Biking Moms of Redwood City

I’m enjoying my visit to Germany’s capital city and constantly noticing bikes. They are everywhere. As is bike parking. And it’s not like in the US, with a rack here or there. Streets are often lined with long beams intended for bikes. (I don’t know if bike theft is a big problem here, but bike locks seem to be more heavy-duty than most I see in the Bay Area.) Bike “lanes” often are carved out of sidewalks and merge onto the street when crossing. They are very well-marked and respected by motorists.

I estimate that 95 percent of cyclists do not wear helmets. Maybe this is because they are given enough room by motorists so that there aren’t accidents? (Which is fine, unless you’re clumsy.) I’ve seen lots of men in suits and women in skirts on bicycles, too.

It's not surprising that this guy thinks the best taqueria in the Bay Area is in Redwood City. What is surprising is that the one he picked is about a mile from our house, up the hill, where all the gringos live.

We checked it out on Saturday (I've ridden past many times and never knew it was there). Man, those are good burritos. Definitely two meals worth.

Yesterday I rode downtown for story time at the library and to drop something off at city hall. As always, I got lots of questions about the Burley in its stroller mode. "That's quite a contraption!" people say. "It attaches to the bike," I say. This is often followed by, "Aren't you scared?" And I say something about how it's so visible, being bright yellow, and having it's bright orange flag. I just don't understand why it's scarier to ride around with him in his car seat in the trailer than in his car seat in the car, going 40 mph, or 70, for that matter...

Last night as I was getting ready to go to the gym, I debated with myself about whether to ride or drive. "It's dark, and the light on my mountain bike is dead," I said to myself. "And it takes forever on the mountain bike." (I pretty much never ride my road bike (a blue Bianchi) anywhere that I would need to lock it up.) Then I remembered how much I love riding at night after rush hour. So I got on the Bianchi with my cable lock in my bag and off I went.

It took me about 15 minutes less to ride the Bianchi there than it does with the mountain bike! Since my u-lock lives at the gym, I had two locks for the Bianchi.

Since the batteries on my headlight died on the way to the gym, I stopped at the 7-11 down the street from the gym to get new ones. After I got back on with the fresh, bright light, I promptly knocked the light off it's mount (I don't think I had put it back on properly) and it crashed to the ground, separating into half a dozen parts all over the El Camino gutter. I managed to find all the pieces and batteries, reassembled it, and it actually worked!!! The people at Cat Eye build those things to last...

Car-free commuting is common in large cities with extensive public transportation, or in famously bicycle-friendly cities like Portland, Ore., but the surge in gasoline prices is making people across the country wonder if they can get to work without a car.

A survey by the Pew Research Center in June found 55 percent of drivers said they had cut back on driving in response to high gas prices.

However, making shorter trips or letting the car stand in the driveway isn't a very good way of saving money. The real savings come when you get rid of the car altogether.

In 2004, U.S. households spent an average of $650 a month on transportation, of which only a fifth was gasoline and motor oil, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rest was mainly the cost of the car, insurance and repairs. Only $37 was spent on public transportation, which includes air travel.