Changing Our Commutes

A few days ago, while biking to work, I found myself in a bit of a traffic jam. However, I didn’t mind this one. That’s because, instead of cars, the road was clogged with bikes. What’s more, despite a few who blew carelessly through red lights and weaved through traffic, everybody was incredibly respectful and safe.

I couldn’t help but smile. It was a beautiful morning: a slight autumnal chill had set in, but the sun was quickly cutting through it. Birds sang merrily among the lightly rustling leaves while bike bells all around announced the fluidity of cyclists’ movements around each other.

Then, as I entered the downtown area, I braced myself for the abrupt end to the pleasantries: no more trees, songbirds or bells. Just concrete, car horns and dangerous motorists blatantly disregarding the wellbeing of everybody outside their metallic shell. There’s some semblance of defense in the fact that DC’s road system is atrocious, both in quality and layout. It’s impossible that it won’t overwhelm you and bring out the worst in you. But instead of accepting higher anxiety and aggression levels as a given in life, can’t this just indicate a dire need for drastic change?

The question answered itself once I crossed the 14th street bridge and got onto the Mount Vernon Trail towards Alexandria. Riding close to the GW Parkway, I pitied the drivers stuck staring at concrete and metal, time and money evaporating from their idling tailpipes.

This is NON-rush hour traffic

On the trail, “active commuters,” as the term goes, moved freely. Though the Parkway is visible from, and sometimes right next to, the path, most of the ride consists of a lush canopy of trees, flowers and benches to rest along the way. The Potomac River borders the other side, and riders can feel the sun glitter from its surface. Which commute sounds better?

Replacing cars with bikes is good for everybody. And the more cyclists, the more benefits for the community as a whole. It’s far more cost-effective and immensely beneficial to public health. Even better, with more cyclists comes better infrastructure, and therefore more cyclists. It’s all a truly positive reinforcement cycle.

 On a personal level, it opens up even more of your city to you than you could expect. A slow cruise down the road brings the sights sounds and smells right to you, helping you discover those places you may have sped past so many times before.

Those tiny details that stand out from the noise that are only apparent when you slow down

Of course motor vehicles are necessary in myriad situations and some people can only get around as such. However, the vast majority of us would benefit incredibly from getting out of our steel shells (there’s a metaphor in this!). It would help appreciate your area even more, and make it that much better in the process. Not to mention, your legs will look damn good very quickly.