FBA Blog |
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Posted: 14 Sep 2016 08:29 AM PDT
Break time is over and it’s time to get back to our weekly blog. Let’s jump back in by sharing a note we received from our Contact FBA online form:
I came across your website while looking for laws regarding biking in Florida. I have been riding a bike since I was a kid, cycling for recreation (and competition as a triathlete) for a couple years, and for the last month, commuting to work. Prior to a trip out to Portland, I never really saw biking as a viable option to get to work. I saw cycling as an athletic activity a day or two during the week and on weekends. Since returning from the West Coast and seeing that my 3-mile commute to work was not only doable, but something I SHOULD be doing, biking has become my main means of transportation to and from work daily.
In just a few short weeks, commuting to work by bike has brought something really special to my life. I can’t exactly peg what it is yet, but has something to do with adding simplicity into my life, increasing my sensory awareness, and an amplified feeling of freedom on a daily basis. It doesn’t really have to do with health, protecting the environment, or saving money. Sure those things are a great reason to ride, but at this point, I just really enjoy doing it.
Problem is, the roads and drivers in South Florida suck for cyclists. In my 3 mile ride to work, I have 0 miles of bike lanes and am in a constant battle to convince cars to share the road with me. From the information on your website, I follow the rules of the road 100%. But, unfortunately people are not aware of the laws and the roads in South Florida really aren’t a great place for me to try to educate them on the topic.
I love riding my bike to work, but frankly it makes my life more difficult having to deal with this issue than simply driving a car. But, I don’t want to give in. I want to be help be the change in the Fort Lauderdale area to make riding a bike a viable option for people of all ages with all kinds of purposes. Problem is, I don’t really know where to start, who to contact, or how to get this information out there. I want to be an active leader in the community on the subject, but they didn’t teach me how to become an activist while studying for my undergrad. So, I wanted to reach out to you to help point me in the right direction on where to start. Do I start with politicians? Newspapers? Stand on a street corner with bike laws on a sign? Paint bike lanes in the road myself? I want to be the change I want in the world and follow in the footsteps of amazing cities I have recently visited like Portland, New York, Seattle, Chicago and others.
Thank you so much for your time in reading my letter and I hope to hear from you soon.
Suffice to say, a phone call was scheduled within days of receiving this email. We had a nice conversation with plenty of information and avenues (pun intended) to explore.
Are you feeling the same way? Please let us know by using this link to contact us: http://floridabicycle.org/contact-us/
Meanwhile, give our Summer Time blog another read, get up to speed and let’s do what we can to help be the change to make riding a bike a viable option for people of all ages with all kinds of purposes, no matter where in Florida we are.
Thank you.
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