safe routes to schools respecting the road - Marin County Bicycle ...
safe routes to schools respecting the road - Marin County Bicycle ...
safe routes to schools respecting the road - Marin County Bicycle ...
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Bike<br />
Locally<br />
Challenge<br />
By Anna Garfink<br />
It’s more of a way<br />
of life than it is<br />
a challenge.<br />
–Greg Bernson<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Vik<strong>to</strong>riya Weiss and family.<br />
For <strong>the</strong> third year in a row, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Marin</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Bicycle</strong><br />
Coalition is making <strong>the</strong> lives of six novice bike<br />
enthusiasts easier with its Bike Locally Challenge.<br />
The 2012 Challenge started in May and will end in<br />
November.<br />
This year’s Challenge, which added a seventh,<br />
“family” contestant, has provided riders with all <strong>the</strong>y<br />
need <strong>to</strong> begin making <strong>the</strong> transition from car <strong>to</strong> bike.<br />
Each rider got a Globe by Specialized bike, a GPS system<br />
and even a personal men<strong>to</strong>r. All that remains for<br />
<strong>the</strong> riders are <strong>the</strong> journeys that <strong>the</strong>y and <strong>the</strong>ir families<br />
face as <strong>the</strong>y complete <strong>the</strong> Challenge.<br />
The riders came from all over <strong>Marin</strong>, each with his<br />
or her own reasons for joining <strong>the</strong> Challenge. While<br />
each contestant agrees that <strong>the</strong> exercise and <strong>the</strong><br />
escape from <strong>the</strong>ir cars are major benefits of biking<br />
<strong>to</strong> work, <strong>to</strong> school or for running errands, <strong>the</strong>y are<br />
enjoying infinite personal benefits as well.<br />
Bilkis Bharuch, from <strong>Marin</strong> City, holds <strong>the</strong> goal<br />
of eventually going car-free and decided that biking<br />
locally would give her <strong>the</strong> stamina and willpower <strong>to</strong> do<br />
that. Tamara Muizelaar, a high school counselor from<br />
Nova<strong>to</strong>, also wanted <strong>to</strong> work on her physical stamina<br />
so that she would be able <strong>to</strong> complete a 50-mile ride.<br />
Anil Comelo, from San Rafael, wanted <strong>to</strong> feel more<br />
comfortable riding on <strong>the</strong> streets so he could feel <strong>safe</strong><br />
riding with his young son.<br />
For Comelo, making <strong>the</strong> switch from driver <strong>to</strong> cyclist<br />
was daunting because he knew firsthand how irresponsibly<br />
car drivers could act around cyclists. “It was<br />
a challenge <strong>to</strong> feel comfortable on <strong>the</strong> <strong>road</strong>s,” Comelo<br />
says. “But I feel much more comfortable now than I did<br />
two months ago.” Now, he enjoys <strong>the</strong> physical benefits<br />
of riding and <strong>the</strong> joys of riding with his family.<br />
After an initial stall in getting on <strong>the</strong> bike, Muizelaar<br />
says she “rocked it” in July and met some of her<br />
personal goals. “I’ve realized that I don’t have <strong>to</strong> rely<br />
so much on my car,” she says with a smile. “[I’m trying<br />
<strong>to</strong>] get on my bike as much as possible.”<br />
Of course, <strong>the</strong> Challenge isn’t called a challenge for<br />
nothing. Both Greg Bernson, of Fairfax, and Bharuch<br />
cite <strong>the</strong> Camino Al<strong>to</strong> hill as <strong>the</strong>ir greatest obstacle. The<br />
Challenge has provided <strong>the</strong>se riders with opportunities<br />
<strong>to</strong> face <strong>the</strong>ir obstacles, however, and Bharuch, who<br />
must ride over <strong>the</strong> hill <strong>to</strong> go on <strong>the</strong> longer-distance<br />
rides she seeks, now rides over it more than she<br />
thought she could.<br />
“Now I’m ready for it,” she says. It’s not easier, she<br />
admits, but it’s now possible.<br />
The third year of this Challenge features a family,<br />
acting as one contestant, riding a Yuba Mundo cargo<br />
bike as though it were <strong>the</strong>ir second car. The bike was<br />
given <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> Brown family, from Fairfax. Eileen Brown<br />
says that for her family <strong>the</strong> challenge has mainly been<br />
leaving <strong>the</strong> Ross Valley area on <strong>the</strong>ir bikes. She says<br />
that having <strong>the</strong> cargo bike is helping <strong>the</strong>m remain<br />
a one-car family. (See <strong>the</strong> Yuba Mundo review on<br />
page 14.)<br />
“It’s been really fun!” Brown says of her commute<br />
<strong>to</strong> and from San Rafael on <strong>the</strong> bike. The Browns also<br />
use <strong>the</strong> bike for trips <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> grocery s<strong>to</strong>re, and Eileen<br />
says that she finds herself using <strong>the</strong>ir car a lot less<br />
often. “We really try not <strong>to</strong> drive,” she says. “So [<strong>the</strong><br />
bike] supports that.”<br />
The o<strong>the</strong>r two contestants are Brian Jones and<br />
Vik<strong>to</strong>riya Wise, both from San Rafael. Wise joined<br />
with <strong>the</strong> main goal of ditching her car for her commute<br />
<strong>to</strong> down<strong>to</strong>wn San Francisco. She now commutes by<br />
bike and public transportation a few times per week,<br />
and although <strong>the</strong> ride was initially a challenge, Wise<br />
says that now her bike gives her <strong>the</strong> gratification of an<br />
instant connection with <strong>the</strong> community.<br />
“[One of <strong>the</strong> changes in my life] has been connecting<br />
with o<strong>the</strong>r kinds of people that I ordinarily<br />
wouldn’t get <strong>to</strong> talk with, like o<strong>the</strong>r people bike commuting,”<br />
Wise says.<br />
Brown agrees, saying “It’s really fun <strong>to</strong> meet new<br />
people and with <strong>the</strong> cargo bike, I’ve had conversations<br />
with people that I’d never talk <strong>to</strong>.”<br />
Along with <strong>the</strong> fresh faces <strong>the</strong>se contestants met,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y have also encountered new trails, paths, and<br />
sights.<br />
“I’ve seen a lot of things that I’ve driven by and<br />
never noticed,” Bernson says. “At <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>p of Camino<br />
[Al<strong>to</strong>], <strong>the</strong> clouds are down low … so it looks like something<br />
out of a science fiction magazine!”<br />
Asked about <strong>the</strong> opportunities <strong>the</strong> Challenge has<br />
given him, Bernson sums up his experience: “It’s more<br />
of a way of life than it is a challenge,” he says.<br />
10