Cycling: Benefits and Pitfalls

I ride my bicycle everyday. I've always loved riding a bike as soon as my dad took the training wheels off around age 5. I used to ride around my neighborhood for hours and just have a great time. It wasn't until about age 13 that I started biking everywhere and really getting into it. As I grew older I realized that the bicycle isn't just for fun, but for practical use as well. I bike to  and from school everyday and it is great. 

There is some great things about the bicycle. First of all it's a great workout and keeps your legs moving constantly. I also love my bike because I can lock it up pretty much anywhere around school. When you have a car you need to pay for parking, gas, maintenance, and you need to spend the time and effort washing them. With a bike all you need is your two legs, a couple of tools and a lock. It's also about 1/10th the price of a car. When you consider the distance from my school it's actually faster than driving a car there. On the way to school there is many stoplights and the streets are very busy. Luckily on a bike you can quickly maneuvere through intersections and side streets without having to worry about red lights and stop signs. 

Then again there is some things that aren't too great. When riding on the sidewalk there can be areas where tree roots have completely busted through the concrete or there is no ramp from the curb to the street. The main thing that bothers me about bicycles is people not being respectful. Sometimes I'm behind a person walking practically screaming at them saying things like "on your left" or "excuse me" and "coming up behind you". I don't know if the majority of people in Fullerton have a severe hearing problem or they are just oblivious to the world around them, but it drives me insane. Another downside to biking is having to deal with bad drivers. You'll find bad drivers anywhere you go, but bad drivers are especially dangerous with bicycles. There has been times when I'm crossing the street and people almost drive right into me or straight through me. It's not a visibility issue either. I am always letting people know that I'm crossing the street or passing by and I still can't seem to avoid the issue of almost getting run over.

Biking is so good for you. It's a fun way to stay in shape, it's energy efficient, cost efficient and easily "parked". All over Europe (especially in Scandanavia) people are riding their bikes. I don't see why more people don't. You always hear people complaining about their car like "it always has problems" or "it's slowly falling apart". There is an easy solution to that and it's called a bicycle. I want to live in a world where one day everybody rides their bicycle. And it won't be too long until we run out of fossil fuel.

-Liam 

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