Bike Commuting Becoming Fashionable
May 3rd, 2010
What's up with bicycle commuters? They are no longer grungy, smelly or weird. Bike commuting is spreading as the nouveau chic all across the West.
by Richard Markosian
When I had the chance to make a road trip from SLC through Boise to Portland, "the most biker friendly city in the United States," despite pending deadlines and a huge backlog of work -- I packed up my $100 Gary Fisher mountain bike, filled up my tank and headed out to see for myself the renowned city of rivers, trees and bike paths everywhere.
Portland has invested not just lip service and paint to creating a "biker friendly" city as we have here in Salt Lake. They have some exclusive biker-only pathways that receive a great deal of traffic and have earned them numerous awards including the National Geographic Traveler Award "Most Bike Friendly City."
My first stop in Portland was Trader Joe's. When I inquired how to get into town via freeway. The first employee told me he didn't own a car, and didn't know. I asked how he managed and he said there was no need "when you can take transit and your bike everywhere; you are better off not dealing with it."
Not owning a car has been a dream of mine, but without a vehicle in Salt Lake City I would be killed.
As a former daily bike commuter, I can attest that while Salt Lake City has made many improvements for bikers, these improvements don't compensate for the incredibly distracted and terrifying manner in which most Utah drivers operate their vehicles. Texting while driving is just the beginning. I see people swerving in and out of lanes while they are eating slices of pizza, sandwiches, and drinks. I recently witnessed a woman steering with her knee while talking on a cell phone and drinking a 48-oz soda. She should drop out of the rat race and become a circus performer!
It's an encouraging trend that the number of bicycle commuters is increasing every year.
While this might be creating a whole other "us vs. them" issue (cyclists and vehicularists), the benefits of riding a bike are obvious in the lean bodies of those who ride.
Portland was full of hipsters on bikes. Everywhere along the Willamette River, there were fit young bikers who kept up their image while enjoying the beautiful spring day.
Biking around Portland on a sunny day I enjoyed how the bridges and water were all easiest to access by bicycle rather than car.
The Wasatch Front cities should consider the obvious benefits to creating an infrastructure growth plan that offers bicycle commuting as a viable alternative to cars. A biker-friendly city creates a more beautiful city, because parking lots can be replaced with parks -- and texting while biking is next to impossible.
Bicycle Events in Utah
| Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective Offers free bikes for community service | Details |
| Emigration Canyon Hillclimb Series & Saltair time trials | Tues & Thurs weekly |
| Miller MotorSports amateur bike racing in Tooele | Twice a month |
If you liked this article about bicycling in Utah, you might also like our article about Jonathan Morrison and the passion of cycling, the SLC Bike Collective, and the success of Bingham Cyclery.
