Bicycling as Transportation

摘要

Iread two things in my youth that had a lasting impression on me. One was that a bicycle is the most energy-efficient way for a person to travel. The other was that if you count up all the time we take to buy, finance, license, insure, maintain, repair, and drive a car, we're really only going about 10 miles per hour. I haven't done the research to confirm or deny either statement, but the general drift made complete sense to me as a young person, and started a love of bicycles that has lasted for decades. But like most Americans, I got caught up in the car culture while raising a family and leading my busy life. My kids are now grown, and I've lived without a car for the last five years (I do own a dump truck, and borrow and rent cars as needed). I enjoy the benefits of exercise, lower cost, closer connection to community and nature, as well as what comedian Robin Williams called "the closest you can get to flying."