The volcanic rise in gas prices has inspired many to embrace the mode of transportation that got them going in life: the bicycle. As in youth, baseball cards in the spokes remain optional.
Stamford accountant and Chappaqua resident Kevan Full bikes to work and hopes to see some improvements on Route 117 .
“Route 117 is a major artery for my area of Westchester,” said Full. “It is the major road that connects communities: Katonah, Bedford Hills, Mt. Kisco, Chappaqua and Pleasantville. This roadway sees a lot of activity and all sizes of vehicles that place a great deal of wear and tear on the pavement.”
Full pedals to his job in Stamford, a 45-mile round-trip. He views his hour-and-20-minute ride as a “journey, not a commute,” and lives for the adventure and the workout of getting to his job. Despite the excitement, some stretches of Route 117 are in “miserable shape,” making it a dangerous route for cyclists.
Full may soon be getting company in the far-right lane.
“We have definitely seen increases in sales,” said Steve Moon, owner of Tarrytown Cycles in Tarrytown. Since the recent increase in gas prices, Moon said sales are about 20 percent above last year.
“This town itself is a pretty avid cyclist town; people are very active and cycling is definitely a part of their lifestyle,” said Moon. “But because of the steep gas, yes, people have become a lot more aware recently and we have been seeing a lot more new customers. We”™ve also been seeing different categories of bikes.”
One such bike folds up and is billed as ideal for commuters.
“(There has been) a lot more interest in this type of bike because a lot of our residents here are commuters into the city,” said Moon. “So not only are they taking public transportation, they are also thinking of riding their bikes.”
In Scarsdale, Steve Kahn sees a different picture. The owner of Danny”™s Cycles said sales are about the same as they were last year, and he has seen a very small increase in his customers who are looking to commute by bike.
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“I don”™t think it”™s hit the tipping point of the gas price yet; it”™s getting there,” said Kahn. “Some people are inquiring,” he said of biking to work, “but not so many people are doing it yet.
For long commutes, “What you can do is find a spot that is 10 miles from your job site, a place where you can park your car safely and you can bring your bike and you can commute from there,” said Kahn. “So you shorten your car commute and you make an impact on some level. And there are so many benefits from commuting beyond just the gas situation: the impact on the environment is certainly the number-one thing; saving money is great; you also get in great shape. Most people lose 17 lbs within the first year when the commute riding.”
Heidi Goldstein-Sidley has been ahead of the curve, commuting whenever she can. “It refreshes me; I feel much more alert when I get here and I don”™t have to use the gas guzzling SUV and Jeep we have,” she said. The executive vice president and managing director of Madison Pension Services in White Plains said she has been seeing an increase of cyclists on the road since the increase of gas prices. But her main motivation for riding to work was and is to stay in shape.
So what about creating more and safer bike paths?
Karin Weisburgh, a member of the Westchester Cycle Club and Westchester”™s Bike Commuter of the Year award winner, is one cyclist that has been participating in a letter-writing campaign for a bike route on I-287 and along Westchester Avenue, potential major Connecticut-New York bike thoroughfares.
In her May 19 letter to the Westchester County Department of Planning, Weisburgh said, “A Westchester Avenue nonmotorized facility will connect with other trailways, greatly enhancing the origin and destination combinations available to nonmotorized modes of travel.”
She also said, “This facility would provide nonmotorized access to the southeast portion of the county, which is currently underserved in terms of trail facilities that accommodate bicycles and pedestrians ”¦ and would provide direct nonmotorized access to the many employment and educational sites along Westchester Avenue, and could significantly reduce car trips to those locations.”
Weisburgh”™s 10-mile bike commute from Larchmont to her job at Consumers Union in Yonkers encompasses Tuckahoe Road for half her trip, which eventually leads her to the South County Bike Trail for the last mile to the office. In an April 22 letter to the county, the senior research analyst expressed the importance of creating more and safer bike paths for commuters, stating: “By establishing safer routes for bikers, the number of cyclist-commuters will undoubtedly increase, and as a result, help drive down the number of automobiles on the roads.”
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