May is Bike Month in Sacramento, when everyone is encouraged to trade vehicle trips for bike trips. With one day left in May, Sacramentans have logged 1,557,929 biked miles! Truly impressive. Highlands Consulting had two “cyclists” logging miles this year: Eric Norton (me!) and Abby Darrah. Combined, we logged 18 round trips and over 100 miles. Here are a few lessons learned from our experience this month:
- It’s Habit Forming – At first, we hoped for only a few trips at best, but it turned out that riding a bike to work was much easier than we imagined it would be. We expect biking will become a regular mode for our work commute.
- Properly Inflate Your Tires – Underinflated tires make the ride feel like you’re riding up hill, always. So make sure to check your tires before every ride.
- Cars Don’t See Cyclists – Even with ample bike lanes and abundant cyclists in Sacramento, autos don’t share the road all that well. This month has made us more aware and courteous to cyclists. We hope others will do the same.
We will continue to log miles on www.mayisbikemonth.com. Next year we hope to beat this year’s mark. Who knows, maybe we’ll challenge other firms to a friendly competition. Ride on Sacramento!