It is the end of April, which marks the end of “30 days of biking”, a straightforward movement to get people out on their bikes every day for 30 days and to tweet about their efforts in the process. Several Londoners participated, including Monique Kelemen, a student from the University of Western Ontario.
Monique isn't stopping there. In addition to participating in 30 days of biking, Monique is going on a two month bicycle tour representing “The Otesha Project”, where she will ride from Toronto to Ottawa and back again, making stops with fellow cyclists to sing (and act, and otherwise creatively communicate) the praises of sustainable living. She departs from Toronto on May 3rd and will be touring until June 25th. Following this, Monique will be living on a farm to learn about food production for the rest of the summer. I spoke with Monique about her upcoming tour as well as her experiences as a cyclist in London.
Opportunity in Crisis
Like many others, Monique was forced to find alternate modes of transportation during last year’s London Transit strike. She calls the strike “a big kick in the ass”, and credits the strike with opening her eyes to the importance and sheer utility of cycling. Since then she has largely given up her bus pass in favor of riding her bike everywhere. (The LTC has reported that fewer people are using public transit since the strike, making it likely that Monique is not the only one who fell in love with biking over the course of the strike).
While Monique has embraced bike riding, she admits that London’s layout and motorists do not always make it an easy choice. Oxford St. is the main corridor for vehicles traveling through the city and is one of the most intimidating roads for cyclists to ride on. Monique has been honked at by motorists sharing the road with her and notes that “the right lane is a giant hole with some concrete sprinkled around it”, making for a do-able, but thoroughly unenjoyable ride. She also notes that London’s many overpasses are extremely intimidating from a cyclist’s perspective and says that “even if you follow the rules of the road” overpasses are major cycling deterrents and not at all bike-friendly.
While London does have bike paths, these paths do not neatly mirror the major arteries of the city. However there are bike-friendly enclaves in London. The University of Western Ontario’s campus is one such place, with clearly marked bike paths threading through the campus and bicycle racks outside of virtually every entrance. Monique says she started bike riding using the campus’s bike paths. They are many people’s first bike routes, their first experiences commuting on a bike. Monique calls the paths ‘training wheels’ for cyclists.
Another deterrent is the lack of bike racks in the city. I have found myself struggling to find an appropriate anchor for my bike, settling on small trees, street posts, or the railings outside of retail establishments. Monique echoes this experience, noting that the available racks are often at capacity. This is especially true in downtown London around Dundas and Richmond, where the bike racks surrounding CitiPlaza are often overflowing during the day, bikes locked to trees and railings along the street are a common sight. More troubling is that these racks are not secure, despite being located in high traffic areas that are under video surveillance. While bike thieves are notoriously inventive in their ability to steal the most well-secured bikes, it is nonetheless troubling that it is such a frequent occurrence.
Last weekend a bike was stolen outside of the Central Public Library (you can read about it here and here). While the bike’s disappearance was being noted another group was attempting to steal the remaining bicycles off of the racks (again, this is in an area under video surveillance in a high-traffic area, during daylight hours). As Monique points out, this does not bode well for London’s downtown core, a core that could really benefit from more inhabitants and more bike riding. In addition to discouraging bike riding in general, bike theft deters people from popping in to retail establishments and fully utilizing a bike in a way that adequately replaces a car.
Creating secure bicycle parking is an initiative that the city should be taking seriously. On Monique’s wish list is a bike storage area inside CitiPlaza, as video surveillance does not seem to deter this type of crime. Monique notes that during the bus strike the university created a bike storage system that encouraged students to ride their bikes to school, knowing that their bikes would not be stolen.
London does have a “Bicycle Master Plan”, created in 2005, which seeks to ‘promote and encourage’ bike riding. I’ve lived in London since 2006, so I can’t comment on whether the cycling landscape has changed since its inception. However, Monique believes that London still needs more and better thought out bike lanes in order to convince people to ride their bikes, as it’s “damned scary biking on a busy road for the first time ... most people would not feel comfortable or safe without a defined lane for them and wouldn’t even consider biking without a bike lane”.
So despite all of these issues, what motivates Monique to ride her bike? In contrast to all of the headaches associated with cars, “riding a bike is the ultimate freedom. There's no schedule that you have to conform to, it costs next to nothing, and it saves you from having to dedicate time to exercise. There's no need to feel guilty about polluting the world, and it's incredible how connected you feel to the ground. This translates to feeling more connected to your neighbourhood, and being a happier person! It's pretty incredible how far you can get on a bike, and you only have to commit to it for a short time to see that!” In addition to the physical, emotional, and mental benefits, cycling also benefits one’s finances. “The money I save from not having a car goes towards spending a bit more money on organic and ethical food, and is more than enough to pay for a cab or bus ticket if I'm not up for biking that day.”
Monique’s tips for newbie and wannabe cyclists include learning and following the relevant traffic rules, which boil down to “act like a car”. I have experienced how difficult this guideline can be, it’s hard to feel like a car when you’re sitting on a bike, and as Monique notes “the honks and harsh words that are bound to be directed your way will be enough to lock that bike up for the season” unless you internalize your right to be on the road alongside and among motor vehicles. Despite this impediment, the sooner one gets on the road the better. You can start out by sticking to roads with bike lanes. She also notes that backpacks are an essential for holding locks and water bottles while riding. In addition to this, a good bike lock is absolutely essential. A good lock is one that will deter a bike thief; and for that Monique recommends Kryptonite U-locks.
Monique’s Bicycle Journey
Monique’s upcoming trip is focused on farming communities in Ontario, and she will be learning about sustainable agriculture via her experiences on a small scale and/or organic farm in the Ottawa valley. She discovered the Otesha Project online just in time to participate in this year’s bike tour. She sees this as a chance to share information on sustainable living with others who may not be from a university background, and to experience life outside of university.
Monique describes an enviable trinity of learning about cycling, the food system, and sharing that knowledge with others, an action that “could possibly plant a seed of change in the minds of young people”. While she is nervous about the 2000km bike ride that lies ahead, she sees it as a challenge instead of an excuse to avoid the experience. “It seems as though through discomfort we push the limits, and gain experiences that we would never even dream about on our couches, or think about during our 9 to 5 jobs. And most importantly, it is only through discomfort that we can expect any change in our lives - or in the world - to take place.” She sees the tour as one method for normalizing everyday bike riding for people intimidated at the thought of riding a bike on a city street.
You can talk all you want to people, you can throw all the information in the world at them, but as I really am beginning to see [as the truth] is what I read in a journal article by Allan G. Johnson, on privilege, "The simplest way to help others make different choices is to make them myself and to do it openly".
Monique is excited for her tour on which several other people will join her.
Doing a 2 month tour would be very daunting by yourself, but it seems manageable when you have a community cheering you on and taking over the road with you. It's the 'critical mass' mentality, and it's so exciting to have this be my first substantial biking experience.
She also appreciates that the kind of cycling the Project supports is free of the “pretentious behaviour that can come along with it”, as it is about “showing that you can LIVE by bicycle, ANY bicycle. It focuses on the utility of the bicycle, not brands, trends, style, or any of the stuff that can act as a barrier to prevent some people to see or use bicycles as a mode of transportation and not as an elite sport”.
She is also enthusiastic about the opportunity to literally dig into learning about sustainable agriculture. She hopes this experience will help her to become more confident about her ability to promote the social and cultural change needed in London and beyond, and to “become a kick-ass cyclist”. I would argue that she has already earned that title.
Monique will be sharing her experiences on her site, “The Motesha Project”. Be sure to check it out.
http://www.otesha.ca
Amazing. I can't wait to follow your progress Mo!