Here’s a link:

http://humaniststudies.org/enews/?id=313&article=1

This fellow owns a bike shop in the Midwest and has many interesting posts.

The thing about America being a car-centered society has its roots in economic revitalization: cars and roads are very expensive and complex things to maintain. They provide many jobs, both private and civil.

We built an economy around cars, so it’s going to be hard to convince people to change to self-powered transit when owning a car is considered an American Virtue (incidentally, Adolf Hitler also used cars to revitalize his economy. He helped invent the Volkswagen–”people’s car”–Beetle).

Yeah, cycling is a great family activity and you can’t beat parental example as a way to teach stuff to kids. Is it a vehicle for broader social change? Maybe. But on one level, who cares?……

Great post. I work for the Institute for Humanist Studies in Albany NY. I live in Troy NY, about 7 or 8 miles north.

I own a car, but haven’t driven it in months now. I either take the bus or ride my bike to work.

It’s a great ride along the Hudson River. There’s a bike trail between Troy and Albany. I enjoy it very much.

My dream, however, is to canoe to work. My apartment in Troy is only a block from the Hudson River. And the Institute for Humanist Studies is only two blocks from the river in Albany.

Even though Troy is about 140 miles north of the ocean, we still get a tide here. So it’s possible for me to ride the river current to work and to ride the tide home. Cool, huh?

I’m hoping to get one of those lightweight canoes and just throw it over my shoulder when I come ashore in Albany in the morning. I can’t wait to see the look on all the folks in their suits when I walk by with my canoe. I might even wear my tie too!

I would like to see more humanists express a concern for the environment — natural and built. Surban sprawl is destroying the world. Among other things, it produces human beings who wouldn’t dream of walking or biking anywhere.

My favorite advantages relate to health and stress-level. Basically, I just find it pleasant not to have to immediately get in the car every time I want to go anywhere.

I’ve written a little about it here: Le Metro !: No longer car-dependent, I’m now part of the French underground.

The bike entheusiest in the interview was completely on the side of the trail system - saying that in the end, it comes down to the simple comparrison of a biker sharing space with (and out numbered by) 2 thousand pound pieces of hurtling metal with visual limitations and low expectations about sharing the road.
This makes perfect sense to me.
The contrary view point tends to go along the lines of “I pay my taxes for road repair and maintainence, and my bike is a vehickle, too!” - - this doesn’t really help you out once an SUV has made paste out of you, though.

A good resource for learning more about programs that create bike trails in your own area, and how to find and support them - try:
http://www.railtrails.org/

I’ve shared bike trails with people who commute to work that way - some compromise and have a little mechanical assistance they can engage when they get tired. There are also products that serve as a kind of full body deoderant/aftershave to reduce the ‘funk’ if you can’t grab a shower once you reach work (available - I’m assuming - at bike shops, but surely online).

Hope this is helpful!
Your training the kids for a more bike-filled future is a great endeavor, Noell! It could well contribute to more safe, responsible, and close-knit communities of healthier, happier people!

My point is that today, I would be very reluctant to ride on the streets whether there are bike lanes or not. In our area of southern California it is just too crowded with cars. The bike trails are great. For us it is two blocks to the bike trail then it is an easy 17 miles to the beach and the wind is offshore in the morning and onshore in the afternoon so it is behind your back both ways. No cars to contend with either way.

My son and oldest daughter are still bicyclists and my grandchildren also ride their bikes but the only street riding is to get to bike trails. Now that is a long way from your goal of commuting on a bike. It is strictly recreational riding. I would strongly urge you to join a biking club and I’m sure there are free newsletters in any major cycling shop. Seven or eight years old is not too young for most clubs. There is a lot more to it than the simple rules of the road. There are plenty of “courtesy” guidelines for riding in groups of two or three and many safety guidelines. Examples are ways to stay out of “blind spots” and ways to improve survival probabilities through other “visibility” techniques. Don’t let your idealism blind you to reality. It is dangerous out there.

Now that I’m back Stateside, bicycles are for recreation only… my job is 27 miles away, straight across the heart of Denver. I don’t see that happening.

Your kids sound like they’re doing great.