bikeseattle.org

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels this morning released an ambitious bicycle master plan, which he hopes will triple the number of city residents who pedal to work.

“The goal is simple: to make Seattle the best bicycling city in the nation,” he said, standing along a trail at north Beacon Hill.

I’ve been thinking lately about alternatives to car commuting, especially given that bike to work month is coming up in May. One thing I was thinking would be if a person would commit to not driving one day a week. Depending on where you live, and what you have in mind, this could mean bussing, cycling, or walking in to work.

Naturally I’m a fan of riding in, but I feel like I’m an outlier in getting that started. What I mean is that I as able to regain my cycling experience on the comfort of the BGT until I was ready to tackle regular(ish) traffic riding (see the ‘friday ride’). Segregated in this fashion gives you the ability to hone your bike handling and fitness skills without having to worry about traffic.

So perhaps the question here, is how do you start riding but you don’t have a trail to access? One thing you could do is take some basic bicycle handling courses offered by Cascade Bicycle Club. I’m fairly certain that REI offers these as well. Finally, just start getting out on the weekends and riding on the trails to get more experience.

If you do have a trail nearish, get a bike rack and drive to the trail and then ride in. Or do a full hybrid commute where you drive a bit, ride a bit, and bus a bit. It’s only one day a week. Matter of fact, that is what I do during the dark/winter months. Drive 1.5m to the trail and then ride 15m in.

If you’re a full time driver, committing to one day a week gives a 20% reduction in work-week traffic congestion, gives you something different to do, and you get some exercise to boot. Perhaps it’s worth a thought? Perhaps get the bike out of the garage and tuned up for May 1st?

Here’s a link to the Bicycle Master Plan. Also, local bike blogger Gene has a great writeup of what is inside the BMP as well.