Colin McEnroe Show: Urban Biking
How do we bike in Connecticut's cities?
In 2009, I didn't get in my car very often. I found I could do most of what I needed to do on my bike. And, of course, that made me feel better in lots of ways.
But you have to have a special kind of life to do that around here. My special kind of life was called joblessness. Connecticut doesn't seem to have a bike-friendly culture. Cars have owned this place for decades and, like Tyrannosaurus Rex, they're not going to yield their place as kings of the world to little people in helmets pedaling along on the immediate right.
Maybe I'm imagining it, but it seems like Connecticut is one of the least bike friendly places around, particularly when it comes to commuting. There is, however, a very lively bike culture, people who ride bikes, sell bikes, fix bikes and blog about the whole thing. You'll meet a whole slew of them today. And what about you? Tempted to leave your car at home? I am.
You can join the conversation. Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
***This episode originally broadcast January 26, 2010.***
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E-mail from Joe
I was just listening to your show on the way back from playing tennis and had a comment in regard to the question of whether CT is biker friendly.
I have to agree somewhat with your guests that it is 50/50. There are a lot of drivers who are very courteous to bikers but there are just as many who are downright discourteous. I try to avoid riding on the roads and streets because there are so many people who don't know (or at least drive like they don't know) that bikes on the road have the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles. I usually try to stay on the sidewalks unless there is a specific bike lane, When it comes to intersections, I always use the cross walk light if there is one because I just don't trust the drivers.
What we do have in CT is a marvelous trove of rail trails and greenway trails. I live about a mile away from one of the rail trails in Vernon and can make about a 50 mile round trip on it with only a few road crossings. All of these trails are supposed to eventually be connected and I can't wait until they are!
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