60 miles a day and SINGin'!

Just came across this wonderful interview series on LA bike commuting.

NRDC's Daniel Hinerfeld chats with Slate Magazine editor Andy Bowers (who I remember from high school, though he was a few years my senior...) and local cycling guru Scott Sing, who commutes up to 60 miles a day on two wheels!

What makes these interviews so great is the difference between all three commuters, from their mileage, to the reasons they've chosen bikes as a viable form of transportation. Scott is definitely a hard core (life)cyclist, while Daniel and Andy ride distances that are perhaps more comprehensible to the average city dweller.

Which is a wonderful contrast, illustrating that we need not all be wiry, lean bodied, car eschewing distance riders to do our part.....simply replacing a few short trips - to the market, running a few weekend errands, etc. makes a difference.

Or how 'bout to the gym?

On that note, Andy makes a point that made me pound my fist on the table and shout "YES!", which is a little embarrassing in that I'm all alone at the moment. Nevertheless, I quote:

"How American is that, that you would drive your SUV to a gym, to use a machine that uses electricity to simulate a bicycle, when you could just ride your bicycle?"

An absolutely insane concept. Granted, we've got work to do yet to improve safety conditions for cyclsts, something I plan to address in greater detail for my bike-related contributions on the Worldchanging LA blog.....


Meantime, wear your helmet, choose chill streets, and light your bike up like a Christmas tree, 'tis the season.