I Never Promised You an Organic Garden

September 22 is World Carfree Day:

• A day to celebrate the fact that we don’t all have to own cars to live a “normal” life.
• A day to get out of your car and walk, take a bus, or ride your bike.
• A day to experiment with alternative forms of transportation as a part of your everyday life.
• A day to ask your local government to do more to make your city bike and pedestrian friendly.

World Carfee Day is sponsored by the World Carfree Network and is marked by celebrations and events around the world.  There aren’t any events going on locally, but I will be celebrating by riding my bike to work and encouraging others to do the same.

Richmond is a surprisingly bikeable city, and with the addition of some bike racks downtown it will be even more so.  There is definitely a lot of room to grow, but I am inspired by the small but growing bike community that is already a part of the city and the work that is being done to improve our local transportation plan to include bikes and pedestrians. We have a long way to go before we are a Portland, Or or Boulder, Co, but there is hope.

If you are local and would like to participate in making Richmond a more bike and pedestrian friendly community, attend the transportation meeting tonight at 7pm at the City Building.  The Planning department will be presenting the proposed long-term transportation plan to the Planning Commission.

What are ways you have found that your local community is friendly for getting around without a car?

What are ways you have found that your local community is NOT friendly for getting around without a car?

I have been trying some new things on my bike commute to work the past week, and it is working out pretty well so far.  I have started biking down US40, which is a four-lane main road, instead of taking Main Street.  While US40 has a lot more traffic, the hills are less steep, the extra lanes give cars space to safely pass me, and there aren’t parked cars lining the street blocking my view and boxing me in.  I have been afraid of riding on US40 in the past because of the heavier, faster moving traffic, but after riding it on the tandem a number of times, I realized its benefits outweigh the challenges.  It has gotten to the point where I dreaded my ride down Main Street knowing I would be climbing steep hills squeezed between a parked car and a car passing me with oncoming traffic.  I have also enjoyed the change of scenery.  The new route still has that spark of  novelty that makes it more interesting. (more…)

As promised, here are a couple of photos of my new bike from this morning before I left for work.

Along with my new bike, I have also found a new biking blog to read: Let’s Go Ride a Bike.  It is written by two women, Trish and Dottie, who bike commute in their respective cities, Nashville and Chicago.  It is quite interesting, and I find it very inspiring.  Both women bike commute in stylish, non-spandex clothing and have cute bike accessories and bags, which is the type of bike commuting I am interested in. (more…)

I recently got a new bicycle, and I am very excited about it.  It is a Sun EZ Sport recumbent that I purchased from a friend.  I borrowed the bike a few summers back, while she was pregnant and not riding much, and fell in love with it, but alas I had to return the bike to its rightful owner at the end of the summer. (more…)