I’ve shared before that my father was a bike nut. My cousin also used to bike to school and work and wants to start back up again, and my brother also bikes daily to his job.
My cousin Stacey grew up in Mariposa, California in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range near Yosemite National Park. She was about 20 years old before she got her drivers license, and she never owned a car until after she married and graduated from college. Twenty years ago, she biked to work along the narrow two-lane roads in Ventura County, so her husband bought her a car and insisted she drive out of concern for her safety.
She and her husband still own their classic Bridgestone bikes fully decked out as commuters. The husband recently began biking to get around for trips to the store and his gym, and he’s even experimenting with biking to work again.
My brother has been a fan of ‘alternative’ transportation for at least as long as I have. Today, he rides a sweet titanium LeMond road bike for his 15 mile (one way) commute from his home near Sweetwater to his job near San Diego International Airport.
Nice. Do you have any photos? I’d love to “meet” them.
My family is becoming increasingly bike-oriented. One sister bought a vacation home in a neighborhood in Florida where everyone bicycles. They don’t allow on street parking, the speed limit is 17 mph and they built a bike path along the highway so it really works. Almost no one drives.
Another sister just wrote me that she and her husband did a Bike Date Friday to see a Clydesdale horse show. Can you believe Clydesdales can jump? Her suburb outside Memphis has a useful bike path as well.
And when I went home in April, my 81 year old dad and went exploring on our bikes and found a way to cut through a pasture to get out of his isolated neighborhood.
I honestly think we inspire each other to ride more.