Chevy Tahoe hybrid, or Thule trunk-rack.
Yes.
One of the problems we've long recognized with bike paths is the large numbers of people who will drive cars to the trails, unload a bike, and then ride. We have seen that people will drive three miles to ride a bike ten miles. From a purely "recreational" perspective, there is no problem in this activity. But from a transportation perspective, there are immense problems with it.
All bicycle facilities that are constructed with transportation funding are supposed to have a primary transportation benefit, usually either congestion relief (fewer cars on the roads) and/or improved air quality (fewer "cold starts" of cars).
In the case of too many trails, we are probably seeing a negative impact on both air quality and congestion relief (by generating more automobile traffic). The Katy Trail is a prime example. Out of the estimated 1200 users a day, only 6 are identifiable as commuters (about 1/3 of the .03% mode-share cyclists have as on-street commuters in Dallas), although I presume the actual number is higher (just as is the on-street mode share). The adjacent parking lots are well represented with bike rack equipped automobiles, as are the parking lots at White Rock Lake and along White Rock Creek.
Perhaps this is unavoidable from a recreation facility standpoint, but it's inexcusable from "green bicycle movement" perspective. My small efforts to combat this has been to oppose the construction of parking lots adjacent to urban bike trails, unless the trail's built with park funds.
I have no problem with the recreational use of trails, or the construction of trails for recreational purposes. I do have a problem with thinking they are going to make a serious impact of bicycle-commuting or air quality/congestion relief in Dallas, as they too often support the mindset that the streets are unsafe, and thus become a self-defeating transportation element.
So, if you are carrying your bike a short distance to ride it... stop it. Disembark, leave your car in your driveway, and ride your bike to the trail (or even just in your neighborhood). Use your bicycle as a vehicle, not just a toy.
16 comments:
Amen brother. Ride it there!
"Use your bicycle as a vehicle, not just a toy."
Is that even allowed?
In 2008, I rode my bicycle from Duncanville, where I was living at the time, to Italy to participate in the "Tour de Italy" recreational ride.
(For Rantwick's sake, it was Italy Texas, 37 miles south of Duncanville)
I proceeded to do their metric, the longest ride they offered that year, and then rode my bike back home again. And I liked it! :)
So it can be done at White Rock Lake too, if one sets his mind to it.
How is this different than driving to a gym to work out instead of riding to the gym? Either way one is burning up a lot of fossil fuel energy to "recreate." We're talking about detail differences. Recreational cycling widens the cycling base which makes stuff cheaper and better for me.
On occasion, I DO carry my bike a short distance in order to ride it. It's an extremely convenient arrangement when taking the car in to the mechanic or picking it up. Should I be feeling guilt-ridden about this?
Great write-up, PM, as usual!
I too am guilty of driving my car to the trail occasionally. For instance: 1) I drive my family to KT Trail to bike. I do this primarily because my daughter and wife are not capable of riding it all the way to the KT from Irving and back. In addition, (yes, dear I will mention this also), my wife got hit by an automobile while riding to work. 2) I shared a ride with a friend when I participated in Tour Dallas this year. This was primarily because I will have to get up way too early to make it in time to the organized ride in Dallas. On the positive side, I rode back to Irving.
As I am not completely car-free yet, I suppose driving to the trail occasionally does not bother me too much. However, it does bother me.
I suppose if I wanted to ride with my coworkers or in other major organized rides, it would be quite difficult for me to join them where they ride, do the actual ride and then ride back home, as much of this happens around Dallas.
So, I guess the question, I should perhaps ask is: "Is the reason we drive to participate in an organized ride or to join a group of riders, primarily because of urban sprawl?"
Peace!
Can I post a little positive about recreational cycling here?
Since getting into recreational cycling a few years ago, my co-worker/friend, dad, sister, brother, and roommate have all gotten into it and we now have a "thing" to go do together. My family lives in Houston; and we all look forward to meeting up and riding together. Yup, I have to load my bike up to drive to Houston... but it's worth it because we finally have something we all enjoy doing together on a weekend.
Another note... when I lived in east Plano, me and a good friend had a lot of fun driving to the head of the White Rock Creek trail and cycling around the lake on a number of evenings. Good bonding time that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise because we both worked in completely different places.
I still agree about being practical. I don't really understand why people load up their bikes in the Village and drive over to the lake for a nice evening. The Village is easily within biking distance.
So, if you are carrying your bike a short distance to ride it... stop it. Disembark, leave your car in your driveway, and ride your bike to the trail (or even just in your neighborhood). Use your bicycle as a vehicle, not just a toy.
WHY? As Steve A said, some people are driving to their "workout". To some people, a bicycle is just a form of recreation. These people are out there, they are probably the majority of bike riders in the U.S., and they simply aren't going away. To them, bikes are recreational use items- what you would call a toy. Deal with it; they are not going to disappear.
Just because their philosophy differs from yours does NOT mean they are wrong.
Good arguments by all, but, in the end, irrelevant.
@Steve
Exactly! How is this different than driving to the gym, instead of riding your bike? It is not. The cardio fitness gained by riding to the gym, doing resistance training, then returning home by bike is far more beneficial than simply doing the resistance training at the gym.
@Chandra
Was this recreational excursion to the Katy Trail on Sunday? If not, why did you not ride (or drive, if you must) to a rail station and take the TRE to Union Station? Are there no recreational trails in Irving?
@Eliot
I know there are trails in and around Plano. Would it not have been more efficient for your friend to drive (if necessary) to your house, then ride in Plano? What about vice versus? I find it highly unlikely mutual convergence at a neutral location was a requirement - unless, of course, your friend lives in the south of White Rock.
@Paul
"To some people, a bicycle is just a form of recreation."
That is correct. Here is the problem, though. These people who primarily use a bike for recreation are among the most vocal and obnoxious when it comes to demanding facilities and specious legislative remedies.
Lest anyone misunderstand my definition of recreational cyclists, I include club cyclists and those who engage in organized evening and weekend rides. Basically, anyone who does not make use of their bicycle as a means of transportation from one point to another.
Unless I misinterpret PM's purpose with this post, it is primarily to expose hypocrisy and stimulate thoughtful consideration of the cognitive disconnect between driving to recreate with a vehicle and transportation. If one's purpose is simply to recreate or train, there are plenty of local options to satisfy this need. From low traffic density residential routes to MUPs, there is bound to be something available closer to home.
Sure, there are choices closer to home. But there is no requirement that a recreational cyclist *has* to choose that option. That is a requirement that PM is attempting to impose on these cyclists, and PM does not make the laws around here.
The recreational cyclists *do* request additional trails, routes, lanes, etc. That is their preference. Just becuase PM disagrees with their preference does not mean that the recreational cyclists are wrong. And neither is PM. It's simply a personal preference, like chosing pineapple or strawberry.
I honestly don't see any "cognitive disconnect between driving to recreate with a vehicle and transportation." Recreational cyclists aren't claiming that their instruments of recreation are being used as transportation, so where's the disconnect?
Just because people disagree does not mean that one side is evil. Live and let live.
For the record, I do club rides. I ride my bike to the rallying point which adds about 15 miles to my total ride distance. If other people drive their cars with their bikes on a rack, is that my business? They have a certain amount of time and stamina and if one or the other prevents them from riding to the rallying point, that's their concern. I like that they come and share the fellowship of the club.
One last thought: Recreational cyclists may drive to a site where they prefer to ride. But compare that to other recreational choices. They *could* be driving monster trucks or quad-runners or motorcycles or something in that same time period that they are riding their bikes. Comparatively speaking, they *are* behing green. Give them credit for that, at least.
Velociped:
The reason I chose to go the KT Trail is because my daughter is not a DFW resident and it is a fun thing for her, in her new environment, when she visits. Of course, there are trails in Irving which we ride as well.
For the record, at least in my original post, I was not trying to debate anything. I was simply stating what was on my mind.
I am still fairly new to DFW. I will try not to mention things that may be obvious to others. who have lived here longer, in my future posts.
Thanks for your nice suggestions!!
Peace!
As someone who has an spent outrageous amount of money on a bicycle, I am reluctant to criticize how others spend theirs. I am not, after all, a democrat legislator!
I do have a similar criticism of of recreational/club riders as Herman does. They need to learn how to operate lawfully on the public roads!
When I have participated in club rides, as I would often do when living closer to Dallas, I would be often criticized for riding too far into the narrow lanes and for impeding traffic!
As a group, they are more interested in expensive and dangerous bicycle specific facilities than integration into traffic. They are an obstacle to education of safe operation on the roadway.
@velociped - Plano trails are not designed for more than extremely casual cycling. I tried them a few times for a workout because of how close they were to my house, but it was too dangerous with blind corners and pedestrians with loose dogs. You also can't ride far in the shade...the trail quickly goes to a power line swath and it is very unpleasant. White Rock is like an oasis compared to that.
I didn't really want to argue about this, though. Just wanted to put in some positive reasons why I particularly chose to pack the bikes on my car.
On a frustrating note... since learning about VC, I get really irritated riding on rally rides with so many people ignoring standard road laws. Thanks a lot, PM. ;)
@ Elliot: "On a frustrating note... since learning about VC, I get really irritated riding on rally rides with so many people ignoring standard road laws. Thanks a lot, PM. ;)"
You're very welcome. Bike Rallies are tools of the Evil One.
Chandra: I checked out your blog. I wanted to leave a comment, but it didn't seem to work. Do you have Comments disabled?
Doohickie,
I have not turned off the comments, or at least I don't think so. If it does not work, please let me know.
Thanks for checking out my blog!
Peace,
-Chandra...
Chandra- email me using the Contact Email in my profile.
Chandra, the comments didn't work for me either. Your posts are interesting enough that I can't believe that nobody's posted comments through lack of interest...
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