ReadyMade: Instructions for everyday life

I’ve been thinking about biking a lot lately. Part of it has to do with the fact that I haven’t owned a car for close to three years. Part of it has to do with the fact we are working on a story concerning a crew of bike builders in Portland, Oregon. And part of it has to do with the fact that it’s summer and there’s almost nothing better than a good bike ride on a warm night. All of this has gotten me thinking about my various experiences biking in different cities and towns I’ve spent significant amounts of time in.

I grew up Davis, the self-proclaimed “Bike Capitol of California.” Much of my youth was spent pedaling pleasantly from place to place. Davis is almost always ranked in the top five cities in the world when it comes to biking. It’s flat. It’s warm. And it’s a liberal leaning college town that is relatively compact compared to say, Phoenix. I raced BMX bikes from the time I was 10 until I was about 14 at which point I got into skateboarding. But that didn’t keep me from riding as I would generally just throw my board under my arm, hop on my bike and make my way to the next skate destination. This was a very Davis existence.

Now, I’m nowhere near the biker that someone like our contributor, Thomas Wold is. Thomas and I were recently kicking around ideas for stories, in particular biking stories, and he wrote to me about his biking experience, saying, “I bike commute 12 miles each way, so you see I’m a big advocate….My club team DFl puts on underground cyclo-cross races as well…Very sport DIY.” Nor am I as much of an enthusiast as Rob Forbes, the Design Within Reach founder who has lately turned his attention to biking and has some pretty exciting things unfolding in that realm right now. But, bicycling is so much a part of that Davis experience that it’s hard to imagine that it could ever not be a part of someone’s life who grew up there. (Below, my dream bike, The Forever.)

Surprisingly though, that’s what happened to me. My college years were essentially bicycle free and I didn’t even really miss it. After graduating, however I found myself in San Francisco raring to hit the road on two self-propelled wheels. I rounded up a ride from a second-hand shop, lovingly referred to as Jeff (seen below) and got to it.

I know that San Francisco is looked at nationally as a great biking city but I have to tell you, I disagree. As everyone knows, San Francisco is decidedly not flat and this can be a big deterrent to the casual rider like me. Someone who wants to ride to work and not have to hit the showers when they get there.

This reminds me of a great review in the New York Times of Jeff Mapes‘ book, “Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities” by David Byrne, a longtime New York City biker and author of the soon to be released “Bicycle Diaries.”

Byrne writes, “As Mapes points out, when more women begin riding, that will signal a big change in attitude, which will prompt further changes in the direction of safety and elegance. I can ride till my legs are sore and it won’t make riding any cooler, but when attractive women are seen sitting upright going about their city business on bikes day and night, the crowds will surely follow.” I couldn’t agree more and I have to tell you, that is a sight rarely seen in San Francisco due to the above mentioned exertion required to pedal around that town. My wife, a big biking advocate and rider in Des Moines and New York as well as an avid high heel and dress wearer, essentially refuses to bike in San Francisco. (That’s her New York bike, Charlie Girl, below.)

New York, of course is a different story all together. The city is monstrous in size but surprisingly bike friendly. It is blessedly flat for the most part and as of late the city has been ramping up its efforts to be as friendly as can be to pedestrians and those on two, non-motorized wheels. Bike lanes now run throughout much of downtown (where I live) and there is a greenway that loops almost all of Manhattan which is a truly incredible ride. The downfall to riding in New York is the double-edge sword of the city: there are just too many people.

While writing this I’m reminded of my friend, writer Karrie Jacobs who was in a pretty bad bike accident riding along the west side highway when she was mowed over by a stoned Italian tourist. Dealing with all the constant action can be scary and certainly make New York a difficult place for bikers. But the scariest part for my wife and me is actually our home, which we love dearly. Unfortunately, it is a walk-up. And when I say walk-up I really mean a trek up. 78 stairs straight up.

Getting our clunkers up and down is a real chore and takes much of the joy out of biking. Trust me, the last thing you want to do after a great, long ride to Brooklyn for dinner is figure out how to get your bike up those stairs. Ughhhhhhhh…

Which brings me to Des Moines, a city where I’ve been spending a lot of time as of late. Admittedly, I read Des Moines bike culture all wrong when I first got here, publicly chastising it for its lack of bikers. I of course heard from many of the city’s bikers since and they’ve been kind enough to point me in the right direction. Though the city is spread out it is flat enough to make my journeys not too much of a chore. (Below, my Des Moines bike, “Benson.”)

And the city truly has one of the most impressive belt-ways, rivaling New York’s in scope. You can almost loop the entire city and in the process ride over lakes, along rivers and through the woods. Without as many people to look out for, a ride through Des Moines’ greenbelt is an amazingly relaxing experience unlike riding New York’s incredible, but often over-crowded bike-paths. However, Des Moines’ efforts with inner-city riding (most of what I do) have been lackluster. But they are working to change that and a few dedicated bike lanes are popping up here and there. Regardless, the city is certainly ahead of Boston, who is working hard to change its reputation as an unfriendly bike town.

As Byrne writes in his review of “Pedaling Revolution,” “the revolution isn’t here just yet. Hedge fund managers and General Motors executives aren’t riding to work.” But all of this biking activity is starting to add up to a significant change in the way Americans get around and in the very near future it won’t just be cities like Portland, Oregon and Davis, California that reap the many benefits of two wheel transportation.