I’ve been wanting to bike to work for a while now (i.e. years). I used to bike, in another city, and when I was younger. In Billings it has been hard to get started, what with the traffic, the heat, the cold, and did I mention, the years that seem to keep flying by. Meanwhile, I sit at a computer all day, attend a number of meetings in the evening, and to relax, sit and have a beer or glass of wine with friends. Have you seen all the bad press lately about sitting? Google “sitting is bad for health” if you dare.
So when I started hearing about Bike to Work Month (May) and what BikeNet is doing to encourage those of us who don’t ride (for whatever reason) to “just do it,” I started rethinking my options. On the plus side, I only live about 4 miles from work, much of it on a road with reasonable shoulders. On the minus side, my route involves crossing I-90 with heavy car traffic between 4:00 and 6:00. The drivers of those cars are usually stressed and in a hurry too. It’s about this point I usually give up on the whole idea.
This time my thinking took a different turn. First, there was the annoying realization that as I approach 60, it wasn’t going to get any easier next year. Second, since I’ve been working out a little, I’ve started to remember what self-powered travel is like — breathing deep, using muscles as they were intended, being involved in whatever weather is happening at any given moment — think the opposite of an impatient vehicle occupant in 5:00 traffic. Also, since it’s spring, I’m more hopeful. About this time my boss came by to schedule mid-year evaluations, she wanted to hear what could help with my work/life balance she said.
Along those lines, my company has been encouraging telework* for a couple of years. I’ve never been much interested because I enjoy the interaction with my co-workers but a sudden inspiration flashed through my mind: what if she would allow me to telework a couple hours a day instead of a whole day? If the time was somewhat flexible, I could leave work when traffic was relatively light and even potentially avoid gully-washers or wind storms.
Long story short, she liked the idea and I’ll probably start even before May. I appreciate that my employer is open to ideas slightly outside the norm. I believe they’ll benefit from it as much as I do in terms of job satisfaction and increased productivity. And it won’t cost nearly as much as a standing work station. My advice (unsolicited though it may be) is to keep looking for creative solutions to your own bike commuting dilemma … it’s good exercise for the mind as biking is for the body. And come learn how to do it safely at HDR Engineering (across from Ashley Furniture), over the lunch hour on Wednesday.
*Working from home with all the advantages modern technology has to offer.