biking in York

If you lived and worked in or near York, it's very possible you could do away with your car. There are buses, but the bike system is impressive. There are bike lanes on roadways, bike parking at designated spots throughout the city, and even bike ramps on some stairways. I'd even hazard a guess that York is more bike-friendly than handicap-friendly. York has established bike routes and distributes maps showing bike-only areas, quiet roads, shared roads, etc. In fact, we live probably two blocks from a bike/walk path along the river.


Bike parking at the York train station... well used.


There are plenty of people who seem to use their bike as a commuting vehicle. I've seen all sorts of people riding—young, old, professionals in suits or high heels, families, etc. At rush hour, the cars and bikes back up. I've even seen moms with bike semis—one had a baby seat on the back of her bike for the youngest child and a training bike hooked to the back of hers for the older, another mom had a jerry-rigged wheelbarrow attachment on the front of her bike which carried a kid and dog.


The beginning of rush hour.


With all of that being said, I haven't used my bike as much as I thought I would and Pat actually never used his. When I'm not working and don't have a time schedule, there's no reason to go faster, so I walk. Walking is more flexible and you don't have to worry about your bike getting nicked (stolen) by gypsies, but that may have just been Christmastime. I thought my bike might come in handy for grocery shopping, but I've ended up walking for most of that too since Pat drives to get the bulk of it including frozen items.

Even though cars are MUCH more respectful of bike riders here and give you plenty of room when they can (instead of veering into you), the roads are narrow so it does take some courage for me to get out there. I've really only ridden on the road with cars for short distances and have used the river path to get into the city or to visit the suburbs. It gets rural quickly as you ride away from our place and you end up crossing a cow pasture on a paved path.




Cattle grid on the bike path to keep those cows from escaping. Glad I have shocks for that ride :)


While we were in Paris, we saw a much different kind of bike system. From what we could figure out (knowing we can't read French), it looks like you paid for some sort of card and swiped it at different stations throughout the city to borrow a city-owned bike. These bikes are made for outdoor living with big plastic shields covering all of the potentially rusty bits.

I assume you could ride as much as you want and then lock the bike up at a different station somewhere else. Most impressively, we noticed that the system is being USED. It's really pretty interesting and nice to see that people are getting creative about other forms of transportation. There's nothing healthier and less polluting than pedaling.

The UK maybe takes that a little too far with the "Third York World Naked Bike Ride" deemed "...a colorful protest against car culture and a joint celebration of the bicycle and the human body." I thought this had to be a joke. Who would ride a bike naked? For 5 feet? Try 5 miles. Judging by the pictures on their website, there are some. Unfortunately, I'll miss the spectacle, but if we're lucky Pat might wander down and take some photos to report on it. For those concerned about modesty, you have to be at least 18 to ride. If you're curious, check out the website. Think we could organize something like that in Cincinnati? Ha!