bike cowardice and bike infrastructure

I ran some errands yesterday morning, visiting two stores and a library that were all relatively close to where I live. I regularly bike a much longer distance to get to work and back, so by any right, I should have done the same for these small errands. If there had been some bike racks at the shopping center where two of the errands were, I almost certainly would have done so, but faced with the (relatively minor) inconvenience of not having anywhere to lock my bike while in a grocery store or optician’s office, I took the coward’s route and drove.

I could have made that work as a bike trip, so I’m not looking to blame the shopping center for my lack of commitment yesterday, but it’s a telling example of how one small piece of infrastructure–a single bike rack!—can make a difference in personal decisions about transport. Yet, the Trump administration seems to be coming for bike lanes and similar infrastructure, canceling funding for projects that could encourage more people to cycle instead of drive. So, sure, I’m disappointed in myself for not making the decision to bike to my errands yesterday, but I’m even more disappointed that the Trump administration isn’t satisfied with all of its terrible decisions and has to be petty enough to go for bike infrastructure, too.

• infrastructure
• Donald Trump
• cycling
• bikes
• bike infrastructure