I love to ride my bike and have always wished that I could commute by bike to work.  It would be great to combine exercise and commute time, save gas money, and avoid emissions all in one simple act.  In the Philadelphia suburbs where my office is located, you take your life in your hands if you commute by bike (I welcome cyclists to challenge me on this assertion).  This office is full of active, athletic, environmentally conscious people, and none of us arrive by bike.  Even if you live close enough to the office to get here by bike, it is just too dangerous.  I will admit that I am a cautious person by nature, but the statistics from US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) solidify my position.  In 2007, there were 698 bicyclist deaths and 43,000 injuries in traffic. 

Our infrastructure seems to have positioned biking as recreational rather than as a real transportation option.  According to a survey by the US Department of Transportation, “The majority of bicycling trips were for recreation or for exercise, while just one in 5 trips were made to conduct errands (14%) or for commuting to work or school (5%).”  I am one of the majority who bike for recreation and exercise and I do so on a local trail system called the Schuylkill River Trail.  It is a beautiful trail where you can bike for miles with no threat from cars. 

The obstacle that exists even for safe recreational trail biking is that you still have to get from your house to the trail.  My solution was to have a hitch installed on my car, buy a bike rack and then load and unload my bike twice around driving to and from the trail.  This solution was expensive, is time and labor intensive, and requires the burning of fossil fuel.  I am lucky that I have the resources to secure this safe means of biking, but it is a lot to go through to enjoy a simple pleasure.  While decreasing our dependence on cars and increasing our use of bikes could have significant environmental and health benefits, wouldn’t it just be nice to be able to hop on your bike and go?