Seattle’s Got a Whole Lot of Bikin’ Goin’ On

I had minor knee surgery Thursday. I’m surprisingly mobile, (three laps around the block yesterday!) but not quite up for my normal ride. That meant a trip home from work via Metro bus today. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a very good bus commuter. I resent buses being late and early (and sometimes on time). Mostly it’s my problem because I have time issues. Regardless, I’d rather ride.

One advantage of the bus, I found today, is the ability to check on the state of the Seattle bike commute. On my daily ride, I see a few folks out there but don’t get a sense for numbers. I don’t pass a lot of riders and don’t get passed too much either. Mostly I just roll along alone, occasionally waving toward oncoming riders. Am I alone or just riding in a bike-free bubble? It’s hard to tell.

The bus tonight, aided by a lengthy Fremont bridge raising, presented me an opportunity to check out my peeps. Good news! A hell of a lot of us have taken to two wheels. Is it spring? Congestion? Gas Prices? A valiant effort to reduce the carbon footprints of Lake Union-area drivers?

If I had to choose, I’d go with runaway gas prices as a clear motivator. Ultimately, the reason doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just glad to see them all out there—carbon commuters in their full kits, the well-worn steel Peugeots (perhaps veterans 1970s bike boom), ‘lectric-bike Fujis, and everything in between.

We’re no Copenhagen, but this is progress. Copenhagen wasn’t always Copenhagen, either.

Riding with Co-Workers

On a related note…Anne has talked a bit about Bike to School Month. It’s Bike to Work month as well. My office of fewer than 30 29 has pulled together a team of 10 commuters. Not a bad participation ratio from these library dorks superstars of the library world (known collectively as Team BikeJunction). We are more than half “new” commuters so I don’t expect everyone to ride every day (my knee will probably keep me sidelined for the first few days). Still, two or three rides a week times 10 riders is a lot cars off the road.

You still have time to field a team of your own or sign up to ride solo. Think of it as an opportunity to begin a habit that can last all year long.

(edited to Bike Junction team info to reflect the true colors of the crew)