Spring 2003
Shifting Gears
by Jessica Stahl
On a sunny table-top in Tony’s Fairhaven coffee shop, a large digital stopwatch sits conspicuously close to a cellular phone. Their owner, Fiona Cohen, a reporter for the Bellingham Herald, sips her frothy hot chocolate and waits expectantly. When the phone suddenly rings, she grabs it with one hand and seizes the stopwatch with the other. Then, at the word of the caller, she presses the stopwatch’s bright yellow start/stop button. Immediately, numbers begin flashing in the watch’s face, counting the passing seconds and minutes.
One bicyclist and one driver race against the flashing numbers. Departing from the Herald’s newsroom at the same time, each will seek to navigate the quickest route to Tony’s while obeying all traffic laws and speed limits. The purpose of the race is to determine how long it takes to travel the same distance in a car versus a bike. The racers are not, however, obligated to take the same route.
“I think that providing accurate information regarding the real time difference might influence people’s (transportation) decisions,” Cohen said. “At least they’ll have real information to make the decision with instead of just guessing. This is about real commuting; not how fast you can possibly go.”
Decisions about transportation have far-reaching effects, encompassing health, the environment and personal time. Time is a precious commodity for Americans, who — according to the Take Back Your Time Day Web site — average 350 more hours of work per year than Western Europeans. Thus, there is concern that changing modes of transportation will only add to an already over-scheduled life. Studies show, however, that bicycling has the potential to add time to the day, not subtract from it, while also benefiting human health and the environment.
Studies by New York City’s Transportation Alternatives found trips of fewer than three miles are often quicker by bike. Urban trips of five to seven miles usually take about the same time as they would by car. The Federal Highway Administration estimates 60 percent of all automobile trips are shorter than five miles in length.
“There are often times when there is a race between a car, bus and bike to illustrate that people can get to work just as fast (on a bike) as in a car,” said Barbara Culp, executive director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. “People say, ‘oh — it’s so much faster to drive,’ but don’t take into consideration circling the block, looking for parking and walking back to (their destination).”
Cameron Burnes, an employee of Fairhaven Bike and Mountain Sports, said commuting by bike improves his schedule.
“Bicycling keeps me in shape, and forces me to plan ahead,” Burnes said. “It regiments my life a bit. I think it’s positive because it forces me to organize my life.”
Burnes said traveling by bike requires deciding ahead of time what needs to be done during the day. Spontaneous errands require more effort by bike than they would by car. By planning ahead, it’s possible to condense numerous trips into one.
In addition, every bicycle ride — regardless of length — has the bonus of improved fitness.
“It really doesn’t make sense to me why people will pay for a gym membership but won’t bike for free,” said Eric Bortel, Western senior and staff member at the University’s Outdoor Center bicycle shop.
By riding to work, people can navigate their commute while working out at the same time. This can potentially eliminate scheduling time at the gym and add to time available for home, family and personal development.
“I don’t have to go to a friggin’ gym everyday to work out,” said Michael Smith, a Bellingham resident who works two jobs and commutes between 10 miles and 30 miles a day. “I can eat anything I want and I don’t have to worry about it. I’ll never weigh more than 140 pounds.”
Smith also said he thinks of commuting by bike as a form
of campaigning.
“Not to get political,” Smith said, “but every time I get in my car and fuel up I feel like I’m giving money to George W. Bush’s next political campaign.”
Culp, who lives in Seattle, commutes by bicycle about eight miles a day.
“The other thing about time and bicycling is that when you incorporate biking into your life, it’s so freeing,” Culp said. “You can use it for transportation, but it’s also great for recreation. The health and emotional benefits are not quantifiable, but they are tremendous.”
According to statistics from Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group, 80 percent of people who switch from driving to bike commuting improve the function and health of their heart, lungs and blood vessels in eight weeks. Improved health increases productivity at work and results in less absenteeism.
“Anybody would have a better life by riding a bike,” said Lee Becker, a construction worker and avid bicyclist. “It puts oxygen into the brain, which is going to be beneficial.”
Choosing to bike improves other people’s health as well.
Air pollutants from cars are a serious health threat. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, air pollution from highways caused a significant number of health effects in 1991, including 20,000 to 46,000 cases of chronic respiratory illness, 530 cases of cancer, 852 million headaches from motor vehicle carbon monoxide and an estimated 40,000 premature deaths in the United States.
Reducing motor vehicle traffic can lessen these adverse health effects. The 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta provide evidence of this.
According to Pulmonary Reviews, a news magazine for physicians who specialize in pulmonary and critical care medicine, Atlanta improved the city’s air quality while hosting the Olympics. Atlanta added 1,000 buses to the city’s existing fleet for round-the-clock public transportation, closed downtown streets to private cars and encouraged telecommuting or alternate-hour commuting.
Aside from alleviating traffic congestion, the changes provided researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the opportunity to observe the impact decreased traffic can have on pediatric asthma.
The result was a 40 percent decrease in the number of asthma-related acute care visits recorded for Atlanta children ages 1 year to 16 years during the Olympics. The decrease in morning traffic improved air quality by lowering levels of particulate matter, ozone and carbon monoxide — all are known respiratory system irritants.
Bicycling can also improve health by helping to combat the average American’s increasing weight.
“The fastest-growing cause of illness and death in America today is being overweight or obese,” U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona said in remarks to the Health Industry Council in January 2003. “300,000 Americans die a year from its complications, nearly 1,000 everyday, one every 90 seconds.
“We are killing ourselves through our growing culture of excess and complacency,” he said. “In this country, people take better care of their cars than they do of their bodies. Why is it, then, that people are more concerned with getting regular, routine check-ups on their car than they are on their own bodies?”
Bortel said concern with personal image contributes to the level of priority people give their cars.
“It’s just not cool to ride a bike,” Bortel said. “Cars are what you see in rap videos. Cars are what you see on television. I look at parking lots and think ‘Everybody’s driving a new car.’”
By shifting focus from the socio-economic status gained by driving a new car to the health benefits of bicycling, people can help prevent premature death. In terms of reclaiming personal time, this could be considered the ultimate performance enhancer.
In addition to harming human health, motor vehicles are detrimental to the environment.
According to the EPA, motor vehicles are a significant threat to wildlife. Noise pollution affects habitats of species near roads and traffic kills an estimated one million animals per day in the United States.
Travel by motor vehicles also consumes large amounts of time and money. The 2002 annual roadway congestion survey, conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute, reported the average American driver sits in rush hour traffic for more than 60 hours each year. These hours are spent idling in traffic, not driving. Overall, in 2002, $68 billion worth of gasoline burned in idling engines.
The emissions from these idling engines, and from moving cars, contribute significantly to global climate change. Leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds per year, according to the EPA’s global warming Web site.
“Everybody should be riding their bike unless they have a physical disability,” Bortel said, “(but) people are unwilling to expend the effort.”
According to the National Bicycling and Walking Study conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, bicycling and walking account for 7.9 percent of all travel trips. Of these, bicycling accounts for 0.7 percent.
Linda Schwartz, the Commuting Program Director for the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, said fear is largely responsible for people’s reluctance to bike.
“It comes down to (being) afraid of traffic … of the elements,” Schwartz said.
She also said people are afraid of their fitness level. People worry they won’t be physically able to make it where they’re going.
To deal with fitness concerns, the May 2003 issue of Bicycling magazine suggests initially cutting the mileage in half. On the first day, drive to work with your bike, then bicycle home that night, leaving the car at the office. The next morning, ride to work, and then drive home. A “bike commuter in training” can repeat this pattern until the full, round-trip commute feels doable.
In terms of the weather, neither Burnes nor Becker considers it a real obstacle.
“With gear now, even in the harshest conditions you can stay comfortable,” Burnes said.
Burnes emphasized correct clothing is especially important. Becker, who opts to go shirtless regardless of weather conditions, has another philosophy.
“You’ve just got to take off your clothes and ride,” Becker said.
Becker has learned from experience that creating a visible presence on the roads is one way of dealing with traffic. Assistance from more experienced riders is also helpful.
The Bicycle Alliance of Washington has developed a program that pairs would-be bike commuters with experienced riders. In the program’s first year of operation, more than one hundred representatives of each group signed up. Between 60 percent and 70 percent of the inexperienced riders reported that they ended up bicycling more than they would have without help.
“(The program) allows people to demonstrate to themselves: ‘Oh! I can do it!’” Schwartz said. “It boosts their confidence.”
Schwartz said people report a sense of empowerment when they are able to get up and over a hill on their own.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated initially, but I’m happy once I’m on my bike,” Burnes said. “I’m revitalized. There’s a sense of accomplishment at the end of the week when you know you’ve ridden to and from some place. It wakes me up so I’m fresh when I get to where I need to be.”
Ed Arthur, archaeologist and Bellingham resident, rides his bicycle nearly everyday but does not bike to work. For Arthur, his transportation choice is a matter of feasibility.
“It’s not practical for my job,” Arthur said. “I spend a lot of time out in the field. In theory it would be great. If I worked in an office everyday … ”
For others, a combination of factors, including physical ability, contribute to their decision not to bike.
“I used to bike to work in Seattle despite the traffic, but after four surgeries on my neck my doctor recommended I stop biking,” said Bruce Boyle, a Bellingham real estate agent. “I walk to work occasionally, but by the time I get here I’m all sweaty and I don’t have a car to carry customers around in.”
For Fiona Cohen, commuting by bike became difficult following the arrival of her first child. Cohen said as a new mom balancing a baby and a job, she became obsessed with scheduling. This led her to question the time difference of commuting by bike versus car.
“The stopwatch is relevant now because I don’t have much time,” Cohen said.
As the stopwatch flashes 8:31.15, the winner of the commute race strolls into Tony’s. The victor is the driver, but only 1 minute and 9 seconds later the bicyclist enters the coffee shop. The driver, Kie Relyea, a features writer for the Bellingham Herald, reports that she feels a little sleepy, and envied the bicyclist’s beautiful view of the bay.
“I wished I was outside as I passed her,” Relyea said.
The bicyclist, Becky Rowland, a Western student, said she feels a little winded, but energized.
Regardless of the time involved to travel by bike, however, Becker said he loves riding because it has taught him to live a fuller life.
“When I go for a ride I am awake at the end of the ride,” Becker said. “That makes me more focused and more alert. One of the things I love about being on a bicycle is that I’m in touch with the world. The hills are telling me something, the flats are telling me something, the weather is telling me something. I’m having a conversation with the world.”