Bike Commuting!!

May is National Bike to work month, and the WWBPA is promoting biking to work and school. To this end, we have compiled bike commute trips and miles from our trustees, members, and friends.

Total bike commute miles for the month of May (that we know about) from people in our community of riders= 1414 miles! Assuming the average car gets 25 miles to the gallon (and that's generous), that's 57 gallons of gas. By biking and not burning 57 gallons of gas, we prevented 1131 pounds of CO2 from polluting the atmosphere!

From WWBPA member Henry Van Cotter: My miles for May biking to work in Plainsboro are 60 miles. Generally my monthly mileage is higher but I was out of town a lot this month. I commute from Aspen Drive near the Plainsboro-Cranberry border to FMC on Route 1 using different routes through Plainsboro depending on time-of-day and traffic and mood. Attached is a picture of my bike after I arrived at work this morning. I was puzzled as to why pedaling was so difficult this morning; lo and behold an orange from my lunch had come unsecured and got wedged between my rear tire and bike rack. The rear tire is cleaner now than ever.

From WWBPA member, Whit Anderson: My daily commute takes me from where Princeton-Highstown meets Clarksville (40.309, -74.616) to our Forrestal Campus (40.345, -74.616). I have a 7, 9 and 11 mile route. Which route I take is heavily weather dependent! I took several days off before and one after Memorial day, so it looks like it will be around 190 commuting miles for May.

From WWBPA member, Kevin Townsend: 216 miles for the week. I work in New Brunswick 2-3 days a week and have been commuting to work for about 7 years. I take different routes taking Washington/571 over Carnegie Lake and then predominately using 27 or towpath between 20 and 35 miles each way depending on how much time I have to commute, weather, etc. Shorter options are to return on train with bike (but have to take by 3:30p or after 7 pm unless have folding bike, morning requires after 9 am). Also biking to train station can be a 2-4 mile ride and then taking train without bike. Based on experience, I prefer for safe commuting to take busier, more direct roads with wide shoulders rather than less traveled roads with little or no shoulders as car and truck commuters react negatively to bikes in vehicle lanes, while seem to not mind and avoid those in shoulders. They also regularly clean the shoulders so less rock, glass, metal shards, etc. Biking to work is great workout and also very relaxing and now will save you lots of money in gas savings.

From resident Kirill Karpenson: I have been riding from home (near Rabbit Hill Road) to Carnegie Center, trying to do it 2 times a week. I have just started doing it in this season last week. My route is about 7.5 mi one way, so so far I have done that twice, so it's 30mi. Planning to one more ride tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Overall I hope to reach 75 mi mark in May. My route is Rabbit Hill Road -> Lanwin Blvd - New Edinburg Rd - S Mill Rd - Woodmere Way - Penn Lyle Rd - Lillie St - Scott Ave - Wallace Rd - cross the railroad under the Princeton Junction station - Vaughan Drive - Alexander Road - Roszel Rd.

From WWBPA member Ken Naglak: Seven bike commute days, 230 miles total. Of course there are a few added miles for Anchor House Training. Different routes almost ever day depending on my time and the weather.

From WWBPA member Matt Martin: I bike about 2 miles each way to Princeton Junction train station about 3x a week. Been doing that since mid-March. (So, not much total so far... about 100 miles.) I take Canal Point Blvd to Alexander Road to the station. It's not such a nice ride... there is no shoulder, sidewalks and cutouts are bumpy, crosswalks not that clearly marked. But, it's still more fun than driving a car. :)

From WWBPA member, Juan D. Cardenas: Biked 47 miles to work for the month.Route to Princeton Jct. train station is: Hendrickson Drive to footpath to Clarksville & 571 intersection,Clarksville Rd. to Harris to Lillie St. to Scott Ave. to Vaughn Dr. (this left onto Vaughn is dangerous as cars speed around the bends so one doesn't have much time; also cars exiting Train Station do not always stop at the Stop sign (a loud horn is necessary).

From WW resident and avid cyclist, Russ Buckley: I commuted to work via bicycle 7 times during the month of May, for a total of 100 miles if ridden directly, although I expand the route to get extra miles. My route includes Clarkville and Grovers Mill Rds, as well as many of the roads in Plainboro, where I work, with no significant problems. I wish the weather would allow me to get out more.

From WWBPA Secretary, Silvia Ascarell: I think I did 90 miles total (admit I did a bad job ofkeeping track early but rode to work three days in the final week of the month). I figure it saved me four gallons of gas, or about$16, and I was doing something I enjoyed.

My route: when I leave my neighborhood, I'm on Cranbury Neck Road for maybe 50 yards before turning right onto Millstone Road toward Plainsboro. Just before the schools, I turn left at the light ontoMaple, then it's right onto Edgemere. At the elementary school, I turn left on Parkway, which becomes Schalks Crossing. I follow it over the railway bridge for a couple more miles until the traffic light at Ridge Road and work. It's about 25 minutes,depending on the wind. I tend to leave (or aim to leave) around 6:30 a.m. I sometimes see mist rising off Grovers Mill Pond orMillstone Pond (in Plainsboro) and I'm always looking at the flowers and plants in front yards. A great wayto start my day. There's more traffic on the ride home, but drivers are courteous and I find the stress of my workday disappearing. I figure this ride takes no longer than driving because I'd be backed up at stop signs in my car. I usually see the odd cyclist at least one way each day.

From WWBPA Vice-President Chris Scherer: 6 days bike commuting in May, for a total of 240 miles (35 miles each way plus extra). I had five close calls this morning (two on Bakers Basin/Youngs Rd; two in Mercer County Park; one on Windsor Rd) - all captured on video (after tailgating me and passing within about two feet, one guy said, "Use a bike lane" and I would have, had there been one). I'll post them to the Bikeability map eventually. My route is the one with all the near misses.

From WWBPA President, Ken Carlson: My bike commute is 7 miles each way if I go directly, but my safest ride route is 9 miles. I have started to add more miles recently as I am training for the Anchor House ride. I biked to work only 5 times in May due to travel committments and rain. My commute takes me from Bennington Drive to the bikelanes on Southfield/Norstrand Rd (nice!), right on Cranbury Neck Road (NARROW!), right on John White Road (which is a nice road tho' no shoulder), left on Old Trenton Road (has wide shoulders most of the way) and Old Trenton to Main Street Cranbury. Biking through Main Street is beautiful, and I pass kids biking on the sidewalk (generally with helmets) on their way to school. I take Cranbury Road to Rt. 130, and cross 130 (carefully!) to Dey Road to where I work in the Cedar Brook Corporate Park. It takes 35 minutes generally, about twice as long as driving but I much prefer biking as it relieves stress and clears my head!

Please see this comment from Jeffrey Stevenson:

Hi. Please join the Bicycle to Work! LinkedIn networking group. Members pledge that they will try to ride their bicycle to work or on an errand at least once a week. Although the benefits should be obvious, let me outline them here. Right now people in the industrialized world are facing two very grave problems: obesity and a growing scarcity of oil. Compounding this problem is the new food shortage brought about, in part, by the conversion of food cropland to bio-fuel crop production. Most people feel powerless to help, but there is one thing that we can do. Ride our bicycles to work. If everyone would agree to ride their bikes to work one day per week we could cut oil consumption by as much as 10-15%. No one would argue that riding a bike burns more calories than driving the car. Although popular politically right now, most bio-fuels consume more energy than they produce. We would be much better to eat those bio-crops then use our own energy to transport us around. So spread the word. Make it a movement! Bicycle to work one day a week and do your part to cut back obesity and the overuse of oil and precious cropland. Just go to my profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreylstevenson and you can click on the group to be included. While you are there, don't forget to ask to link to my network of more than 9,000,000 like-minded professionals. I accept all invitations and look forward to meeting you.