Let’s make bicycling more like riding the bus

By Elly Blue

The Midnight Mystery Ride was 150 riders strong last month and is well into its second year. Bike Buddy programs are taking off. Last June, there were so many rides during the two and a half weeks of Pedalpalooza that the calendar had to double in size.

We have a wealth of organized group rides in Portland. And you’ll often see pairs or small groups riding around together, going places, or just out for a spin.

But even in Portland, the typical figure on a bike is riding solo.

Why do the majority of folks bike alone? Maybe it’s because cycling alone comes naturally; whether you’re training for a race or headed to a picnic. I love a long, solo ride to clear my head and get my blood pumping.

But riding around alone can get a little dull, and I often find myself turning a ride across town into a race against the clock.

Riding a bike is largely parallel to—and a replacement for—driving a car. Like bicycles, cars are usually taken solo, driven competitively and fast, and give you feelings of freedom, excitement, and control. A friend pointed out that in a recent study probing Americans’ waning love of their automobiles, all the reasons people cited for loving their cars could also be applied to bikes. Great! But also a little disturbing. The car isn’t the only way of getting around, after all. Is it really the one we want to model ourselves after?

[The more the merrier.]

Sometimes I wish that bicycling were more like riding the bus.

Sure the bus is slow, but it gives you time to relax. And being in traffic is an entirely different story if you aren’t the one behind the wheel (or handlebars), thinking “I bet I can make this light” or “I would have made that light if that guy hadn’t cut me off.”

The bus makes you let go in a way that is sometimes frustrating but often liberating. On the bus, gazing out the window, you have time to take in details that are just a blur from a bike or a car.

And that’s to say nothing of the interior scene on the bus. Just as cycling is physically invigorating, it’s hard to find something more mentally and socially stimulating than taking the bus. You are surrounded by people, most of whom are strangers. You are brought into direct sensory contact with realities beyond your own. Riding the bus can be entertaining, appalling, engaging, disturbing, and heart-rending in ways that most of us experience very little in our daily lives.

[A lonely ride.]

A senior editor at the Wall Street Journal recently lashed out against transit advocates, gloating that Americans are “rugged individualists,” whereas bus travel will never catch on because it is “collectivist” in nature. If bicyclists are interested in cultural change beyond just the roads, we would be well-advised to take this comparison to heart.

Until we clear the roads of most car traffic or wise up and prioritize public transport to create fast, dedicated bus routes, I’m far happier to bike. The bus really has nothing on the health benefits, unlimited hours, and flexibility of bicycling.

But why not have the best of both worlds—the thrill and health of cycling and the meditative feeling and social exposure of taking the bus?

It’s easy. All you’ve got to do is slow down, pay attention to our surroundings and interact with others. Try a quick nod to passing motorists and a wave to fellow cyclists or even try stopping traffic for people in wheelchairs. We can choose to ride with other people, whether we already know them or just meet them along the way.

There’s a whole world waiting on the other side of your handlebars, so don’t be afraid to loosen your grip and let it all in.