Bike to Work Day recap

Friday was Bike To Work Day across the land. Did you ride in?

There were two great pieces in the St. Petersburg Times that day about bicycle commuting.

Eric Smithers examined the sorry state of bicycle resources in Tampa during his commute from New Tampa to downtown:

More than once, I thought I would get forced off Rowlett Park Drive. There was a general disregard for the 3-foot buffer law that's supposed to separate cyclists and drivers, and traffic was far too fast for my liking. It amazed me how many people either didn't know or didn't care that I had a right to be on that road. The Share the Road signs must only be visible by bicycle.

Columnist Dan Dewitt says things aren't much better in the suburbs:

A few years ago, the Tampa Bay area was named the second-most dangerous place in the nation to walk or ride a bike. Though riding in Hernando is less hazardous than in Hillsborough or Pinellas counties, four cyclists died on our roads and 99 were injured between 2002 and 2006. Sixteen riders died in Pasco.

Just so it's not all bad news, Fox13 had a great piece about how one side of the bay is getting things right. St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker joined a group of bike commuters to participate in Bike To Work Day and highlight his Green City program.

[Photo by Kathleen Flynn/St. Petersburg Times]

Comments

[j]

Hi. Please join the Bicycle to Work! LinkedIn networking group. Members pledge that they will try to ride their bicycle to work or on an errand at least once a week. Although the benefits should be obvious, let me outline them here.

Right now people in the industrialized world are facing two very grave problems: obesity and a growing scarcity of oil. Compounding this problem is the new food shortage brought about, in part, by the conversion of food cropland to bio-fuel crop production. Most people feel powerless to help, but there is one thing that we can do. Ride our bicycles to work.

If everyone would agree to ride their bikes to work one day per week we could cut oil consumption by as much as 10-15%. No one would argue that riding a bike burns more calories than driving the car. Although popular politically right now, most bio-fuels consume more energy than they produce. We would be much better to eat those bio-crops then use our own energy to transport us around.

So spread the word. Make it a movement! Bicycle to work one day a week and do your part to cut back obesity and the overuse of oil and precious cropland.

Just go to my profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreylstevenson and you can click on the group to be included. While you are there, don't forget to ask to link to my network of more than 9,000,000 like-minded professionals. I accept all invitations and look forward to meeting you.

Jeff