Commuting by Bike

* “Forget Not the Humble Bicyclist” (editorial, April 8) is right on. Bicycle commuting is catching on in Los Angeles.

I’ve been cycling the 17-mile route from my home in Sierra Madre to my work downtown at the DWP for two years. I meet all types of people bike commuting; there are Mark and Rob, both engineers at DWP who ride from Monrovia to downtown. There’s Jay from Alhambra, who rides to Federal Express in Atwater. There are Dan and Dave, who ride to County-USC Medical Center. These are all people I meet on my morning com- mute.

As a member of the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, I have seen a growing awareness of bicycle use as one solution to the city’s transportation woes. Bike racks on the MTA bus fleet would encourage people to ride the mile or so to bus stops and take their bikes to work. If an average commuter would leave his car at home just one day a week and bicycle into work, over 50 pounds of pollutants would be eliminated from our air annually.

If you want to bike to work but have no place to shower and change, talk with your employer; something can be worked out. I shower in the security guard changing room. With the good weather we have in Los Angeles, bike commuting really makes sense. It’s good for the environment and it’s good for you.

PETER GALINDO

Sierra Madre

* Regarding bicycle funds:

I ride my bicycle to work almost every day and I love it. I think as the car traffic slows more and more every day, the government at all levels should be looking into ways to encourage bicycle commuting. Besides the healthy benefits of riding a bike, for the riders, it would also help alleviate congestion on the roads, as well as cut smog.

As for the safety of riding a bicycle in Los Angeles, that depends a lot on the attitudes of the automobile drivers on the road with you. So next time you see bicyclists on the road, don’t think of us as a nuisance, think of us as one less car, one more parking spot and less smog!

DAVID NELSON