On the other hand, I won't expose my children to the same danger. For the last two weeks, my oldest daughter has been with grandparents. That leaves me and the little one, who I can haul around in the trailer. There is a major shopping center barely 2 miles from my home. It houses a Target, an HEB (major Texas grocer), PetSmart, my bank, an OfficeMax, and several clothing stores. I could easily tow her to the shopping center instead of driving, but I'm afraid.
I'm afraid of the danger presented by motorists on busy roads. Shary Road, which is the only reasonable way to get to the shopping center, is a 55 mph road. Additionally, when I reach the intersection of Shary Road and Expressway 83, it's busy and dangerous. There is always traffic, and lots of cars entering and exiting the stream of traffic from the shopping centers along the road. It looks a little like this, only usually busier:
There's a huge shoulder, and I've seen ONE other cyclist towing children on the road, but it still scares me. The shoulder on most of Shary Road looks similar to the Google Street View photo that I've inserted below. It's a shoulder that many bike commuters would love to have, but I still can't bring myself to tow my 2 year old on the same shoulder.
I believe that bikes will play a larger role in transportation as our dependence on oil continues to create problems for the American consumer (and the worldwide consumer too). I believe that we all have a responsibility to reduce our reliance on oil. As such, I want to ride my bike for more than just recreation. I want to use it as real transportation. To use it as transportation, my circumstances require me to take along at least one child, and I want to feel safe towing my daughter to the store. But I don't, and I'm sure my spouse feels the same way multiplied by maybe 1 gazillion. Yet, that doesn't make me feel like less of a hypocrite.
What do you think?
10 comments:
and when everyone is out riding their bikes again, we'll be in the fast lane! :)
I certainly wouldn't call you a hypocrite. Think of it this way: when you ride solo, you can maneuver your bike to avoid a lot of the problems that may arise. Towing a trailer, you can't.
I have the same problem living at the top of a large hill. Don't feel safe towing my kids down it for fear of losing control. I won't even mention the fact that there's no way I could tow a trailer back up.
I wish more of the shovel-ready projects would have been bike lanes and commuter rail lines that would help reduce our dependence on oil.
You are right to be concerned about your children and not exposing them to danger. While maybe not real practical, one solution might be to drive part way, park somewhere so you can ride on safe roads to where you need to get.
It's a good thing to get your kids involved in biking.
You do whatever you have to in order to keep the little ones safe. Trailers are meant for bike paths.
I commend you and don't think you a hypocrite at all. Children depend on their parents to protect them. Clearly, you have your priorities in line and love your little 2 year old munchkin. Ride with her on a bike path or trail and drive on the busier streets. That's what a good dad does. ;-)
When I have kids in tow I'll ride the sidewalks or bike paths if/when needed. My oldest (9 in a few weeks) I don't worry about as much on the shoulder and when it's just he and I out I'll take him on routes that I won't if I have the 7 year old. The 7 year old can get preoccupied and lose concentration and can't hold a line as well when he's in his own little world. Granted the typical rides we do are in our neighborhood.
Also as your little one gets bigger your next step in the evolution will be a trail-a-bike. That will make a difference on where you go and probably your attitude about the safety. At least for me when I started pulling the 4 year old with the trail-a-bike this year for whatever reason I wasn't as worried about traffic. It could be because I'm able to go faster and feel more maneuverable.
@All
Thanks for your feedback and comments. Seems we're in agreement that it's more prudent to be safe, so until it is, I won't be riding Shary Road with the little one.
@Weiland -- I'll be glad when they're both a little older. The 7 year old just graduated from her trail-a-bike, so it's mothballed waiting on the 2 year old to get big enough. I know what you mean about "own little world". I won't ride much on even our subdivision streets with the 7 year old.
It's the old adage.. "there's a time and a place for everything" (or is it "just because you could doesn't mean you should"?).
Anyway.. your parental senses are right on the money. That road & those speeds don't seem like the time or place for towing the kids.
I'll agree that trailers are difficult in traffic. US roads are bad enough for riding a bike -- towing a three-foot wide box makes cycling that much more scary and stressful.
Have you considered a cargo bike like an Xtracycle? They actually rides like a single bike, carry tons of stuff, and your kid is close enough that you can talk to each other. They really are car-replacement vehicles.
I also have to comment on the shovel-ready comments. I don't think we are going totally be able to build/buy our way out of this because in addition to our poor cycling infrastructure, we've made 60+ years of poor life choices.
It's never going to be easy to ride for daily living if we all choose to live in areas of auto-centric sprawl. Often it's because we want large yards, cheaper housing prices, higher paying jobs, "better" schools or whatnot. None of these are bad, but they aren't necessarily compatible with cycling as transportation.
We all have choices to make. I made a choice to work at a job in the city instead of the 'burbs, probably leaving money on the table but deciding a daily, in-city bike commute was worth it.
Our family pretty much avoids going to any shopping centers, precisely because they almost always require driving. Instead we shop at smaller, local stores. Goods often cost a bit more, but we make them up by not spending gas money or losing hours of our lives in the car.
Anyway, this isn't meant so much a preachy rant as is it a plug for the Xtracycle and a car-light lifestyle. It really can work. Honest.
And good luck on the job lead in Austin. One my one trip there it seemed like a perfect cycling city!
@Tim K Thanks for reading!
I have actually done a bit of research on cargo bikes, and think they're great, but haven't been able to make the financial leap. You're right about suburbs and sprawl -- I live in just such an area, and to ride to the nearest shopping area is not far, but requires high speed road use. Perhaps when (if?) we move back to Austin, we'll be able to a more densely populated urban area that allows us to cycle and walk more, and drive less.
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