The Durable Human

Nuts and Bolts of Bike Share

Bike share programs are springing up all over the world.  For an idea of how they work, a system in the bustling, northern Italian city of Milan provides a good example.      

You know when it's a rent-a-bike

There’s no confusing a colorful bike share bike, which is clearly marked with municipality and conspicuous I.D. number (an effective theft-deterrent).  

Touch pad control

Bike stations are conveniently located  around the city.

Kiosks contain a screen and keypad where you enter a password created when booking online. Sliding your credit card, your bike space number appears on the screen.     

Automatically unlocked, the bike easily lifts off the rack.

Three gears do the trick

Bikes are tough and sturdy, yet easy to steer. The ride is remarkably comfortable, even over bumps. Having only three to choose from takes the guesswork out of shifting gears.         

 

No spandex required

No need for special cycling clothes. People in this fashion capital wear just about anything when they ride, including business suits and high heels. You can’t exert yourself too much or go too fast amid the traffic lights and other forms of transportation. Helmets don’t come with the rental and aren’t typically worn.  

Pedal-powered!

You’ll feel angelic powering the rear and front lights. The simple ting-ting bell also did the trick. 

Best of all – the cost is only a few euros for a two-hour period – and the first half hour is free!

I give the Milan system an A-, due to some very minor quibbles. The heavy bikes develop so much momentum they’re somewhat tough to brake. While having a bungee is helpful, the metal bike basket is slippery and heavy objects are hard to secure. My husband’s new SLR camera slipped out and broke at our first sight-seeing stop. We’ll stow our stuff in a bag next time. Booking the bike was somewhat cumbersome because the system did not allow multiple bookings at one time, nor did it retain information from prior bookings.  

But, all in all, bike share is a cheap and enjoyable alternative to taxis, a good bridge between different types of transport, and a great way to burn off the fantastic pasta and frequent gelato stops.     

Bike to Work and School Week 2010

Lots of American kids are following the lead of their parents this week by riding their bikes to work.  Schoolwork, that is.

Take it from Wolftrap Elementary in Vienna, Virginia, which issued a “BikeWalk Challenge” to see how many families would give their kids a chance to walk and roll.

Jeff Anderson, bike aficionado and Wolftrap parent, turned pied piper on wheels by leading a “bike bus” through the neighborhoods.

Besides being fun, walking and biking boost mental and physical fitness, self-esteem and self-reliance, as Jeff explains in a YouTube video.

Jeff’s efforts paid off.   “We had over 230 kids walk and over 50 bike today….which we figured out was more than 50% of the school enrollment,” he is happy to report. Car drop-offs over the week were cut nearly in half.

Of course, kids need to be safe when they bike and walk.  A federal program called “Safe Routes to School” has funding for schools which need sidewalks, crosswalks and other infrastructure improvements.  As long as someone is willing to do the paperwork (and often that’s a parent), the money is free for the asking.

For cash-strapped schools, providing safe routes has another advantage.  Sometimes, simply adding some stripes of paint and a few yards of concrete can clear the way for significant numbers of walkers and completely eliminate the need for costly bus service.

Arriving at Wolftrap

There were lessons to be learned from Wolftrap’s BikeWalk Challenge.  Many families in outlying areas of the school district were unable to take part because there are no sidewalks and it is far too dangerous to dodge cars in the road.  But, on the bright side, a Safe Routes project has been discovered.

Bike to Work Day Vienna, Virginia

Adults who once walked or biked to school remember the freedom of getting around on their own.  Despite today’s fear-laden society, kids need to spread their wings and get outside whenever they can.

Storied environmental steward  Rachel Carson’s words serve as a reminder:

“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

Bus Blog Action 2009

The simple act of taking the bus can make a big difference.  Last year, because Americans took 10.7 million trips on public transit, 4 billion gallons of gasoline were not used.  Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in this country – and cars are the biggest contributor.  But somehow, as much as we hate traffic, we tend to forget the mighty job a bus can do to get cars off the road.  We also overlook that, to a kid, a bus can be a ticket to personal freedom. Knowing how to take transit teaches children to be durable humans. 

For Blog Action Day, 2009, I offer the story of how my fifteen year old son and his friend learned the transit lesson.  I won’t reprint the whole story which appears in the Washington Post, but suffice it to say the kids and their moms got an education—thanks to technology—on how to research and ride the bus. The families saved both time and money.  But for the kids, there was more. As I wrote, “For one thing, they got exercise. Walking that mile to and from the bus happens to be the daily dose of activity recommended for teens by the American Heart Association. Plus, getting outside in the fresh air is an antidote for what author Richard Louv terms “nature deficit disorder.” Louv, in his book “Last Child in the Woods”, also argues that the leash we have on our kids is way too tight. When we allow them to be more self-reliant and self-propelled, they gain pride and satisfaction.”

I am proud there are two more people on the planet who know a viable way to get around without a car.  

So, next time you don’t think you can stand another minute behind the wheel, think about whether you—or someone you have to drive—could possibly take the bus.