I had a dentist appointment today, and I decided to ride my bike. The problem was that I had no idea if there was secure bicycle parking, and when I arrived, I realized that there wasn’t. The lobby of the office was too small to expect them to allow my bike to stay in there, so I ended up chaining up to a handicapped parking marker. It was just a pole, but thankfully it was pretty tall.
I spoke with the Dentist about the parking issue, and he mentioned that someone had visited just yesterday on a bike too. He said it was probably time to get a bike rack, and we discussed some of the options.
This conversation led to another conversation with my hygienist about bicycle commuting. She thought maybe she should give bicycle commuting a try, living less than a mile from work.
The lesson I learned today? It doesn’t take much to convince people of the need for proper bicycling infrastructure. Sometimes all you need to do is show up on your bike to create a demand! Also, showing others that you conduct your business without a car can be a powerful message.
