Honk!

I don't like being honked at, but it's not because I find it irritating or intimidating. It's because honking is such an ineffective form of communication. Why did you honk? Did I intrude on your space? Am I going too slow? Maybe you just object to my being on the road at all. Maybe you thought I didn't hear you coming up behind me. Perhaps you like my jersey/bike/backpack? Maybe you just bought the car and wanted to hear how the horn sounds.

Frustrating. I'd like to have a meaningful conversation to find out why you honked, but your tinted windows are rolled up tight and you've floored the accelerator.

Rush Hour in Bellevue

Well, it wasn't nearly as impressive as Copenhagen (see previous post), but it was a bit crowded on the bike path this morning. At one point, I could see four other cyclists ahead of me. Even more impressive is that it was a chilly 26 degrees. It looks like the combination of congestion and high gasoline prices are starting to impact commute habits. Article in the local paper this week highlighted the recent increase in bus ridership. All good stuff. Maybe we won't need those extra freeway lanes after all.

Rush Hour in Copenhagen

Lest you think this is some kind of Critical Mass-type stunt, check out the background: there are just as many bikes going the other way.

Changing Perspectives

So, I've decided to do a couple of things: (1) post more regularly on this blog, and (2) use it to communicate some of my views on the environment and other topics. I'll start with an interesting change of perspective that hit me a couple of days ago. We had one of those rare snowstorms that hit our area during the winter months. Since it happens so infrequently, it tends to paralyze the transportation system, which consists primarily of solo car drivers. I normally commute by bike, but not knowing what the conditions were like, and acceding to my wife's desire to have someone drive her to work, we carpooled.

My first thought was, "I should throw my bike in the back of the car, just in case we get stuck somewhere along the way". Sometime during the last 2 or 3 years, my thinking has shifted from the car as "universal transportation device", to the car as "2 tons of steel that requires a parking space". My bike will take me anywhere, in (practically) any conditions, whereas the car has become this huge liability that can easily get stranded/gridlocked at the first sign of inclement weather.