Response to Biking

The case of biking not being more prevalent in American society is a peculiar one. For one, I agree with the author that biking may serve as somewhat of a pangea for many of the ills plaguing our contemporary society. Biking replaces the needs for vehicles that run on fossil fuels – therefore replacing our concerns for energy sustainability and global warming with those of bike maintenance and pedestrian safety. In addition, biking would make people more mobile and appreciate being active, therefore curbing the obesity epidemic in the United States.

This is a nice scenario, but is unfortunately not the one we live in. We live in a society dominated by traditionalist values and car culture. People are naturally afraid of change in their daily lives and routines, and are therefore not fully receptive of the benefits, no matter how great they may be, of increasing domestic biking volume.

While it is difficult to give up the lives we are already living, there should be more of an initiative taken to realize the positive changes that biking would bring to the community. The overall health would improve in two ways; pollution from gas emitting cars would go down and people would be more active and mobile. Furthermore, biking as a substitute to traditional commuting (driving, public transportation) could have a residual effect as people would feel more in touch with nature. Instead of viewing nature as a nuisance or something that may get in the way, bikers may view as nature and man-made development in the same respect.