Throw Down Those Car Keys and Pedal
I read with interest the column by Linda Angeloff Sapienza regarding not using a car (“Throw Down Those Car Keys and Walk!” Sept. 29). Since my last car was totaled two years ago, I basically have traveled by bicycle. I live near downtown San Diego. When relatives visit I rent a car, but otherwise I get to work, shopping, tennis, library, beaches, etc., by bike. My conclusion about this lifestyle experiment is that it is wonderful, and I intend to continue it indefinitely.
The possibility of an accident does concern me. A professor I had in law school, James Angell MacLachlan, was killed while riding a bicycle. Also, local television is constantly running ads by lawyers specializing in bicycle accident cases, a sure sign of a high volume incidence of serious bike-riding injuries.
Notwithstanding the possibility of an accident, I find the advantages of biking outweigh the disadvantages.
At work, I park free in the basement parking garage in my building. The managers of the premises put in two large bike racks, accommodating 16 bicycles, and about 10 bikes are parked there during the work week. None have been stolen or vandalized. I often use the bike during the work week, to get around in the downtown area, and it is easy for me, and free, to lock the bike onto the ubiquitous pole fixtures at curbside.
When it rains I ride a bus, but it rarely rains in San Diego. My bike commute is always faster than the bus commute, considering the waiting time required and multiple stops for buses.
Having been recently divorced by my wife of 30 years, I was concerned for a while about the difficulties in finding another woman without a car, and carrying on a relationship. The woman I met, after a year of lonely guy status, had her own car and we have used that with great success so far.
My positive conclusion postulated above remains intact, and I can whole-heartedly recommend the bike-based life to others, even those who like myself are long past the mid-century mark.
OZZIE MALAND
San Diego
