Bicycle Appreciation Day

Trafton B.

February 11, 2010 - 7:02 PM

Happy Bicycle Appreciation Day, everyone! Today is a day devoted to appreciating a simpler time and a more primitive yet more active form of transportation.

Think back to the beginning of the 20th century - hypothetically that is - before the automotive industry boom, before Henry Ford and the Model T. It was a time when we rode a train, a horse & carriage, a bicycle, or (heaven forbid) we would actually walk to get from place to place. No one denies that the invention of the automobile revolutionized our way of life and standard of living, but it has had a few very negative externalities. We can move around faster, but as a nation we have also become less active, more obese and we have (arguably) been given enough power to alter our natural environment. All because American culture has become completely dependant on the automobile.

Don't believe me? Let's put it to the test. When was the last time you drove in your car? Was it just you, the driver, or were there any passengers? How far was the drive? And, the million-dollar question, could you have made the trip without driving? Consider the distance of the trip. Consider what you needed to transport. Consider safety, meaning would it be safe to travel where you traveled on a bicycle, or were there safe pedestrian sidewalks. Could you have arrived by public transit, the forgotten stepchild of the auto industry?

I'll stop preaching soon, I promise, but these are all legitimate questions to ask. Not only because we need to cure ourselves from this addition to autos, but also because we need to figure out how to do so and if it's even possible. Sadly, not all of our cities and streets have the capacity for people to safely walk and bike. Sometimes it's poor planning, sometimes it's just bad weather and sometimes it's too costly not to drive. Other times, however, the utter convenience of driving trumps everything else.

What we have is a classic chicken and egg situation. What will come first - equitable transportation planning or environmentally conscious transportation behaviors? If anyone has a guess, please share your thoughts. I'd love to hear them. Back to today's festivities, though.

The UO Outdoors Program runs all sorts of events and programs for students and community members, like shuttles to Mt. Bachelor or Mt. Hood during the wintertime or camping, kayaking and canoeing trips in the warmer seasons. They're also home to the UO Bike Loan Program, whose mission is to increase access to reliable and sustainable transportation. Check out their website for more detailed information, but I can tell you now that their main project is providing access to bicycle rentals to university students. They also focus some effort on providing education and recreation opportunities to celebrate alternative transportation.

Henceforth, the University of Oregon celebrates Bicycle Appreciation Day (BAD) a few times every quarter.

The Bike Loan Coordinators set up a tent outside of Lillis, and from 10AM-2PM any student can stop to by for free basic bike maintenance or, like me, just stop by to hang out and grab a cup of organic coffee courtesy of the Holy Cow Café.

I've become acquainted with the Bike Loan program coordinators, Brianna and Price, through another transportation planning oriented student group, LiveMove. Not to mention most fans of BAD are also PPPM majors, so it's an opportunity to hang out outside of classes.

The highlight of my day was getting permission from Brianna to chauffeur some friends around in one of the Outdoors Program pedi-cabs, which are essentially bicycle taxis. So, I rode my friends, Keith and Ashlynn, around campus for a little while. Just about everyone we rode past started laughing at us, most likely because I was liberal with my use of the bell on my handle bars. I also have a newfound respect for anyone whose job it is to shuttle people around on those things; it's ridiculously tiring. I swear that my back left tire was flat. Either that or I'm not in nearly as good of shape as I thought I was.

We rode through the quad, up behind the library and back down the hill on University Street. I took my hands of the handlebars and threw up the "O" like I was back at a football game, but quickly realized these pedi-cabs don't do very well with fast speeds and hills. The near out of control rattling of the bicycle and carriage was a dead giveaway. So, I grabbed controlled again and made it back to Lillis safe and sound although I was fairly lightheaded when I arrived at my next class.

Long story short, my University celebrates alternative transportation. How about yours? Not a bad Thursday afternoon if you ask me.