Yesterday morning I was supposed to run in a 5K out in the suburbs of
Chicago. I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn (5:45 am) so I could take
the purple line express train out to the race. I got to the EL station
and it turns out the train wasn't running that day. WTF??? I ended
up missing the race, so I pretty much woke up at 5:45 am for nothing.
This whole escapade might have been the straw that broke this
camel's back. With Nike's Beat Gasoline challenge in my mind, I had already been thinking about ditching public
transportation entirely during the summer months and relying solely on
pedal/foot power to get around. Don't get me wrong. I fully believe
public transportation is a great alternative to driving, but nothing is
more RELIABLE than hopping on your bike or walking to get some place.
Think about it -- you never have to deal with traffic or "unexpected
delays" like you do on a bus or train. You just hop on your bike or
strap on some running shoes and get where you want to go.
Working Bikes, an awesome bike co-op in Chicago, feels the same
way. The Working Bikes Cooperative is a volunteer driven non-profit
organization that takes bikes headed for the garbage dump, repairs them
and then either sells them to the public or ships them to countries
like Ghana, Tanzania, Angola, Peru, and Guatemala where people use the
bikes to get to work. Each year, they ship over 5,000 bikes nationally
and internationally.
It's remarkable how much a reliable means of transportation can
make a difference. In the countries to which Working Bikes ships,
bicycles are the
primary means of vehicular transportation for the majority of the
population, and can often
mean the difference between work and unemployment.
What's even more remarkable is that a small investment here can
make a huge difference overseas. According to the organization, due to
wage differences, a bicycle worth $20 in Chicago can be worth the
equivalent of $1,000 in Africa.
So moral of the story: Skip the public transportation this summer.
Instead, take your old clunker of a bike to Working Bikes, trade it in
for a fixed up, usable bike (for about $40-$50) and use pedal power to
get you places this summer.
In the process, you'll be reducing your carbon footprint, getting fit
and helping someone overseas secure gainful employment to get out of
poverty. It's a win-win-win situation!
To find out more visit the Working Bikes Co-Op website at www.workingbikes.org
