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Does the warming weather awaken in you the desire
to ride a bike—maybe even use one to get work some day? Then why not do it?
Bicycling can help you feel whole and connected.
If you use a bike to get around, you may be able to stop worrying about how to fit
exercise into your routine, since exercise becomes part of your routine. The
same goes for spending a reasonable amount of time outdoors. When you’re
bicycling and you cross paths with a friend or neighbor, you can take a moment
to catch up, rather than waving at each other through the windshield of a car.
Nor do you have car windows or engine sounds or
the noise of the radio to interfere with what really matters at this time of
year, which is the calls and songs of birds, of course! What better way to
track spring migration than by making mental notes about what you hear as you
ride? And if your route takes you by a natural area, even in an urban setting,
you can easily slow down for a look around.
For some people, the economic benefits of cycling
can be significant, too. What better way to pass a station offering gas at $3.70-a-gallon
than on a vehicle that uses none? And hang tags? We don’t need no stinkin’ hang
tags. Parking meters, either.
In the past I’ve mentioned efforts underway on the
UI campus and in Champaign and Urbana to facilitate bicycling through changes
to infrastructure, including bike lanes and other pavement marking. But I would
also encourage you to explore a more liberated approach to cycling, one that
enables you to travel where you want to go safely and easily using existing
roadways.
A friend of mine, Gary Cziko, offers a free, one-evening
introduction to this approach called “Cycling Savvy,” which he will next teach on
the UI campus on Thursday, April 25, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm in the Natural Resources Building, Room 101, 615 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign. (The course is free and open to the public, Click here to register.)
According to Cziko, those who stand to benefit
from the course include any adult interested in cycling on public
roads—especially people who see cycling in traffic as intimidating—and even
high-schoolers as young as fifteen. Cycling Savvy also provides a useful
perspective for law enforcement personnel, traffic planners and even motorists,
since roadways work best for everyone when engineering, enforcement and
education all align.
[Photo: Virginia Uhlig rides on Lincoln Avenue over I-74 as part of a Cycling Savvy course last summer. By Gary Cziko.]
[Photo: Virginia Uhlig rides on Lincoln Avenue over I-74 as part of a Cycling Savvy course last summer. By Gary Cziko.]
There are three main components of Cycling Savvy.
The first is devoted to changing some of the pervasive, mistaken beliefs people
hold about how they should behave on a bicycle. Chief among these is the notion
that roads are for motorists and bicyclists are safest when they stay out of
the way. (They’re definitely not.)
The second component of the course educates
participants about the causes of crashes. Some types of crashes—which
participants learn to prevent—are so predictable they even have colorful names,
including “right hook,” “left cross” and “dooring.”
The third part of the course is devoted to problem
solving, helping participants work through how to anticipate and avoid awkward
situations, such as getting stuck in a turn lane as they approach an
intersection.
According to Cziko, and as I’ve found in my own
experience, the keys to happy cycling are being visible and predictable. Add to
these clear communication of your intentions, and you’ve got a recipe for
harmony among all roadway users.
Cycling Savvy is free and open to the public. You can register for here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SMNljDSM33Ps420aPNx9ZNroRuKiTSNYzkcmtgiA9b8/viewform
Cycling Savvy is free and open to the public. You can register for here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SMNljDSM33Ps420aPNx9ZNroRuKiTSNYzkcmtgiA9b8/viewform
