Why do people take up biking? A lot of good reasons
have been given. Those reasons include: environment, economy, exercise, ease
and efficiency. This makes me wonder why all the e-words are showing up. Anyway,
these reasons hint on what I believe is the one reason - that it is human
friendly.
I personally owned bicycles since I was a kid
ranging from recreation, utility and race bikes but for a long time after; I took
to motor vehicles in commuting to and from work. So when I gave up my salaried
job and my visiting younger brother brought home a mountain bike I wasn’t fit
enough to take up cycling again. One attempt to go to the nearby drugstore a
kilometer away found me huffing and puffing when I got back. I locked up the
bike in the garage where for several months it gathered dust and cobwebs.
Then combating a lousy feeling, I decided to
reacquaint myself with the bike. I washed and pad dried it, greased it, and
fixed a flat tire. I took many short rides with it to the beach and later pedaled
farther up west to scenic coastal and rural villages. Since the day I remounted
that bike, I begun to appreciate more and more the countless reasons why many
people enjoy biking.
There are of course, obvious health benefits from
biking. It does make you feel better and invigorated and can surely drive the
blues away. Health experts also say it provides better muscle tone, improves
bone mass, good for the cardio-vascular system and therapeutic for the mind and
spirit.
Needless to say, it is economical and efficient,
won’t badger you with costly insurance and maintenance, washing queues or tight
parking space, and won’t give a crap about rising fuel prices. Bicycling is low
impact on the environment. It reduces air, water and noise pollution, and
greenhouse gas emissions. It won’t cause road kill and maim persons or
animals. Not only is a bike environment
friendly, it is user friendly too. It is safe for humans to handle and able to
perform a useful task for humans. It never complains when an errand needs to be
run.
It
is a great family and friends activity, a nice way for family bonding,
camaraderie, or meeting new friends with a similar interest. Even if you are
your sole company, your bike is your steady companion and teacher as you travel
the trails together, discovering something wonderful in every unexpected swerve
off the road.
It’s closest to the action of walking,
it takes you wherever you like to go, whenever you want it, but with increased
mobility. It allows you to appreciate more
the nuances of the natural and built environment around you - the sky is bluer,
the air is fresher and the hillsides are greener. Never does life seem as good as when you are riding your bike, with the
warm breeze touching your face and the wind tickling your ears, on your
soul-satisfying forays into the countryside. So,
for all intents and purposes whether health or wealth, sport or transport,
endurance or enjoyment; biking is good for humans, truly and wholly human
friendly.
Many
great cities of the world have taken responsive actions and made strides in promoting
healthier and more active bicycle lifestyles. Up on the list of bike friendly
cities are many European cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, Paris; US
cities such as New York, Chicago, Colorado, Oregon, California; and elsewhere like
Ottawa, Tokyo, Beijing, Cape Town and Perth. In the Philippines ,
Marikina takes
pride in being an award winning bicycle friendly city. Other cities like Quezon City , Makati
City and Naga City
have bicycle lanes too. Of late, Iloilo
City is up and moving to
construct its own bike roads.
I
hope Zamboanga City can improve the situation for
bicycles hereabouts, by giving priority to bicycle traffic, bicycle safety and
bicycle infrastructures to one day make this city a bicycle friendly city.