Lubbock on a Bike: Ending a 5 Month Era

I was afforded the luxury of riding my bike to work today. (Yes, I know that most people don't equate riding a bike to work with luxury, but it is for me.)

It felt so very good.

[Life has changed lately. Most of those changes involve taking care of someone in the hospital and taking care of a very talkative third grader. My hat is off to those of you who are raising children. I honestly don't know how you do it.]

Today is the final Day of the National Bike Challenge 2016. And it has been a good run!

Recently I wrote about a guy named David in town who has kept me pedaling. He pulled ahead this week and my hat is off to him - Congrats, David E! (Unless I can turn my five-mile commute home into something over 50 miles, he has it in the bag.)

We've bumped up the MH art budget!

The funny thing about riding a bike is that the more I ride, the more I want to ride. And the more I drive a car, the more I want to ride a bike. And the more I eat donuts, the more I need to ride. And the more I get stressed out, the more I need to ride. It's like life is a big funnel trying to pour me onto a bike.

Here are my cycling stats for this year (so far)

 

So, where do we go from here?

 

Locally speaking:

 

Lubbock is looking at updating its bike and pedestrian paths. I want to see what the plan is and see if it serves the entire town or just the areas near the University. My biggest concern for the Lubbock update is that the focus is on recreational cyclists and that little thought is given to those of us who ride for transportation. This year I have crossed paths with a lot more cycle commuters than in the past, and I seldom ride north of 34th Street. With our town beginning to experience actual traffic jams, cycling could do a lot to lessen the burden on our streets.

 

My quick Lubbock-on-a-Bike wishlist:

• Protected Bike lanes
• Existing Bike lanes expanded to include intersections that cross major streets (i.e. 50th at Memphis)
• East-West bike lanes (not routes)
• Provisions for crossing Loop 289 (and other major roads)

Personally speaking:

 

I plan to keep riding through the winter as much as possible and I plan to keep scheming up ways to get my hands on an electric cargo bike. (RadWagon, Yuba, Extracycle, Juiced - I'm not picky!)

 

May you get your own luxury and may no one else have to pay for it. Keep pedaling!

 

PS. Special thanks to People for Bikes for putting on the National Bike Challenge for another year - keep up a great work that motivates so many of us! #bikesCANsolvethat