Ticket to ride

We live in perhaps one of the most bike UNFRIENDLY towns in the US. To be fair, the mayor has commissioned and initiative to look at expanding the possibilities for bicycle commuting. Yet, for the past 100+ years that had not been part of the plan - hence the lack of access and understanding.

A few years back a local bicycle shop (since closed) asked if they could purchase and install bike racks at the junior and senior high schools. The school board turned them down because they were using busing as a leverage point to obtain more funding for operations.

(i.e. The school board STOPPED busing kids for a period of time claiming a "budget crisis" which forced parents to all DRIVE their kids to school and get fed up enough with the inconvenience to pass a tax levy... Coercive?)

I've been trying to defy this unfriendly bicycling tone by riding anyway - even pulling Gus around in the Burley trailer on the safer roads (lots of alleys actually.)

Decided to trek to the grocery last evening - rack and single pannier attached:


Not a bad haul and only 20 minutes of biking round trip. It would have taken the same time to drive: