Car-Free in Hartford

From the Hartford Advocate, 05.28.08:

Car-Free In Hartford
There are alternatives to hitting the highway
On a chilly Monday morning, I rode my bike to work for the first time. To put my first pedal commute into perspective, you need to understand that I'm a walking collection of His Girl Friday-era reporter cliches, minus the "press badge" and snappy hat. I'm a chain-smoking, hard-drinking louse with a penchant for red meat and an aversion to exercise. A simple four-mile pedal to work was a frightening prospect.

Near the Sisson Avenue I-84 on-ramp, I saw my first fellow cyclist. He wore a dress shirt and rode with both hands off the handles, smoking a cigarette. His image of cool collectedness was a slap in my overheated face.

The ride was physically taxing, but bearable, until I got to Capitol Avenue. The street lining the Capitol and legislative building is a long slope, something that had escaped my attention the thousands of times I had driven on it. Also, it was the most heavily trafficked road I encountered. From the looks of it, honking at a clearly exhausted cyclist is a fun, group activity that brings drivers closer together.

The people I spoke with about bikes in the Hartford area assured me that riding would get easier (it did, actually — by my third ride I was able to make it to my apartment without collapsing in a heap). For most bike riders, though, the most challenging parts of replacing their cars with the bikes isn't the physical exhaustion: it's dealing with the people who still drive their cars. (Read more.)

Inspiring article from Hartford, motivated by the writer's need to deal with a temporary loss of vehicular access. He ends up discovering a rich bicycling culture in Connecticut's capitol, a city not renowned for bicycle-friendliness.

The article reports rising attendance at monthly cycling events and the annual Bike To Work day. He shares road war stories with other cyclists at a Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance pizza dinner. He meets the creators of a local bicycle blog (beatbikeblog.blogspot.com), who indicate persistent pervasive hostility from motorists. He finds evidence of supportive city policymakers and promising developments for more bike infrastructure.

On a personal note: I also identified with the writer's confessed bad habits (smoking, drinking, red meat, sedentary.) As described on my Bike Commute Tips site, I shared that profile when I started bicycle commuting (except for the meat consumption.) My health improved thanks to my transportation mode. It could only improve.

Image: Hartford Advocate.
Visit: Advocate Grabs Commuting-By-Bike Argument By Handlebars, Hartford Courant
Visit: Connecticut: Not A Bike-Friendly State, Bike Commute Tips Blog.
Visit: Not just for cars anymore, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Cyclists Share a Healthy Passion, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site