Bikes and Trikes

I love bicycling; the wind in my face, feet on the pedals, speeding through the world. The feeling of satisfaction I receive from riding is amazing. I can release my energy and stresses, while exercising and being outside. To me, it is the ultimate passage of time.
While on the way to my desired destination, usually the Lehigh Parkway, I find myself on main roads. I like riding in the Parkway because it is an escape from everyday life. There, I am surrounded by nature; animals, water, trees, air and other people enjoying the day. Spending an hour or so on the path frees my mind and creates my body to feel rejuvenation. But on the main roads, where the cars zoom by, is where I am snapped back into reality of the everyday. When a car passes me riding on the side of the road, I am immediately overwhelmed with the exhaust. It hits me like a cloud, but not the type up in the blue sky. It always disgusts me that I have to breathe this into my lungs in such close proximity to where it is produced. My breathing rate is increased due to exercising and also what I depend on to continue. The effect from one car passing is nothing in comparison with the total exhaust produced by cars. We do not notice how much is exhaled from our use of transportation -- it's disgusting. When I'm passed by a car, inhaling the fumes, I can only think of how our pollution has to be inhaled and absorbed by nature. I feel awful that our daily lives have to result in forcing the natural world to absorb the pollution. It's great that trees and plants absorb this CO2, but the rate we are depleting them, and increasing our waste is not an even balance.
Minneapolis, MN is the number one bike city in the country. According to the Minneapolis city website, "Minneapolis has 46 miles of streets with dedicated bicycle lanes ... and 84 miles of off-street bicycle paths."
More people should bike to get around town. I'm glad there are cities that incorporate those to cycle into their plans for building. This issue is like the art imitates life or does life imitate art type of question. For example, if more people biked, maybe cities would be more interested in helping the commute become easier and safer. On the other hand, if cities naturally would incorporate bike lanes and paths, maybe people would bike more because the option is there. Being aware of alternatives to conserving gas and reducing pollution need to be considered as part of the solution in helping to save our environment, because in fact "this land is our land."


http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/

http://www.bicycling.com/news/featured-stories/1-bike-city-minneapolis