Bicycles: Wellbeing on
two wheels

by Jai Reed

We all know this! Right? Riding a bicycle is one of the best forms of exercise on the planet. You get the benefits of regular physical exercise, plus all the vitamin D and fresh air you can soak up. In this piece we’ll look at how bicycling can change the world.

Certainly one of the best childhood stories to share around the dinner table is that first bike ride – without the training wheels. That magic, wobbling moment when speed and confidence outgun fear and with that last push of the parent, the child is off into a new, faster, independent world. There’s a health crisis with our children. Childhood obesity has risen by enormous rates. School buses lumber through neighborhoods where simple and affordable bike parking could encourage children to safely ride the last mile home.

When adults take up a new sport, let me recommend bicycling the children can follow. If you start to ride bikes as a family, take biking trips, start to ride to the store, and reward bike riding to school, you build physical health, family time, and togetherness. More than that, you start a passion in your children for bicycling that they will keep for their lifetime.

With personal change, comes family change. With personal and family change, comes community change. Bicycling has been enjoying a boom over the last several decades around the world. Bicycling in Europe is over ten times higher than in the US even though the European countries have very high standards of living, have all experienced rising incomes, auto ownership, and rapid suburbanization. Yet bicycling is thriving – and part of that is due to long term commitments to enhance the safety, speed, and convenience of bicycling while driving becomes more difficult and expensive.

There is a bicycling renaissance happening across the US. Organizations such as American Bicyclists, the Bicycle Federation of America, and bicycling groups in virtually every state and many cities coordinate bicycling events, offer training courses, and lobby for cycling facilities and cycling-friendly roads and traffic policies. Many environmental organizations, community activists, and urban planners support cycling because it is an energy-efficient and non-polluting transport mode, and some transport planners view space-efficient cycling as a way to reduce roadway congestion.

What has been happening in your community to support bicycling? You can look for projects that fund bicycling facilities such as new bike paths; traffic policies and roadway design to protect non-motorized users; new bike paths, bike routes, side lanes, bikeways; bicycle parking; bike connections to transit; conversion of rail lines into bike paths.

Seattle started police bicycle patrols. The program has markedly improved criminal apprehension, reduced costs, and brought the police closer to the citizenry. Inspired by this success, over 2,000 other American cities have adopted police bike patrols. This is something that would be very well received in the communities on the Olympic peninsula and the West Sound.

Increasing the prospects for bicycling in your community! Buy a bike and get start making regular trips each week. Start slowly and build on your success. If you are a cyclist, get involved to help make change. We can all reflect on the rising cost of gas and automobile use at a personal level. Cycling is linked to your wellness and the wellness of the planet. How to start? Take off those training wheels! Visit one of the many bicycle shops in our area and buy a good bike that fits you well. Invest in some bicycling gear. Start out easy and build your riding time. Make commitments to bicycling, join events, and plan trips. I’ll see you on the road.

Bainbridge Island - Visit the cities website and get a map of all the trails on the island! Great cycling at
www.ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us

Port Townsend - Visit www.ptguide.com for trips and ideas. From Adventure Cycling, the Lung Associations Tri-Island Trek, the Larry Scott trail and our beautiful state parks and lakes, PT is another bicycle destination. In Chimacum, check out the BMX track at H. J. Carroll Park.

Sequim - There’s a great biking route around the Dungeness Recreation Area that takes you through rolling farmlands, views of the Olympics, and the views of the Strait. Olympic Discovery Trail ride starts at the Railroad Bridge Park is another great trip. See the city website.