Pedal toward energy independence

Behold! My old 10-speed Huffy — energy independence on two wheels.

May is National Bike Month, and this workweek is Bike to Work Week — facts I stumbled across last night while bored and surfing the web.

For whatever reason, I was checking out the Google Map for the Dutch city of Groningen, where one of my bosses lives. I dragged the Street View icon to what I thought was a main artery near the University of Groningen and was astonished by the image that loaded: a one-lane street lined with two- and three-story buildings, shops on the ground level and apartments above; there were no cars except for the Street View vehicle and a small delivery truck parked along the curb — only pedestrians and bicyclists.

I don’t remember how I jumped from Oude Kijk in ‘t Jatstraat (the name of the street) to Bike to Work Week, but it happened, and in the process I became very interested in Dutch bicycling culture. I found this video of morning rush hour in Utrecht:



Insane, huh? Once again, though, pedestrians get lost in the shuffle. (Pedestrians always get the shaft.)

Anyway, here’s the point: in our national conversation (argument) about energy independence, oil, and transportation, why is no one talking about bicycles? A few are, of course: bicyclists. However, their voices and logic are drowned by the millions unwilling or unable to think outside the box created by our four-wheel-focused transit infrastructure. Everyone knows something needs to change, a cure needs to be found for our addiction to oil, but they still want to drive cars at 80 miles per hour.

Personally, I do not think hybrids, flex-fuel vehicles, or any permutation of ethanol will help. The sugarcane thing works for Brazil, but, as of 2009, there are only 159 cars per 1,000 Brazilians. (By comparison, there are 779 cars per 1,000 Americans. In 2009, there were 1,050 cars per 1,000 Iowans.) Each may ameliorate the situation short-term, but none are long-term remedies. The American built environment has been designed and constructed on the premise of cheap gasoline since at least the 1950s, so I think it will take nothing short of a radical and massive realignment of our transportation culture, infrastructure, and urban planning to help us climb out of the hole we dug ourselves into. (A few years ago, my first roommate in California told me some people were spending 35 percent of their budget on gas. “Isn’t that crazy?” he said. I have no clue how I responded, but I wanted to say, “Well, we did it to ourselves.”)

If Americans want to get serious about ending our dependence on oil, finding an antidote to our collective “pain at the pump,” I think we need to reacquaint ourselves with bicycles. Super efficient and small cars may look sexy — partially satisfying our desire for flying cars, à la Back to the Future Part II — but I think we should pedal our way into the future. Bikes are simple, efficient, and practical. They don’t require insurance, license and registration (though Johnson County does offer a free registration service), or costly refueling. Unlike modern cars, they are easy to maintain at home. Bicycling may not be as viable in rural areas, and is, of course, a very slow mode of interstate transport, but it is an excellent way to get around urban areas and places like Iowa City.

Inspired by the Dutch, I busted out the Huffy I bought when I was 10. It has been hanging from the ceiling of my parents’ garage since we moved in 2004. I inflated the tires and rode around the block. It works well, but it was perfect for the 10-year-old Quiet Man. I need a new bike, something I can ride to the grocery store, farmer’s market, and friends’ when I feel like doing a few 12-ounce curls. I checked out the hybrids (the bicycle versions) at World of Bikes today, but will probably have a bike custom built at one of the other three shops in IC’s budding bicycle district.

Of course, I will not abandon my car — yet. As it is, I hardly use it since I walk everywhere; since returning to Iowa last July, I bet I have filled it up only 10 times. Acquiring a two-wheeled alternative — one that has a much better seat than my Huffy — may be a regressive step technologically, but it is a step in the right direction.