Our enduring love affair with gasoline is problematic, to say the least. In a world with volatile gas prices, air pollution, carbon-induced climate change, questionable long-term access to foreign oil, and a surge of huge gas-guzzling vehicles taking over the roads, there's one lingering question on my mind:

What are we going to do about it? How are we going to shift away from a car-based transportation structure that requires burning fossil fuels?

More specifically, how can you move from point A to point B without driving? How do you use sports to Beat Gasoline?

I'll tell you what I do. I ride my bike everywhere. I walk. I hitch piggy-back rides from friends. I dance down the street, and climb trees, and balance precariously along abandoned train tracks. I rely on human power as my primary form of transportation. I fuel my vehicle with fruits, veggies, and sometimes nachos.

Yet there are so many more human-powered travel options. You can use skateboards or roller blades. You can move with a scooter, snowshoes, a unicycle, or a pogo stick. You can travel by horseback or kayak. You have the freedom to go car-free, and you can get there using your own muscles. 

A few years ago, I rode my bicycle all the way from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon in about eight weeks. Trust me, it can be done, and you can have a total blast getting to where you need to be without the constraint of cars, insurance, auto maintenance, speed limits, drivers' licenses, gasoline...

[Right: A pic of me riding through Montana in July. Man, it felt great to traverse the country on two wheels. Well, three wheels if you count my yellow trailer, Bob.]

I know you all have some great ideas about how to use sports to Beat Gasoline. Here's your chance to show the world how it's done by entering the Beat Gasoline contest.

That's right, we're offering some cool prizes—like Global Giving dollars and Nike kicks—to the best video and photo submissions that illustrate how you play instead of burning gas. So bust out that camcorder, film a short video, submit it to www.beatgasoline.com, and show others how we can use sports to Beat Gasoline.

Critical Mass -- you know, THAT bike thing in your city that stops all the traffic once a month and gets all the motorists all pissed off.  Well, last friday, I followed the lead of my fellow Play City compadres, James and Trina, and also went on a Critical Mass bike ride. I rode Chicago.

                  Thousands of cycling enthusiasts meet at Daley Plaza on the last Friday of each month for Critical Mass.                         

As a Critical Mass virgin, who is not hard-core into the biking scene I was a little nervous. I totally expected the ride was going to be me (nerdy guy on a mountain bike) and then like 8,000,000 angry, anti-car hipsters cruising around all smug on their fixies with their skinny jeans rolled up, rocking crazy fashion-forward haircuts, and secretly mocking me for my lame bike and unskinny jeans.

Don't get me wrong. I like a riding a bike.  In fact, I think bikes are great.  I even volunteer for a non-profit organization called Climate Cycle that uses bike-a-thons to put solar panels on Chicago public schools.  But I'm not part of the bike culture.   I'm not anti-car. I don't ride a fixed gear bike and I don't hate motorists .  Before the ride, I kind of wondered to myself, "would I fit in with this Critical Mass crowd?"

Well, it turns out that not everyone at Critical Mass is anti-car.  While I did see about 8,000,000 hipsters (okay, maybe like 3,000) cruising around on their fixies, most of them were not smug or anti-car.  They were just normal people who like to ride.  That's what surprised me the most.  Critical Mass is not some subversive, underground ride.  Critical Mass is for ANYONE who enjoys riding a bike, even nerdy guys like myself.  I saw everyone from hipsters, hippies, and activists to accountants, teachers and elementary school kids. 

 

                Super tall double gigantor bike guy rides in the Mass

 

                     Old Hippies ride in the Mass.

 

                      Mumia rides in the Mass     

 

                    Dogs and girls with bandanas ride in the Mass

 

                    Kids ride in the Mass.

 

                 Mutton Chop guy and Golf shirt guy ride in the Mass.

 

Bottom line is the Mass is for EVERYONE. If you go out and talk to people you'll realize most of them are out there just to have a good time.  Last Friday was my first ride, but now I'm hooked. If you've never been on a Critical Mass bike ride, I suggest you try it out. 

Like James, I also rode in Critical Mass last night. We rode together in support of our urban cycling communities, albeit several hundred miles apart.

Right: My friend Sy snacks on a saddle. Mmmm...delicious.

Chicago Critical Mass doesn't seem to be plagued by the same level of arrests and violence seen in New York City CM rides. Sure, some police come along for the ride, but the attitude generally feels much more light-hearted. I remember being part of a Critical Mass ride in Portland, Oregon where I was terrified of breathing the wrong way and getting slapped with a $200 ticket. About 30% of the riders on that particular CM ride were ticketed for questionable charges such as "improper use of a lane," "failure to make and hold turn signals for an adequate distance before turning," and "obstructing traffic."

Above: Daley Plaza is saturated with cyclists ready for the first warm Critical Mass of 2009.

One of the more popular CM sayings is that we're not obstructing traffic; we are traffic. It's all part of a larger paradigm shift towards widescale acceptance of non-motorized transportation. 

While hanging with my bike buddies and waiting for the ride to begin, a friend handed me a copy of The Derailleur—a Chicago Critical Mass monthly zine. On page four, I found a list of reasons to ride, written by Jane Healy:

"I ride because...
* I want to feel safe on the streets of Chicago.
* I love the feel of the wind in my face.
* I want to remind car drivers that bikes really are a lot more fun.
* I like smelling fresh air.
* I don't want my kids to become addicted to cars.
* I need freedom.
* I ride because I can."

Above: A couple of local cyclists do a "Chicago Hold Up" in honor of Critical Mass

I decided to ask some of the other CMers why they ride:

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the awesome juggler in the teal shirt is me :) 

So what's your answer? Why do you ride?

 

You wanna get fit, reduce your carbon footprint, and save money all at the same time?  I have an easy answer for you. Ditch your car and start riding a bike as your means of transportation.

 

 Bikes are by far the healthiest and most environmentally friendly mode of urban transportation.  Not only that, but biking is also the most efficient.  More efficient than walking, skateboarding, riding a donkey, horse, giant dog, zebra, leopard, you name it...

Plus, you'll save a ton of money on gas, insurance, etc and you'll look super-cool on your fixed speed with your one pant leg rolled up. 

Stop thinking about it.  Do it.  Buy a bike.  Ditch your car.

 

 

If you're a biking newbie in Chicago, here are some good biking resources that you'll want to know about:

Non-Profit

Working Bikes is a sweet non-profit cooperative in Chicago.  They take bikes headed for the junkyard, repair them and then shp them to places where bikes are the primary mode of transportation for the country's population.  In many of the countries like Cuba, Angola, Ecudor and Tanzania a working bike often means the difference between work and unemployment.

Climate Cycle is a super-cool grassroots non-profit in Chicago that is working towards a more sustainable future by installing solar energy systems on Chicago public schools.  They way they raise money is through carbon neutral fundraising bike rides.  Their innaugural bike-a-thon is May 9th.

Advocacy 

The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit advocacy organization that works to improve conditions for bicycling, walking and transit and engage people in healthy and active ways to get around.

Fun

Critical Mass -- On the last Friday Of every month thousands of bikers ride together through Chicago to take back the streets of our city.  You'll find people from all walks of life in the Mass.  There is no political agenda.  Rather, the idea is to just go out and ride. 

World Naked Bike Ride -- This one is pretty much what it sounds like.  It takes place in June. 

I'm moving to NYC in a few days and in the midst of clearing out my LA apartment, and labeling boxes to be "sent" and to be "stored", I managed to come up with a list of ways I can *try* to stay active in the Big Apple.

A little background:  I'm a Midwest girl who became a woman down South, then grew tired of the West, and who's now headed back East where my father was born and raised.  Needless to say, I'm moved around a bit.  I think it's cool to live in multiple places before one finally decides to "settle" - if (and that's a big IF) I ever decided to give life to another human being, I'll be sure to tell her/him to travel as much as possible, embrace your surroundings, and adapt accordingly.

Going from one major city to the next requires one to reorganize her/his lifestyle; my workout lifestyle in particular.  While growing up in Ohio, it was easy to find a track or stadium to workout at.  Even living in Houston for several years, it was a piece of cake to just hop in my car and drive over to Rice stadium for a workout (no worries about parking, traffic, or PEOPLE.)

But when I moved to LA I realized that living life in La-La land requires most people to live in bubbles; work bubble to car bubble to home bubble.  It wasn't until recently that I discovered an entire community of bike riders chillaxing right around the corner from my apartment.  I also discovered that Southland has some amazing workout spots, like the Sand Dunes at Manhattan Beach and The Stairs in Santa Monica.  While all of these outdoor amenities are heavenly, one of the major problems I encountered was getting to and from these places effectively.  That is, if you know anything about LA you know that traffic is horrendous (the worst in the nation) and you literally have to plan hours ahead of time in order to make a simple trip 15 miles away.  Needless to say, I wasn't able to enjoy the outdoor amenities as much as I liked, so because of that, I went ahead and got a gym membership.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.

So now, I'm headed back East where the faces are a bit more familiar and the food is second to none.  But because I overly enjoy East coast food, it's without a doubt that I must figure out the best ways to stay active in a city where there's more concrete than grass and where people literally live on top of each other.  The list goes a 'lil something like this:

Ways To Stay Active In NYC (in no particular order).

1) Walking - walk more than you've ever walked before!  Grocery store, cafe, friend's apartment, work, you name it; you walk to it!

2) Biking - when walking isn't an option.

3) Running - especially in Central Park, and preferably like Phoebe.

4) Walking the dog - similiar to plain old walking but takes more concentration and multi-tasking abilities.  Plus when a dog's gotta go, a dog's gotta go!

5) Guess this is out of the question.

6) Rollerblading and skateboarding. - never done either, but I wouldn't mind lacing up 4-wheel skates and pretend like it's 1979 all over again.

7) Gym - lots of 'em in NYC and I gotta membership, might as well use it.

8) Intramural basketball - Question: how in the world do I find an intramural basketball team to join in the city??  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

9) DANCING!!!!

10) Water sports - while I can list a slue of water sports activities folks partake in on the West side, I'm not too familiar with what East siders do in the Atlantic.  Again, any suggestions you have are most certainly welcome.

Okay, so there ya go.  What do you think?  Am I missing something?



Photos courtesy of Ed Yordon's and Indy Charlie's Flickr pages.