I have been very fortunate this year to have had many opportunities, including two news interviews, to express my rigorous views on bike commuting. Strangers have come up to me to say they are impressed or that they think I'm "crazy" for riding in the cold.
The overwelmingly frequent comment, however is that the person is inhibited from commuting by their perception of the dangers of motor traffic. In a word, fear keeps them in their car and off the bike.
Let me give you something to really fear. Picture the fat forming at your gut and thighs as you sit docile behind the wheel of your motor vehicle. Picture the lipids solidifying and building little dams in your blood stream--that dam will cause you to stroke out--probably when your blood pressure increases due to the stress of motor vehicle traffic.
The more of us that commute via bike, the more folks there will be that are sympathetic to cyclists' safety when they choose to be behind the wheel. Once you've felt the heat of a truck's engine as it passes you at 18" away, you will always think of the cyclist's safety when you pass him or her with your motor vehicle. Afraid of commuting again? Do four dollar a gallon gas prices scare you?
We sold out of Dahon folding bikes this week. More came into the shop today and we get calls asking about them on a daily basis. Are more folks tired of dying a slow death behind the wheel of their motor vehicle?
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