“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race”
-H. G. Wells
Running on Thursday Joe and I were discussing our plans for biking to work this year. He has a goal of riding at least once per week. Hmmm, I thought…that is easier said than done. My route is only an hour and a half each way, but the biggest problem I have is being afraid of someone running me over with their car. The majority of my ride is through the park, but I’m still really afraid of getting hit. We discussed the possibility of meeting somewhere to ride in together, which would make me more comfortable - safety in numbers.
Regardless, biking to / from work really gives you a sense of freedom and independence. It’s one thing to go riding for training and exercise, but it’s a totally different feeling when you actually are using your bike and your strength to get you somewhere you need to go. It’s freeing, actually. Almost as if you are being sneaky or cheating or something…hard to describe. You’ll have to try it for yourself to see what I mean.
29* year old Akron native. Recently completed my MBA with a concentration in Sustainability. Passionate about innovative renewable energy technology and endurance sports.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I just heard that Cleveland Bikes and the Ohio City bike co-op are working to include a database of cyclists on NOACA’s rideshare web-page. That way cyclists could sort of group together on their commutes.
Do you have a mirror on your commuter bike?? It helped me feeling more comfortable in traffic.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Yea - I’ve got this really cool one that fits on my helmet. It helps a bit - I’m just a freak and am always afraid. I’ll get over it soon, hopefully. Thanks for the info! I’ll have to check out the webpage to get my info listed.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Haven’t used a helmet mirror. My commuter bike has a handlebar mirror.
I checked NOACA’s site and it doesn’t look like they have bike info entered. Maybe ask someone from Cleveland Bikes or the OCBC what’s going on?? …and maybe harass NOACA about adding it?? Check out NOACA’s bike maps on the Cleveland bikes page if you haven’t already!! They are great!
http://www.clevelandbikes.org/pages/maps.htm
Kudos to the 2 of you for making the commitment to peddle to work! Ride on….