On Wednesday, December 4, I celebrated my first full year leading the team at the Bicycle Coalition. Coincidentally, that same day, we were present at the signing of the “Get Out the Bike Lane” bill with Mayor Parker, Council President Johnson, Council Member Gauthier, and other City officials. Given that we just celebrated Thanksgiving and I have been actively practicing moments of gratitude, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the lessons I have learned this past year as a new bike commuter and advocate.
Owning and maintaining a bike is a whole lot less expensive than owning and maintaining a car. If we have ever met, I have undoubtedly made a joke about being a reformed car guy and realize I spend much less to outfit my bike to handle the rigors of a daily commute to and from the office than I have to maintain my car. Thanks to my local bike shop, I have been able to replace my wheels and tires to handle both my size and our city streets and get my bike dialed in to the point it is less work and more fun to bike around town.
Even with owning my own bike, Indego is a great low-stress solution for short trips. I used to default to taking rideshare or driving to any of my favorite spots in Center City but now I will either ride my bike or take Indego. Since purchasing the annual pass earlier this year, Indego has become my first option to get around town within about 4 miles from my house. While I am grateful that there are at least 3 stations within walking distance from where I live, I acknowledge that not everyone in the city has similar access and will continue to advocate for equitable expansion to more neighborhoods throughout the city.
This one seems obvious, but: I have learned both how important it is to always wear a helmet and to make sure my helmet is highly rated. Sometime last winter, I learned about the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and how they test and rate bicycle helmets (among other types of helmets). My current helmet was not rated very highly and since my ability to provide for my family is based on my ability to think through and solve problems, I need to protect my brain from injury. To that end, I bought a helmet that has a 5 star rating — and looks better, too!
I have also learned the hard way to properly lock up my bike with both a U-lock and cable, making it harder to steal. My bike was stolen earlier this year from my front porch. Fortunately, my insurance took care of the replacement but I had to make sure I had a good U-lock and cable combination that would deter thieves from stealing my bike again. I won’t front, I still get nervous when locking up on the street and always whisper a thank you to the universe when I get back to find my bike is still locked up.
Another lesson has been how much the cycling community in Philadelphia truly wants to be inclusive but does not always do the best job of helping outsiders feel welcomed. This was hard for me to see and I am sure hard for you to read, but I write this because I care about our community and about building a larger community of riders and people who want to fight for safe streets throughout our region. Safety is for everyone.
Here is my challenge to you: if you find yourself in many different rooms with the same people there, consider finding ways to bring in others who have not traditionally been in these spaces or getting out of your comfort zone and going into different spaces to get to know more people who may come from different backgrounds. I have had conversations with people in the community and outside of our community that are very different from each other but at the end of the day, we all seem to agree that we need to work to ensure the streets of Philadelphia are safer for everyone, regardless of how we choose to travel the street.
I will end with one last lesson and that is while the Bicycle Coalition has been seen as many things and we can do a better job of sharing all the work we have done throughout the years, the fact remains that we are small but mighty. I get emails and calls from folks in and out of our community that share their thoughts on our policy positions or press releases but do not want to have a conversation, they just want to share their opinion and move on. I am always open to having a conversation and respectful exchange of opinions and ideas but ask you all to understand we will do as much as we can.
The next few years will bring changes to the Bicycle Coalition. I plan on being able to strategically grow our organization but that means we need your support. We can’t stop, won’t stop, advocating and educating in order to empower more people to ride safely throughout our region and encourage everyone to join us. If you currently contribute to our cause, THANK YOU! If not, please consider joining us and investing in our work to make the streets of Philadelphia and the region safer for everyone.
Chris Gale, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia