Bicycling to Work Cans & Can'ts

After a nearly two month(?) long break from riding my bicycle (rather than driving to local points of personal interest), yesterday evening I rode to the video store to return a movie Anne and I had rented. It is not so much that I have been jumping in the car to drive a mile and a half for every little reason, but I have admittedly been less ambitious about reducing my petrol consumption than I had been during the Spring/Summer months.

A good case in point, I haven't ridden my bicycle to school once yet this school year. Last Spring, and while working at summer school, I made it a point to ride the 11-13 miles each way at least twice a week. The message it sent to my students (last year middle-schoolers) was valuable and the fact that I haven't brought my bike this year has not been lost on everyone... occasionally, someone will stop me in the halls to ask if I've "brought your bike today?"

A matter of safety, one key reason I haven't bicycled to work yet is a safety one. Due to a change in position (from teaching middle school Language Arts to high school English) my work day starts an hour earlier, making the time I would need to leave home via bicycle an hour earlier as well, or about 6:00 a.m. In upstate New York it is still very dark outside until at least 7:30 a.m. or so. Unfortunately, the most direct route to school takes me through some less-than-desirable neighborhoods. In this case, safety trumps conservation... which kind-of stinks. (Click here to view just one article about bicycling at night that I found on Commute by Bike website.)

There are certain things I can do to increase the probability of my being able to safely travel to work on my bicycle at least once weekly: once the clocks change, there should be a little more light and I could rig my head-lamp so that I could wear it it to school and give myself some light. One definite benefit to riding in the Fall as opposed to Summer is that I should be able to sweat much less, reducing the necessity f carrying another set of clothes and supplies to prepare for a stink-free day at school.

In the every short term, beyond the desire to bike to work, I can commit to doing a better job cycling around my neighborhood and continue using my trips to school or community events to stop along the way for errands rather than simply jumping in and out of the car to pick up one or two things...