Winter Cycling

Question: Am I insane, stupid, addled, strange, odd, 'tetched'? Every time ... let me stress EVERY time I tell people that I ride my bike to get around in the winter in Vermont I get some pretty strange looks. Even if the person knows that I ride a bike in the winter they often look at me like they can't quite believe I really, REALLY ride a bike in the winter. My contention is this: that I am normal and there is nothing at all wrong or indicative of any sort of deficiency with riding a bicycle when there is snow on the ground. I choose to do it in the land of internal combustion. I own two vehicles that burn gasoline: a car and a motorcycle and I would rather ride a bicycle if I can. Further I contend that in general this country is soft and spoiled and lazy. Owning a car is a luxury. We don't treat it as such but it is. We spend way too much money on buying, fueling, insuring, and maintaining our vehicles. 100 years ago EVERYONE rode bicycles or walked or took the train. What happened? The cultural expectation that EVERY person should own/drive a car as primary mode of transportation has done us all as much harm as good. You want to really feel independent? SELL your car. You will save thousands of dollars every year but we all know that for most this is not about money but the personal sense of freedom a cars can give you. Noone walks anymore, even people with good, young legs drive a 1/4 mile to buy snacks at the convenience store. I commute through a college campus and watch students drive to the store just off campus that is within sight of their dorms. I am not that old but when I was at UVM (a school where most of the students have a huge sense of entitlement now) I walked everywhere, I hitched and rode my bicycle before I was a bike nut. What happened to enjoying the journey?

AHA! You exclaim. "I have you! : What does Winter Cycling have to do with enjoying the journey?" I am sure you have seen the short cartoon at the top. It is classic because like Bugs Bunny it is funny to more than one sense of humor for different reasons. When I read it I agree with the final statement:"And Miss This?" without any sense of irony. I enjoy riding my bike in the winter. That's right. I LIKE IT. But the cartoon is funny to most of us because so few people can believe that WE LIKE IT, therefore the final statement "And Miss This?" comes off at least ironic and possibly sarcastic.

I like riding my bike when it is snowing like hell and cold and icy. Erin, my sweety, secretly thinks I am a nutjob. At every opportunity she offers me a ride to/from work as though somehow I own a car. As though one of these days I will suddenly come to my senses and realize 'Oh my God! It is winter. What the hell am I riding my bike for?' I always say the same thing. 'Erin, if I wanted to drive I would.' She just doesn't get it. Not that I really need her to.

In Europe owning a car is treated as a luxury. Most people do not own cars. Most people do ride bicycles and walk and take public transportation. Of course Europe supports this sort of behavior with a vastly superior public transportation system than we have in the US, bike lanes, bike parking etc. but in Europe riding a bicycle is so integral to getting around that while most people ride their bikes in winter they would not be considered 'bike nuts' by their peers. They just ride a commuter bike, kinda like sensible shoes. Japan is the same, in fact in many cases bikes aren't even locked in Japan. In the US I am treated like a weirdo and a sort of extremist if I commute by bike IN ANY SEASON, especially in winter. In Europe I would be one of thousands in any city were I to commute by bike in the winter. Everyone does it.

I have to admit that sometimes I get an iconoclastic rush from putting my bike skills to work just to get to work during a snowstorm. I wouldn't do it if being labeled weird really bothered me. That said I would love to see the US change just a little in it's cultural perspective on cars and bicycles. I understand that most people don't like riding a bicycle in the winter and still wouldn't even if it was more 'normal' accepted practice here. I am willing to be 'that guy' who rides all the time. I would love to have some company out there. Popular opinion holds that if you are riding a bike in the winter you must have lost your license etc. The same is true for using the bus in Chittenden County, noone with a car takes the bus!! This unfortunate perspective perpetuates because many people who might take the bus DO NOT because they don't want to deal with the people they imagine are on it: homeless, punks, poor, and criminal types etc. Sigh.

Then there are the drivers ... I am a driver. When I am on a bicycle and am forced to use a major thoroughfare for lack of a realistic alternative I am consistently amazed at how many people just act as though cyclists just have no right to be on the road at all. Not very many people say anything (they would have to roll down the window and get a blast of cold air) but I can tell from the way they drive that for many the only thing keeping them from just dinging me into the ditch is fear of legal reprisal. They pass way too close, beep horns, creep forward behind me as though to nudge me into the intersection or (this is the worst) fail to see me. My family, my working cohorts all voice concerns for my safety knowing I ride on the same streets that they drive on. Doesn't this speak to something deeper? They know it is an unfriendly environment for anyone trying to make their way on foot or bicycle. Sad.

When the latest gas crunch hit and prices topped $4/gallon I was secretly happy about it. Of course the prices came back down and everyone went back to their normal driving routines. The only thing that is going to change the behavior of the vast American driving public is an economic pinch. For folks to stop using a car to get them where they need to go it has got to become financially painful to use a car. Bottom Line. Advertising and friendly cycling ambassadors have a small effect but the real motivator is money. That day is coming. We must find a way to get around that does not involve the internal combustion motor using refined petroleum as fuel. That is clear. What is not clear is will the American public start seeing the advantages to bikes and feet or will they just trade petroleum for another fuel source?