Winter Blues

The year without cars has ground to a halt. I have not ridden a bike since the second week of December.  So here comes the littany of excuses. It seems like this winter is going to be one of the first "real" winters we have had in a long time. It has been pretty darn cold and there has been snow on the ground since before Christmas. Plus, in addition to my "day job" at the bike shop I have been putting in a lot of hours working on the New Jersey Bike Summit for the NJBC. Now, after a month of not riding, I am putting on weight and getting back on the bike will be a struggle. Having a car just makes it too easy to choose comfort over conviction. Getting to work in the morning would not be so bad but having to come home at 9:00 PM in the dark and cold is turning out to be a pretty formidable barrier. In addition to the obvious comfort issues, I always have it in the back of my mind how vulnerable I am out on the roadway and somehow, winter just seems to make me think about it more. That said, if we had bike lanes and traffic control devices that protect cyclists, I would be a lot more inclined to make the trips by bike, even in the dead of winter. I would probably feel more secure if there were some number of other people out there on bikes as well. Think Copenhagen and the bike highways that lead from the countryside into the city.

The NJ Bike Summit is coming along and I think we will hit our goal for attendence. I am realizing just how daunting a task it is to make one street bicycle friendly, let alone a whole state! This is gong to be a long haul but I still believe there is no reason why New Jersey can't be like Colorado, or California, or Louisville Kentucky, or Montreal, or Denmark, or Bogota Colombia, and on and on. Hmmm... I feel like going out for a ride!