact, the bicycle during the women’s suffrage movement was referred to as the “Freedom Machine”. Susan B Anthony in 1896 said about the bicycle, "I think it has done more to emancipate woman than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammeled womanhood.” 

Bicycles kick gas. The bike is the world’s most efficient means of personal transportation. When compared to walking we can travel 4 to 5 times farther with the same effort. When we travel by car or truck 99% of the gas we burn goes to moving the iron vehicle from A to B. Only 1% is used to move us.

For me, biking is still fun. I am 68 and there are few times I have been without a bike. Today I indulge myself with a couple spendy bikes but most of my bikes were less expensive and for awhile I was buying used bikes and leaving them on the ships I served on. Three of them cost me a total of 150 dollars and I rode them hundreds of miles. Bikes are handy, efficient, easy to maintain; they are an inexpensive way to get to work or get a loaf of bread.  Simultaneously, bicycling is a low intensity workout, a ticket to explore, and just plain fun.

US cities and rural America are discovering what the rest of the world has adopted long ago. If you want less noise, less congestion, and less pollution then build and regulate bicycle thoroughfares. Copenhagen Denmark has invested in bicycle superhighways that prioritize city travel for the bicyclist. This prioritization is one reason Copenhagen is often ranked as the world’s most livable city.

I have seen this bicycle prioritization in Korea, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, Norway and especially the Netherlands. 27% of the Dutch commute to work on bikes. Maybe this contributes to the fact the Dutch are so healthy?

In Ostersund, Sweden Teri and I saw people commuting to work and to the coffee shops. Ostersund is 1173 miles closer to the north pole than us and we were there in the winter and it was below zero, Fahrenheit.

Close to us, Minneapolis is investing in bicycle infrastructure. It is always ranked in the top four bicycle cities in the USA. I lived there for seven years and I can attest to the fact Minneapolis and St. Paul have made their cities fun to travel by bike.

How are we doing here in the UP? Culturally we are still addicted to using gas engines to propel us. But infrastructure- wise we are already ahead of the curve. This is primarily due to the new Iron Belle trail. I have wheeled on many a bike trail world-wide and the Iron Belle stacks up well against the best. I know of none better.   Citizens are working to complete the last legs from Hurley to Wakefield. So for fun, or for a commute,  we will soon  be able to ride from Wakefield to Hurley on a quiet, safe, and beautiful smooth trail.

Let me touch on two related and exciting developments. The first is the three-wheel bike. Two years ago, I had rotator cuff surgery and I thought my days of riding a standard bike were over. Much to my surprise the three-wheel cycling choices are vast. One of the most reputable companies is Terra-Trike out of Lansing. There are a wide variety of tricycles that you sit on as you do a lazy boy chair. Teri and I demoed a number at the Stevens Point store called the Hostel Shoppe. These were fun, fast, and your chances of falling off while pedaling are nil. When my balance leans towards unbalanced, these will be a great ride.

Second are electric assist bikes. These are taking the world by storm.  You can rent them on the streets of many cities with your credit card.

Let’s imagine you are out riding, and things aren’t going so well. Perhaps you must ride up Anvil Hill and it is looking a little steep? Or, the headwind you’ve been bucking is becoming a headache? Or you are bicycling to work and behind schedule.  You are riding as hard as you can and thinking up excuses to tell your boss. Don’t sweat it! In fact, don’t sweat at all. The e-bikes let you adjust how hard you want to pedal and how fast you move.

 There’s even an electric wheel you can put on your regular bike. Inside its red disk at the center of the wheel is a device which communicates with your smartphone. You tell its battery and electric motor just what you want it to do. It is called the Copenhagen Wheel. In minutes you can convert a normal bike to an e-bike!

My favorite e-bike story comes from my Army Guard friend, Jon. Jon was called up and deployed many times. He thinks it was the smoke, pollution and sand in Iraq that drastically reduced his lung capacity.  

The VA gave him two different inhalers to help his breathing, but they only marginally helped. He used to love bicycling but even the small hills made him feel like he was on the last 1000-foot ascent of Everest. It was tough to watch my friend struggle for breath.

He bought an e-bike. Now he is a potential poster boy for e-bikes. He cannot say enough positive things about them. The fun, and the freedom of a carbon free bicycle ride are now Jon’s. When his lungs start to burn, he just makes an electron adjustment.

Biking, Triking, and E-Biking are more ways to have fun, improve your health, and help ensure a better climate for the kid in us, and the kids to come.