National Bike to Work Day

Last Friday was National Bike to work day. Recently, I have been trying out bicycle commuting. I am ashamed to say that all of these years I have had so many great bikes, I have never made it a habit to ride to class or work. My attempts to do so have been spotty at best. When I was in college my rides to class were brief and back in Warrenton I lived less than a mile from my work, but I often drove to wherever I needed to be. My commute here is a little over 19 miles from my apartment door to work, so this has been a little bigger undertaking. The riding is a little bit more urban so it's slightly hectic as well. Right now, when I am in San Diego, I am riding to work once or twice a week. I am trying to build up to where I will be riding 3-4 times a week.

Friday was a great opportunity to reinforce the new habit I'm trying to form and also participate in a pretty neat event. The outcome was cool. There were considerably more riders out than there have been other days I have commuted on my bike. Additionally, local bike shops took part in the day. On my way to work, I saw four or five easy-ups sheltering bike shop employees. They were offering a place to rest for people that aren't used to being on a bike very long, neutral support for anyone that was having mechanical problems, and I think a couple even had some snacks. Finally, the auto traffic cut us a little more slack. To be honest, my overall experience with San Diego traffic has been pretty positive. No matter what though, you're going to occasionally come close to being hit by someone absent-mindedly making a left hand turn or opening their door after they've parallel parked. Having gay slurs screamed at you through a window as you snake your way through traffic in your spandex is also going to happen from time to time. I had no such issues on Friday. The normally fairly well-behaved San Diego drivers were even more conscientious toward those of us on our self-propelled two wheels. I got a few smiles and waves and encouragement. It was nice. I kinda wish every day was National Bike to Work Day.

I also got to wear one of my favorite preachy shirts on Bike to Work Day. That's right, no matter what kind of gas mileage your car gets, my bike's is literally infinitely better. So what if I used to make a habit of driving three quarters of a mile to work everyday? And so what if one of the reasons I'm riding to work now is that I can't afford to keep putting premium gas in my car that has a turbo engine and only gets 20 mpg? I already covered the fact that Californians are smug. Well, we're especially so when we ride our bikes to work.