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More QCBC Bicycle Commuter Stories Following are just a few more reasons cited by our survey responders to start your day with a bike ride to work: • Transportation miles + recreation miles = more miles • Clears your mind and reduces stress • Increased energy and productivity • Keeps the rest of the world’s issues at bay • Learn about the challenges and beauty of all seasons on the road • Gain admiration of co-‐ workers and inspire others to ride • Easier to do than you think • Commuting by bicycle will put more Life in your Life! • See and hear things one does not see or hear driving a vehicle And here are some more bicycle commuter stories to inspire you to start using your bicycle for transportation as well as for recreation. Richard Clark Age: 34 Occupation: Computer programmer, EBE Technologies City: Moline, IL Distance: 8 miles, round trip (longer route of 13 miles when ‘kids’ are out of school. Days per week: 5 Months: January – December, except in extreme weather No. years commuting: 7 Bike: Mountain, Road Other commuting: Grocery shopping, school, church Primary Reason: Exercise Richard’s sons are in 1st and 2nd grade and Secondary Reason: Save on fuel cost would definitely ride to school if they could. Advice: Choose a lightly traveled route (even if it is a However, students are not allowed to ride little longer). Don't give up. It can be difficult at first. bikes at their school even if parents ride Eventually you will just be the crazy bike person (and with them. So, Richard walks his bike while that isn't bad) walking them to school and then finishes Richard started commuting part-‐time in 2008 and with his own ride to work. year round in 2013 when he put studded tires on his mountain bike for riding on ice and snow. Richard’s secondary reason for commuting by bike was to save money on fuel. To measure results toward that goal, Richard kept a spreadsheet of projected fuel costs for a few years. He stopped when the savings exceeded the cost of his road bike and their tandem. Last year, Richard put a total of just 634 miles on his car and only put gas in the car 4 times (January, March, October, and December). He runs errands and does small shopping trips by bicycle as well. To haul his purchases, he uses a good backpack or the burley trailer that he used to tow his children with. Richard views commuting by bike as an easy way to build miles for longer rides, maintain cycling preparedness over winter, and drastically reduce miles on his car! Great example of how bicycling can be used for multiple destinations with multiple benefits! Rick Rohret Age: 49 Occupation: Engineer, Genesis Systems Group City: Bettendorf, IA Distance: Varied over the years depending on place of employment, current 8 miles Days per week: 5 Months: 12 How long been commuting to work: 32 years Bike: Single speed Other commuting: Restaurants, library, church Primary Reason: To get to work. Other Benefits: Answering a lot of questions: Isn't it cold out? Did you ride your bike today? Etc Advice: Spend the money on good equipment. Lights, etc. Rick got his first real bike, a Schwinn World sport, with money made from detassling corn at the age of 15. Actually, Rick can say that he has been commuting since the age of 16 when he rode his bike to Village Inn where he worked as a busboy. Rick received his driver’s license at the age of 16 but did not renew it when he turned 18 so he wouldn’t have to run errands for his mom. He started doing some touring and longer rides after graduating. Rick enrolled in the University of Iowa College of Engineering and commuted to school and to work the entire time he was in school. While in school, he got his driver’s license shortly after turning 20 when he took up some major bicycle racing. Rick graduated with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering and accepted a job in the Quad Cities at Montgomery Elevator Company (now Kone). He moved to Moline and commuted 10 miles each way to the Escalator factory. When Rick married, he put the tuxedo in a bag on his back and rode his bike to the church. When Rick received a phone call at work from his wife that she was about to deliver their daughter, he had several offers from people to let him use their car. His wife felt that they had time, so Rick made it home on the bike VERY quickly, picked up his wife and son, and 2 hours later she delivered their daughter, Kelli. Rick moved to Colona and changed jobs to Packaging Technologies (now R.A. Jones) near Northpark Mall in Davenport and his commute became 20 miles each way which he used as training to get back into racing shape. Rick started working at Genesis Systems and his commute became 8 miles each way. Two weeks after starting, he crashed his car and had to ride the bike to work the next day. Rick hurt so bad that he couldn’t look over his shoulder or lift his hands above his head. That was the most painful ride of his life ever! Rick switched to commuting by single speed in 1997 because it was more practical, the bike does not fail very often, and he can usually fix anything that breaks on it. He can take the single speed out in the rain and snow and not have to do much maintenance on it. Rick never failed to get to work; although, he did have to leave the bike in a ditch and run the rest of the way to work once. Fortunately, the bike was still in the same place when he went home. After that experience, Rick started carrying a spare chain. Riding in negative degree weather certainly requires good reliability as you just do not want to be stuck with a mechanical malfunction in the cold. Rick says, “I dislike spending time cleaning my bikes.” Rick does not ride to work every day. He does not ride when it is snowing, when snow plows are out (that just seems suicidal), when the sides of the roads are not clear of snow, or it is pouring down rain at the start of the ride. Every year he looks for new equipment that will allow him to ride more. Last year the new equipment included some really good gloves that have improved riding significantly in subzero temps. Now, he is looking at studded tires for next year and maybe another bike specifically for studded tires. Rick does not do mountain bikes any more – too much maintenance! And he won’t do fat bikes – too slow and really???? Rick says, “I am a roadie who simply likes to ride his bike.” Several people at work also ride. Rick sold my son’s bike to a coworker who now rides as much, or more, than him. He has begun to see more people riding in to work. Rick says, “Maybe I inspired them. I don’t know. I just like to ride.” Great example of making a lifetime commitment to cycling! Rick just likes to ride bikes and does what he likes! Dick Jirus Age: 80 years old, going on 81! Occupation: Engineer (retired), Alcoa City: Davenport, IA From Dick’s previous days of commuting: • Distance: 10 miles • Days per week: 5 • Months: April -‐ October How long did you commute to work: Commuted 33 years, from 1961-‐1994 Bike: 10 Speed Schwinn Super Sports bought from Sparky of Jerry and Sparky's Bike Shop. (Still have it!) Other commuting: Grocery shopping, Library, Church, Trips to Dentist and Doctor's office Primary Reason: Exercise, and I was spending too much time sitting Other Benefits: Prepared me for 11 RAGBRAI's, and 17 TOMRV's Advice: Obey all traffic laws; don't cross intersections until you see the driver's eyes. Dick helped design bike racks still in use at Alcoa. Richard says, “We had to ride on streets and highways. Now there are bike trails from my house to the plant. Good show!” Richard still rides to church about 2 miles away. In April 1981 Dick wrote an article for the Alcoa news about bike safety – Still relevant today! Alcoa even had a "Milli-‐Mile-‐Men" club. The requirement to become a member was to have ridden 1000 miles, and then they were given a little paper plaque. Way to be a trendsetter way before cycling was in vogue, Dick! Tom Donahue Age: 59 Occupation: Engineer, Cobham Mission Systems City: Davenport, IA Distance: 10 miles (round trip) Days per week: 4, unless weather is REALLY bad Months: 12 but mileage decreases between January and March How long been commuting to work: 3 years Bike: Mountain, road Other commuting: Grocery shopping, restaurants, library, doctor, shopping, continuing education Primary Reason: Active transportation is part of a healthy life-‐style. Other Benefits: Travelling by bike seems to put me in a better mood compared to driving a car. Car related expenses have been significantly reduced. I've set a positive example for my co-‐workers and some of them have starting biking to work on occasion. Advice: Start out slowly in decent weather, don't over-‐do it, get your bike tuned up, use the QC bike map + Google Earth to plan safe routes [use residential streets as much as possible avoid most major arterial streets], Don't use the Duck Creek trail in winter, get a backpack or panniers to carry your stuff, carry a few basic tools and a spare inner-‐tube, wear bright colors to be seen (e.g. neon yellow), run bright rear and front flashers in DAYTIME as well as night time, inform your family members and/or co-‐
workers of your travel routes, carry a fully charged cell phone in your pocket and, if you must talk while riding use a Blue-‐tooth headset, register your bike with the city, securely lock your bike (U-‐lock is best) any time you leave it unattended, ALWAYS wear a helmet, ride defensively, follow applicable traffic laws, dress comfortably and carry work clothes in your bag, don't treat your commute like the Tour de France, consult more experienced commuters and on-‐line resources for additional advice. Tom’s commute to work is approximately 5 miles depending on the route A view of Tom’s winter commute from his helmet cam. “Thank which he feels is just about a goodness the whole route isn't like these first couple blocks.” "perfect commute" distance. The ride only requires about 8 minutes more travel time compared with driving. His company actively promotes healthy lifestyles, provide close-‐in secure bike parking, shower and locker facilities! Tom has been commuting since Ride Your Bike to Work Week in 2012. He quickly realized; "Hey I could do this all the time! WHY didn't I think of this sooner?" Tom’s sees it this way: “I HAVE to go to work and I HAVE to be physically active -‐ so why not do two things at once?” Before commuting to work, Tom hadn't been on a bike in a couple decades. He struggled to maintain a healthy weight his whole life. Biking provides much needed physical activity to help him keep healthy. Tom does drive a car but rarely to his office. Mostly he uses the car for longer trips or when he has more than 30 lb and/or something bulky to transport. OR when the weather is just bloody awful! There are CERTAIN things a car is just more convenient for, such as going to Chicago for a weekend. He tries to use his bike whenever possible including rides to haircuts, routine medical appointments, the grocery store, and the post office. He has even picked up bags of dog food and gas for the lawnmower (there's a certain irony to that). That last errand got him quite a few odd stares at the gas station. Another engineer Tom works with mentioned that he used to bike quite a bit, mostly for recreation, but now his present position didn't leave much time for that. They realized that the individual lives about 3 blocks off the bike path in Bettendorf so he also started bike commuting a few days per week. Tom recently helped two new co-‐workers, another engineer and a technician, map out safe routes to work using Google maps. They've both been starting to ride a little bit since the weather started improving. Tom would love to see the number of riders at his office double at least. Tom’s primary motivation for bike commuting is health but he also likes the idea of having a more positive environmental impact. He feels that he stays in touch with nature better by riding his bike. And saves money too! The majority of Tom’s riding is for transportation with a bit of recreational riding on weekends mostly around the metro area. By travelling on mostly residential streets, Tom has noticed how many really nice neighborhoods the area has. He says that he rarely see these places when he drives because he is usually traveling on main arterial roads. Tom says, “Bicycle commuting is a wonderful solution for multiple issues -‐ Health, environmental, oil dependence, economics, road congestion, noise, etc.” Great example of how active transportation is part of a healthy life-‐style. Way to inspire and assist others with commuting, Tom! Joan Blair-‐Clark Age: 57 Occupation: Social Worker, Genesis Medical Center City: Bettendorf, IA Distance: 18 miles (round trip), but enjoys taking advantage of being out and frequently will ride further Days per week: 2 Months: May -‐ September How long been commuting to work: 2 years Bike: Hybrid Other commuting: Grocery shopping, Restaurants, Library, Church Primary Reason: exercise, mental health Other Benefits: Far more energy Advice: Try it you will like. Be respectful of the traffic lights. Joan is 57 years old and never that she would get this old! Bicycling has become one of her favorite activities. She started riding her bike to work after the hospital where she works started to promote 'Ride your bike to work' week. The hospital installed a very nice bike corral that can only be accessed with employee badges. When she first started it did take some planning. Joan’s goal now is to start riding to work more, but at this time her schedule does not permit it and night vision has become more of a challenge. Joan lives in Bettendorf and is able to take advantage of the bike path along Middle Road. When she first moved to her current home, Middle Road did not have a bike path and riding on it was downright dangerous. Last year, Joan even got her husband started riding with her. “It's amazing what we will do for ice cream!:)” Great example of how businesses can encourage and support bicycle commuting! Joseph Rodgers Age: 33 Occupation: Maintenance Supervisor, Exelon Nuclear City: Davenport, IA Distance: 24 miles (round trip) Days per week: 3 Months: April -‐ October How long been commuting to work: 4 years Bike: Mountain, Road Other commuting: Grocery shopping, Library Primary Reason: Weight control and stress relief Other Benefits: Camaraderie among others cyclists. Advice: It's easier than it looks. All you have to do is leave the house a couple minutes earlier. And get Active Wipes if your work doesn't have showers. Joseph moved to the Midwest in 2009. That first summer, he learned about 2 things in the area, Bix and RAGBRAI. He ran the Bix, but was also interested in riding RAGBRAI. So, after many failed attempts at getting on his bike, he finally just told himself that he was going to start commuting to work in order to get ready for the BIG ride. This summer will be Joseph’s third RAGBRAI. He also does some trail riding on a mountain bike. Joseph had to work out some logistics to make commuting work for him. He starts work at 6:00 am. Commuting from his home on the North side of Davenport would mean a 27 mile trip to Cordova and another 27 mile trip home after spending all day running around at work. At his pace, Joseph figured he would have to leave his house around 3:30 am and wouldn’t get home until around 6:00 pm. Doing the math, he realized that would not leave enough time to hang out with family AND get enough sleep. Joseph found that if he loaded his bike onto his car and drove to Rapids City, he could leave his house at 4:30, still get to work in time to shower before work, and usually be home by 5:00. Joseph says, “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but those extra 2 hours mean the world.” Several years ago, a bus service sponsored by Project NOW was offered to transport workers to Quad Cities Generating Station. The buses were almost always empty so Joseph and other employees agreed that the bus would make a great choice for mixed mode commuting. The only problem is that there is no way to transport a bicycle on the bus. Joseph is still trying to work with the bus company to install bike racks on the buses. Joseph really enjoys camaraderie with other cyclists. According to Joseph, “The camaraderie among cyclists is something to be marveled. I am referring to the ability of anyone to join a group ride with the QCBC and have a new friend by the end of the day. No matter what your differing viewpoints are, once two people are on bicycles next to each other, it all seems to melt away and they can make it an enjoyable ride.” Great example of how to make commuting work for you!