Commute conundrum
By BLAST BY SETH BARNES Seth Barnes
Los Angeles isn’t a bicycling paradise. Acres of sprawl, miles of concrete hardtop, and occasional choking smog don’t lend themselves to adventures on two wheels.
My own biking history hardly had an auspicious beginning. Riding on training wheels next to my parents on a narrow bike path lined on either side by poison ivy, I suddenly declared “I’m going to fall!!” To which my optimistic mother replied, “No, you’re fine.” Of course, I immediately plunged into the bushes and two weeks of head-to-toe poison ivy misery. Hey, maybe I’m clairvoyant.
These cycling negatives aside, I think we all agree that nothing beats a good clean bike ride. With the wind in your face and your heart pumping, it’s the one time most people get to temporarily escape the clutches of gravity. And if you own or rent one of those snazzy California beach cruisers that are so common in Santa Monica, you can pretend you’re a modern day Mary Poppins. And what beats that?
But recently, I entered into a biking dilemma that I still haven’t figured out. Six months ago, I started a new job. Our offices are a mere two miles from my house. I could clock a golf ball to my office with a couple of solid 3-woods. I officially have one of the easiest commutes in the Los Angeles Basin. So easy, that for the good of the environment and my own health, I clearly should ride my bike to work.
On top of all this, my company offers a commuting discount where they’ll pay me the monthly parking fee. So what’s the dilemma you ask?
I’m unwaveringly stubborn and selfish. That’s all.
You see, despite the many incentives for riding my bike to work, all I can think of are the incremental inconveniences that I’d rather not deal with. When I began the job, I wanted to be as punctual as possible in the morning, and for me, work starts a bit earli-er than most people. But now, as I enter my sixth month of employment, it’s clear that I could Lance Armstrong my way down Olympic Boulevard in plenty of time to meet my work commitments.
There’s also the issue of riding down Olympic Boulevard. We’re not exactly talking about the Champs-Élysées here. And outside of the scenery, it doesn’t strike me as the most biker-friendly thoroughfare. Of course, I could spin down 11th Street (where there’s a bike lane) to Colorado as an acceptable alternative. But still, in my mind, there’s just something icky and a wee bit repulsive about riding on the surface streets of Santa Monica at commute time. In a few test runs, done on the weekend naturally, I always feel like I’m a wild steer about to be lassoed by a speeding BMW.
Finally, there’s the issue of getting all hot, sweaty and bothered as you peddle yourself into a frenzy before the workday has even commenced. Look, I know you can’t compare it to ascending the Pyrenees in the final stages of the Tour de France, but I have my vanity to look after, right?
As I hemmed and hawed over whether to take the bike-to-work plunge, the nifty little excuse of daylight savings sauntered into the picture. I can’t be expected to bike home in the thick, unrelenting darkness!! I know, I know... modern technology has provided battery-powered headlamps, reflective vests and such, but growing up we didn’t have these, and I was expressly prohibited from riding my bike after dark (see poison ivy incident above).
When it comes to conserving our natural resources and taking care of the environment, I tend not to fall in the activist camp. Weaning ourselves off our petroleum and energy “addiction” is an important task, but I don’t think it’s realistic to ask people to go totally green unless doing so provides a notable benefit or improvement compared to their current situation. I’m not saying that’s the right attitude. It’s the practical one. Human behavior flows towards efficiency and maximum personal benefit. That’s our nature.
And while preserving the planet we live on is certainly in all our best interests, it lacks the immediacy of getting to work on time each day. Again, I always prefer to trade in honesty as opposed to idealism.
But I also know I should probably just ride the damn bike to the office.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 9, 2006. Read the original PDF.