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The car has made the suburbs possible.
Culturally, it’s connected to our ideas of freedom (we can go from coast to coast in a car), individualism (by ourselves) and the open road (with our music blaring).
And so maybe bicycling will never be part of daily life here as it is in China or the Netherlands.
Even Wheeler, who said he cycles 2,500 miles a year, drives.
But he also cycles. And while his reasons for doing so include health and a concern for the environment, his main reason perhaps is to get a better idea about what could motivate others to ride on two wheels.
“The bottom line is I enjoy it,” Wheeler said. “I’m not doing this to be righteous or crusading.”
Friday ended the second annual Coulee Bike to Work Week, and if it was a small success, it was a success:
n203 people registered for the week at www.couleebikes.org.
nWith 68 cyclists, the La Crosse School District won a Golden Helmet award for the highest number of employee participants.
nThe La Crosse Area Builders Association and Business Objects won Golden Helmet awards for the highest percentage of employee participation for businesses with fewer than 20 and more than 20 employees, respectively.
nIn the first annual Walk and Bike to School Challenge, 512 elementary students made 1,149 trips to school by foot, bicycle or scooter.
Karolanne Hoffman, who generally cycles to her job at Dairyland Power once or twice a week, said she feels more a part of the community on her bicycle than in her car.
“You can get crabby when you’re in traffic and when you get to work, you still have that bad feeling,” said Hoffman, one of the organizers of Bike to Work Week. “It’s really hard to be crabby on a bicycle.”
And that’s not insignificant.
When I think back on my experience driving cars, I think of a sense of battle — with traffic lights, with rushed drivers, with slow drivers, with the radio, with the price of gas.
But when I’m on my bicycle, I think of being in the open air, and smiling and waving to the people I encounter.
While Coulee Bike to Work Week has come to a close, the chance for peace on two wheels — and a different kind of freedom than the automobile offers — remains.
Joe Orso can be reached at (608) 791-8429 or jorso@lacrossetribune.com.
