Bikes are the greenest mode

The Davis Enterprise: July 17, 2009

Davis Bicycles! column #22
Author: Darell Dickey

photo caption:
Darell Dickey got creative when his daughter’s friend came to stay with the family this summer, bolting a borrowed trail-a-bike onto his tandem bike. The three pedaled to tennis and swimming lessons and other activities around town.

I am a passionate electric vehicle advocate. My family's principal automobile is a full-featured, solar-charged Toyota Rav4EV, and I ride a bicycle more miles than I drive any automobile. I have trouble justifying even our EV when my bicycle is better suited for most trips.

While my family's cars are among the most efficient automobiles on the road, only a small fraction of the energy they consume is used to push the human cargo down the road. Most of the energy is wasted in just getting the massive car down the road.

For the transportation of people, there is nothing more efficient than a bicycle. I ride to save energy and reduce pollution. I ride for fitness, for companionship and for fun — usually enjoying all of these benefits at the same time!

I'm regularly invited to show my EV at “green” festivals. And I ask, “Should I bring my bicycles instead, since they are greener than my solar-powered EV?” Laughter is the usual reaction. People don't see bicycles as a solution to our problems of energy usage, pollution and congestion. Nor do they consider bicycling as a real transportation option.

As I commute and run my errands each day, I demonstrate that bicycling is viable transportation. And I repeatedly hear reasons why bicycling is not practical. Of course, there are reasons that some people can't ride. But woo-boy, there are far more excuses than good reasons.

Some able-bodied people drive to the gym to spend 45 minutes riding a stationary bike. Some folks drive a few blocks to the post office to mail a one-ounce letter. Some parents pay $3 to park on campus while their children have 35-minute swim lessons!

It is easy to justify driving a car. The worthy challenge is to discover those trips where bicycling would be more practical and more convenient than driving. And using the proper bicycle for the task is an important consideration.

Families tend to tailor their automobile choice to the needs of their families, while assuming that all bikes are the same, and equally suited (or unsuited!) for every task. Just as pickups, minivans and sedans offer utility for different tasks, the proper type of bicycle can be purchased and configured to suit any need.

There are bicycles that are specifically made for commuting, for hauling heavy cargo, for carrying multiple people, for going fast and for leisurely rides through town. And there are numerous accessories that can be added to all of these bicycles to temporarily expand their utility — trailers, child seats, grocery baskets, etc.

At the start of this summer I was faced with one of those compelling reasons to drive a car. My daughter's friend came to stay with us, and their daily activities required crossing town several times. Tennis at Community Park, swimming on campus, and crafts at the Davis Art Center — with lunch thrown in there somewhere. I was not comfortable with the girls riding their own bikes in the traffic that we would encounter in 18 miles of travel. And they're too big to fit into a Burley trailer. So we need a car, right?

The photo shows how the three of us are having a blast while saving money, saving time and saving the world. I simply borrowed a trail-a-bike from a generous neighbor, and bolted it to our tandem bicycle. Now the three of us talk, sing and sample wild elderberries. We go really slowly up the hills, and way too fast down them. We pretend we're a train and make all the proper choo-choo noises.

We work together as a team to get where we're going. We arrive at our destinations charged up and ready for action. We are part of the environment instead of being isolated from it, and we have a great excuse to eat ice cream!

Biking is our preferred form of transportation. Getting where we are going is an activity in itself — an environmentally friendly activity that is practical, free, good for us and fun.

— Darell Dickey is a full-time dad, a cyclist, an EV advocate (visit his Web site http://EVnut.com) and a photovoltaic sales consultant living in South Davis. He rides his bike whenever and wherever he can.