National Bike to Work Day!
Let’s admit up front that not everyone can ride their bikes to work. Some people commute fifty miles each way for their work, or more. Some live in super hot or super cold climates much of the year, which makes bike riding difficult if not impossible. And many of us have been working from home for the past two years.
Granted.
But many more of us could ride bikes to work and would probably even enjoy it if more people joined in. And not just to work. A few years ago, I went to a conference in Denmark where, even in the capital of Copenhagen, lots of people ride bikes to work, to shop, to the park, to go out of an evening—for the fun of it and because everyone benefits from exercise and from fewer cars. Outside every apartment building there were dozens of bikes lined up, many of them not even locked up! I even saw one woman dressed to the nines, topped by a fancy fur coat, hop on her bike to go off to the theater or ballet.
Bicycles were invented back in the 19th century, and you’ve probably seen some of the early designs with huge front wheels, no seats to speak of, and other weird configurations. But the basic modern design has changed little since 1885, and according to History.com, by 1894, the New York Times opined that “the bicycle promises a splendid extension of personal power and freedom, scarcely inferior to what wings would give.”