Traveling in the vernacular

As the temperature drops into the low 30s, it's again perfect for bicycle commuting. I'm finally getting back on the bike after several weeks of mostly driving to work. (Once we got a second car last year, the reasons why it "made more sense" to drive on any given day seemed to multiply: running late, overtired, rain in the forecast, lunchtime errands, groceries on the way home..... Enough!) If I can keep this up, I'll once again be able to say I'm a bicycle commuter -- as I'd done for many years. I consider it a rare privilege, in these Washington suburbs, to be able to ride to work; and besides, it's no coincidence: when we moved to the area, I pulled out a map and used a piece of string to draw a 7-mile-radius circle around my workplace: "Here's where we'll live." So far, we've been able to stay well inside that circle... so I am without excuse.

This week's NYT article and video on bicycle-friendly culture, and David Byrne's recent Manhattan helmet-cam ride video (*), have been inspirations. (This post's title is from Portland frame builder Natalie Ramsland's nearly poetic coda to the NYT video, at 3:53.)

In that general vein, I've always thought it'd be fun to list the various spills and accidents (FDGBs) I've had in 30-odd years of cycling. But I don't want to sully this post (or Natalie's or David's good name) with that, so ... another day.

(*) I would embed that video here but it seems LiveJournal's RSS aggregator truncates posts with embedded content.