Ride a Bike: Have more money for travel
Posted on 05 July 2009 by Natalie
I do not ride alone. Each day, as I ride my bike to work, I see dozens of other individuals choosing transportation via pedals. Some are biking to work like me. Others are cycling to class, a friends house, a local coffee shop, the store, an appointment, or they are doing it for the health of it.
Fort Collins, Colorado is an extremely bike friendly community. The parents of my students will often ride to the school with their child or children riding behind them. You have to admit, that in a vehicle dominated society, this is impressive. I often experience this new, hard to describe feeling of pride and excitement for living in an area of the country that is as “pro-bicycles” as this area of Colorado.
It’s a feeling of pride because I know our community has a smaller carbon footprint than areas that rely upon motor vehicles for transportation. The air is cleaner. It’s easier to see the mountains in the horizon. If hundreds of people stopped biking to work (and other places) and began driving cars everywhere, I am sure that our local air pollution would increase rapidly.
I also get an energetic rush as I pedal in the bike lane, experiencing the trill of my commute. Alright, it’s not so thrilling when it is raining. But I am not the only cyclist getting wet!
I have lived in several places that have no bike lanes (or even sidewalk), causing extreme difficulty for anyone attempting to bike or walk. These “non-bicycle friendly communities” force individuals to rely solely upon their vehicles.
I enjoy the freedom my bike offers. No oil change, less money spent on gas (petrol) and no speeding tickets. It is such a cheap method of transportation! If you are serious about travel and adventure, why wouldn’t you live in a community that caters to bike riding and/or offers a reliable form of mass transportation? It’s easy to cut out the cost of owning or leasing, and maintaining a motor vehicle. Then you can save that money for travel, adventures and fun!
Justin and I are currently a one car family. We would like to continue to have only one vehicle to insure and maintain. Living in Fort Collins, Colorado should allow us to continue to practice our “one car family policy” as we utilize bicycles for a majority of our transportation needs.
Our Bikes
Justin just bought a bike this weekend. Now we are both able to leave the car at home and bike downtown for entertainment or bike to friends house. I found a great vintage bike about a month ago, at Brave New Wheel, the bike shop behind our house. Ironically, Justin also bought a vintage cruiser from Brave New Wheel. It is a great shop that fixes up bikes from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, as to be both environmentally friendly (re-use) as well as, allowing classics to cruise the streets again.
My bike is a dark green mens “ALL PRO” from the 70’s. It was made in Troy, Michigan, where my brother and his wife live. However, the bike itself was not the “corvette” of bikes back in the day. In fact, it has a vintage KMart sticker on it. But that’s how I roll! My bike’s name is Green Tea (or in Mandarin Chinese - lǜ chá). Brave New Wheel is such a fun store, they even gave me the teapot bike bell (with the Chinese character for tea on it) for FREE.
Justin’s bike is also from the 70’s, it’s the classic Schwinn. His bike was one of the last to be produced in the Rockbrook Chicago factory before Schwinn outsourced their manufacturing needs to Japan (Panasonic) and Taiwan (Giant). We have installed the bell, the rack and a steal basket. Now all Justin’s bike needs is a name. You Choose: Justin’s bikes name. Vote in the You Choose Poll now!
How do you find a bike friendly city?
The League of American Bicyclists is a good place to start. They have ranked Fort Collins at GOLD, when it comes to Most Bicycle Friendly Communities.
You don’t even have to spend a cent to get a bike. In Fort Collins, you can save more money for travel by volunteering 20 hours of community service (with any non-profit organization in Fort Collins) and earn a bike for FREE. The Fort Collins Bike Co-op is the perfect organization to unite a community to bike together.
Do you bike to work? Go on bike-cations? Let me know about your biking experiences and adventures. Feel free to email me a picture of you and your bike. I would love to see your Earth-friendly wheels!
Tags | budget travel, people, urban exploration
I was reading the New York Times today. One of the articles featured a guy biking in Detroit, who though Detroit could become a new bike utopia.
Check out the article for yourself: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/opinion/05barlow.html?_r=1
I don’t really bike a lot. But it could be a neat way to save more money for travel. I would save a ton of money if I rode a bike.
Bob, that is a great article. It has a great humorous intro and it is exciting to hear that Detroit is experiencing a bicycle revival. As the article mentions, Detroit could become a bike utopia in the future.
I grew up in Detroit and I personally, I would love to see people take a healthy approach in life and live more green. It is such a great way to get around and save money. Happy biking Bob!
I did cast my vote, but I would like to make a suggestion since you came up with 5 different names that just don’t go with ‘green tea’. Except for the red pepper (which i voted for). Before you were born, there was a tv show called :My Mother The Car!! I am not kidding. Since Red is my favorite color and the color of my schwin in the garage, I think ‘My Debbers’ would be appropriate. Just kidding. On a serious note, I think Justin should name his bike “cookies” as in Christmas cookies and they go much better with green tea!!! (any of you that know Justin, know his relationship with cookies!) Love Debbers
Cookies are delicious! Thanks for the recommendation. I am so glad that you like Justin’s bike. Green Tea is such a great bike for me, I can’t wait to see what we end up naming Justin’s bike.
It is always choose cycle for 1 mile and upto 2, 3 miles for daily use. instead of bike if you choose cycle , it will help to cust cost, help to better health, you will get your mind relax only if you like to raid cycle etc. By choosing cycle we don’t need to go to walking seperatly. many uses are there for all ages. but it will work out for less distance only, if you choose cycle for long distance it will be a burden on you.
It sounds like you are saying that riding a bike is good for short distances. I agree. You are absolutely correct, riding a bike is healthy and cuts cost, as you said.
I am glad that you are practicing writing and communicating through a blog. English is not an easy language to learn. You are doing great!
i personally think riding throug pedal help us in maintaining healthy body and better life.
Yes it is great exercise!
it is the best exercise you can get without spending much money..you do alone or whole family..Your Health – Priceless.
Yes, biking does seem to be the best exercise without spending much money. A gym membership is super steep compared to the price of a basic bike.
Plus you are burning calories everywhere you go…that is Priceless!!!
Hey there, while I was still in the U.S. saving $$ for my RTW, I got a $10 mountain bike (which I named “The Nevermind”) from Craig’s List and rode it everywhere, in conjunction with buses. I didn’t even own a car. This was difficult, especially during the 2 foot snow drifts in the icy dead winter (I lived in MI), but it saved me bucketloads of money and made me skinny, even though I tend to disregard diets to such an extent that I often will eat Twix bars for breakfast. I guess my point is: I approve of your article/lifestyle! Riding bikes is a great way to be healthy and save money, which both make a wonderful basis for long term traveling.
Melanie it’s awesome to know that you and “The Nevermind” were able to save money for your RTW trip.
Justin and I both went to college in Kalamazoo, MI and we are both impressed by your commitment to bike and bus it in the cold, icy, windy, arctic tundra that occurs in the winter. You are an inspiration to others, that they can do whatever it takes to make their travel dreams a reality.
You know I really would, but I would probably end up destroying my lungs in the process because it’s so polluted here. Maybe I should wear a gas mask?