Ann Reed

newsletter

May 2010

May is Bike Month. For me, every month is bike month. (OK … January and February, not so much.)

My blue RANS Wave recumbent bicycle is 11 years old. Riding a "normal" bike was too discouraging — my wrists ached, my butt hurt, my neck became stiff — so, I looked into what one of my friends called a "Barcalounger bike." Great two-wheeler for middle age.

About six years ago, I began to commute a little on my bike. Knowing it might encourage me to ride more, I had an odometer installed. The odometer also let me know how fast I was not riding. At first, I pedaled along on small trips — meeting a friend at a nearby restaurant or riding to yoga class — usually under a couple of miles and always in fair weather. If the sky threatened rain or the thermometer registered 40, I would wave to my bike as I got into the car.

I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when the cost of driving a car — both environmentally and the ka-ching! kind — became very real to me, but I began biking more often, greater distances, and in a variety of weather.

Riding a bike has become part of my lifestyle. I find it enjoyable and believe in its positive effects on mind, body, spirit, and earth. Trek bikes have a campaign called 1 World, 2 Wheels. It begins: The solution to some of the world's biggest problems is in your garage.

I promise I won't turn into an annoying, proselytizing bike geek, but let me just give you a few things to think on:
1. Bike riding is great exercise. It benefits the cardiovascular system, balance, muscles, and joints. For those of you saying, "But my knees!" you need to get that seat adjusted. Either that or invest in a recumbent or a crank-forward bike (it's a semi-recumbent). In Minneapolis, the place to go is Calhoun Cycle.
2. Taking a bike ride is a great stress-reducer.
3. Commuting by bike saves you money. Yes, it might take you longer, but what's you're hurry? Of course, when traffic is snarled up and you're rolling on by, it's going to feel pretty good. Not paying for parking will put a smile on your face as well.
4. You will not be contributing to noise pollution, air pollution, or wear and tear on the roads.
5. You will find yourself a part of a community of people who enjoy getting around on two wheels.

I do have some rules about commuting, which mostly have to do with safety. I do not strap my beloved 12-string to my bike. If it is with me, I am driving. I do not ride if it is below 15 degrees Fahrenheit or if it is pouring down rain. I do not bike at night.

I've noticed that there are some bicyclists who seem to think that they do not need to stop at lights, stop signs, or to obey any rules of the road. To them I say: Bad Dog!!

That first odometer is history now. It died at 4,016 miles. My current odometer just rolled over to 2,700 miles. A little under 3,800 miles to go to reach 10,000, a goal I hope to make by 2012.

Other news: I will be singing my song We Will, written for the sesquicentennial of First Universalist Unitarian Church in Minneapolis, at the UU General Assembly in June. The GA is taking place in beautiful downtown Minneapolis June 23–27.

For those of you on the e-mail list, you will soon be hearing exciting news about the re-staging of the show Heroes: A Celebration of Women Who Changed History and Our Lives. If you'd like to sign up for the mailing list, or if you'd like to be removed from the snail-mail list and be added to the e-mail list, please go to the website, annreed.com, click on "schedule," and scroll down to the bottom. Then click on the "sign-up here" link.

Happy spring, everyone!

In honor of Bike Month, some favorite quotes:

"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."
—Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."
—H.G. Wells

"Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world."
—Grant Petersen

"As a kid I had a dream — I wanted to own my own bicycle. When I got the bike I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world. I lived for that bike. Most kids left their bike in the backyard at night. Not me. I insisted on taking mine indoors and the first night I even kept it in my bed."
—John Lennon

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel … the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."
—Susan B. Anthony, 1896

"Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym."
— Bill Nye, the Science Guy

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