Prepare Communities First, Then Link Them

If you see a marine mammal in distress,

or if you are a marine mammal in distress

That’s what I did one evening, before I got better about carrying along a little bike tool kit on my rides.  (Whether I know what to do with any tools I carry is another matter.)

This was one of those winter evenings when I got a late start, then found myself in the dark with an unexpected bike chain mishap, my light battery not charged, my tool kit left at home, and the bike shops closed.  What to do?  Fortunately, I saw a couple of Coast Guard personnel across the way.  I called out and asked if they might help.  Thankfully, they were happy to, and they had a bright flashlight and some pocket tools in their possession.

Fix it yourself?

I’m not that mechanically minded. I am one of those fortunate people who had a magnificent and loving father.  Dad taught me some of the most important lessons in life, but he never taught my sister and me to handle repairs.  That was only for our brothers.

There was one exception, when I was home from college one weekend and Dad was repairing a chicken house roof.  He let me drill through sheet metal, and I was thrilled!  You can see how deprived I felt of such experience. 

But I can’t blame dear old Dad that I still haven’t learned any mechanics. I have a couple bike maintenance books—one new, one old.  I’ve barely cracked their covers, though I’ve been thinking more about building up some capability.  I’ve enjoyed bicycling the 40+ miles between my Monterey home and Santa Cruz in the past, and I’d like to have some basic  maintenance skills down before I bike that route solo.

That’s why, when I was browsing Bookshop Santa Cruz recently, I bought the new book:  Road Bike Maintenance by Guy Andrews.  Meanwhile, I defer to the experts.

Expert help

Just as I depend on a great (and “green”) car maintenance shop, year after year, I likewise depend on local bike maintenance shops.  I take my bike in for a periodic tune-up, just as I get an oil change and safety inspection for my car.  My bike needs very little maintenance, and if something comes up, I just call a local shop.  They’re terrific!

After-hours dilemma

So what happens if you’re biking and have a problem when shops are closed?  I keep my bike shop’s number in my cell phone, along with AAA’s number for my car, because it gives me a sense of security.  But I’m only fooling myself, because it’s false security after hours.  You notice that I said “AAA’s number  for my car” (24 hour roadside repair and towing), not “my car shop’s number”?  Hmmm….what’s wrong with this picture?  There’s a gap in support for bicycling in most places in America.  I have often thought it would be great to have a bicycle roadside repair and towing service you could call on, just as with cars.

Meanwhile, in Copenhagen, they are far ahead of us down that biking road.  They are incorporating bicycle service stations into their new bikeway plan!

Service stations on bike highways

The 12/15/09 New York Times Magazine’s “Ninth Annual Year of Ideas” includes an article on “Bike Highways” by Wm Ferguson.  The story tells that over a year ago, a group of American state highway officials took initial action toward what will seem to many U.S. citizens as an impossible dream:  linking our American cities by an interstate bikeway system.

This is far from today’s reality.  But as Ferguson’s story tells, in Copenhagen—where nearly 40 percent of the people bicycle to their workplaces—they are actually building such a bikeway system.

Danish architect and infrastructure consultant Jan Gehl emphasized something very important about Copenhagen’s new bicycle highway system:  it came after Copenhagen was a cycling friendly place.

What is most relevant for us in America at this time is preparing for that future by making our communities more bicycling friendly.  We can do that right now.

This post was published on 15 December 2009. One or more changes last made to this post on 11 June 2017.