Bike Commuting Can Be Beautiful

The following letter to the editor ran in the Herald on May 11.

I love my commute. Can you say that?

Spring mornings, if I sit on the right side of the bus, I watch the sun rise over the Cascades. The traffic on I-5 is inconsequential when you’ve got rose colored mountains in view and a good book on your lap.

In the afternoons, I bicycle home with views of the Puget Sound and the Olympics. Between Everett and Marysville I’ve seen coyote, deer, bald eagles, heron – and other people like me biking to or from work.

You probably drive to work because you like the freedom and convenience of having a car. I like freedom, too.

Most people around here imagine only one way to get around – their vehicles. I find it more convenient to have many methods of commuting to choose from. I can drive, though I usually regret that choice somewhere on I-5. I can bike to the bus, or I can vanpool with my co-workers. I usually bike home, which gives me the freedom to leave when I want and to stop along the way (yes, I grocery shop by bicycle!)

My commutes give me time to read, to relax, to exercise, to enjoy the tides coming in and out of Ebey Slough and even to write this article. Some days on my bike, I race the bus (I’m always running late), some days I race the neighborhood kids who call me Lance Armstrong. But bike commuting is not a race. Whatever speed you pedal, the rhythm of riding gets you in sync with yourself.

I bet you have a bicycle in your garage. The next time you go to fill your car with gas, why don’t you fill your bike tires up with air while you’re at it? Then you can have a choice, too. The day you pick your bicycle, you’ll understand.

For information on bicycle commuting during National Bike Month, visit www.communitytransit.org/go2/biketowork. For Snohomish County’s recreational bicycle club, visit www.bikesclub.org.

Kristin Kinnamon

Marysville, WA

E-Mail: Bikes Club