On Saturday I decided to take one more car off the road for a short, five-mile trip to the grocery store.
A whopping 60 percent of vehicle trips in the US are less than 6 miles, according to DOT. People would gain immensely from swapping these vehicle trips which could be errands or commutes for other modes of transportation, including bicycles, walking and buses.
You’ll find inter alia that your vehicle will last longer and require less maintenance from significantly fewer miles driven. In a good riding year, I’ll log more bicycle miles than hybrid car miles. Your health, wellness and fitness will also improve with more movement and exercise in your day.
It was a lovely ride to purchase some fresh baguette for sandwiches. I stored the fresh baguette in my pannier for the ride home.
I hadn’t been to this store on a bicycle so I took some time before I left to visualize the route. I ended up consulting a map and found a safe, scenic way in without our nemesis the car.
The highlight of the trip for me was crossing through a recently updated intersection. It was so much smoother and safer for non-car users with a bright new crosswalk where there had
been none previously as well as a asphalt path with curb just beyond the opposite corner to connect to a bicycle route.
I had been riding through this intersection for a few years when I finally started to write to city streets and planners about what was wrong with it. I think my writing helped spur change here. But putting off writing, puts off important projects.
My colleague and I have been playing a game to guess the amount of cyclists on the above meter when we pass by approximately each day. To start I’ll guess a not so arbitrary number, say 400, and then she’ll guess high or low, above or below 400. I’m leading 12-8. We plan to play through the summer.
I’ve been feeling like I’ve been riding more and more consistently this year, but I wanted to find out how much more. I was able to select a year-on-year comparison under progress and compare in Strava. This graph above shows me a 42% increase as well as a month-on-month comparison.