I have the solution to America's problems

Quick fact: 22% of people in Boulder bike or walk to work. Compare that to less than 4% in LA.

I would like to preface this by saying that I am in love with and in many ways dependent on my car Gladys. She is more than a vehicle – she is a safe haven during thunderstorms and a welcome beacon of warmth on cold mornings at the campsite.

It has recently occurred to me that not only is bike commuting a lot of fun, but it also could solve a lot of America’s problems, and here’s why.



Figeuroa Corridor in Los Angeles

Problem #1: Traffic
I know traffic. And I know that it sucks. The sheer number of cars on the road on any given morning in LA is absolutely appalling. All these people, all going to the same place at the same time, separated into little gas guzzling pods. It’s obviously frustrating to be sitting in traffic, but it affects everyone in the city, not just the car-commuters. Hang out in Malibu or stroll Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica and you’ll say Southern California is beautiful. Now sit in traffic on the 405 and try saying that with a straight face. But look at Boulder. I know there are a lot fewer people, but still. People value the ability to get around on bikes, and the local government has supported the flourishing bike culture. The result? Let’s just say any time I see construction in the city it’s to repair bike paths, not roads. And despite rapid growth of the community, there has been no need for a major freeway running through the center of town.

Problem #2: Air Pollution
Theoretically, Los Angeles is the best place on Earth for triathlon training. Year-round sunshine, warm temperatures, the ocean, a good mix of flat riding along the beach and awe-inspiring canyon climbs. The downside? That I feel like I’m smoking a pack of cigarettes every time I run downtown. Now jump over to Boulder (ahhhhh…..). The air is so fresh it almost makes up for the lack of oxygen. Is it a coincidence that there are also fewer cars? I think not.


Problem #3: Dependence on Foreign Oil
With perpetual “turmoil in the Middle East,” the so-called crisis of America’s dependence on foreign oil has become a hot-button issue. Driving fuel-efficient little Honda Civics in high school, I always thought that I was a good guy when it came to reducing the amount of fuel I use. I care about my carbon footprint, therefore I drive a small car. But guess what? Your neighbor’s massive SUV and your little Prius burn exactly the same amount of fuel when they’re sitting in the driveway. It’s not always about what you drive, it’s that you drive. Any guesses as to how much gas bikes use up? Yeah…


Problem #4: Obesity
About 34% of adults 17% of children in the U.S. are obese. That’s over 94 million people. Still think it’s not an epidemic? And the scary part is that it looks like it’s still on the rise. How does this even happen? Well, it happens when people go to a drive-thru on the way to work, sit at a desk all day, maybe hit the drive-thru on the way home, and then watch TV for three hours every night. Alternatively, a half hour bike commute each way will not only bar you from the drive-thru (bikes don't weigh enough to set off the sensor, and if you do, you should NOT be there) but also makes you burn anywhere from 500-800 extra calories every day without having to drag your lazy ass to the gym. To put it in perspective, those extra calories would add up to 1-1.5 lbs of weight loss every week without having to “diet” at all. In fact, the average person loses 13 pounds in their first year of bike commuting. And I don’t know for sure but I imagine cycling is less fun when you’re obese, so I would think commuting by bike would provide some good motivation as well. 

Problem #5: Heart Disease
 The only thing that kills more Americans than cancer is heart disease. Obviously, some of us have underlying condition that we can thank our parents for, but the vast majority of us can live long and healthy lives if we just take care of ourselves. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week to prevent heart disease. Most likely a bike commute will take you 15 minutes one way, which would add up to an hour and a half every week. Depending on what your commute is like, it might even be faster to bike. So ditch the “I don’t have time for exercise” excuse and go pedal!


Problem #6: Vitamin D Deficiency
40% of the U.S. population is Vitamin D deficient, a condition linked to osteoporosis, depression, some forms of cancer, diabetes, and obesity. But literally half an hour outside every day can eliminate this issue. Unless you are riding your bike through a tunnel, your commute would take care of this.


Problem #7: Depression
Almost 20 million Americans suffer from depression. Driving cars isn’t that fun but riding bikes is a lot of fun! And fun things make you happy. There you go, hard science.


Problem #8: Divorce
More than half of all marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. Why? Oh I don’t know, probably because couples are so busy that they don’t spend enough time together and they get all stressed out at work or something and take it out on each other. But you know which couples always look happy? The ones on tandem bikes.

 

So there you have it. How bike commuting solves eight of America’s biggest issues. I’m still working on a couple more including overpopulation (riding on very uncomfortable bike seats perhaps?) and the national debt (a new flourishing bike industry?).

Outside the Bubble

After 8 weeks in the Republic of Boulder, I took some time off work to go back to the Boston area and pay a visit to my family (read: remind them of my pathetic existence in a shitty apartment out west and beg for money). I like to think I've seen a fair amount of this country - growing up in Massachusetts we took lots of trips around New England, and then I moved out to southern California for college, and in my time at USC I've seen quite a bit of the golden coast. But Boulder is nothing like anywhere else I've been - it's an isolated little bubble of awesome running trails, people riding bikes all the time, and pretty views everywhere you look. So it was a little bit shocking to leave the bubble and I've been noticing a lot of the differences.

First of all, the lack of bike lanes in MA made for a completely different riding experience. All the streets seem so narrow and dangerous that I find myself unable to remember how I ever felt safe riding here. It comes as no surprise that in my eight days home in a Boston suburb, I counted a grand total of three cyclists (note: anyone wearing spandex bike shorts was deemed a "cyclist." sorry, grocery bag guy turning 5 rpms through downtown on a mountain bike).

In contrast, Boulder has been named the number 4 city in the WORLD for bikers. As a result, the city is abound with avid cyclists (in just a quick trip outside my apartment to get the mail, I am likely to see 6 or 7 of them whizz by me) who truly value this characteristic in their community and work hard to maintain it. The result: 15% of the city's annual transportation budget goes toward building and maintaining bike lanes!

Second, for all my complaining of traffic in Boulder, the truth is that there is none. True, I do have to wait for the light to turn green when I'm driving to the grocery store, but if I start to count that as traffic, even Lyons (a small town outside of Boulder) has heavy traffic. Last Thursday, I drove into Boston from my house in the suburbs. Leaving around 6:00am, I thought I would beat the 9-to-5ers on the highway. Wrong. Apparently, the 9-to-5ers have adapted and become 7-to-3ers; it was ridiculous how many cars were on the road. I was reminded of my hellish commute to high school and my internship last summer. Yet still, I remind myself, while watching news coverage of "Carmageddon", a recent California weekend during which a 10-mile stretch of the 405 freeway was closed for three days, it could be even worse. In 4 weeks, I'm going back to a place that will truly put Boulder "traffic" in perspective, a place where the light turns from red to green five times and you still don't move.

Lastly, Boston is generally considered to be a town with a great running culture, and its true that I haven't been the only one swimming laps at my local pool and when I go running I do cross paths with other people, but it still has nothing on Boulder's level of dedication to fitness. Here, it seems everyone I talk to does Ironmans and runs a five-minute mile. You can't go riding in Boulder without seeing some guy on his P4 using Zipp 1080's for a training ride. That same guy on the streets in Boston, would have people in a wild frenzy taking pictures and saying they saw Lance Armstrong. Personally, I don't really know whether the hyperactive culture of Boulder is a good or bad thing for my self esteem. In Boulder, it's a rest day if all I did was an hour swim set and a 20 mile bike commute. Admittedly, it's kind of nice to go home and do my one workout a day, still feeling like a big fish in my hometown's relatively small pond of athletes.

Of course, New England will always have a certain nostalgic effect on me, and it did make me feel a bit homesick to walk down the beach in Maine knowing that the next time I'd be there, it'll be 20F outside and there will be snow on the sand. But being in a house full of furniture, appliances, and general household paraphernalia made me realize that right now it's really cool to be able to fit everything I need in Gladys's trunk.* And even though New England will always feel like home, the Boulder bubble is suiting me really well. So I'm ready to go back for the last few weeks of summer, and even though I have to go to work tomorrow, I'm really looking forward to my commute.



*if you haven't picked up on it by now, Gladys is my beautiful navy blue 1999 Honda Accord. (for some excellent Gladys footage, see previous post)