Dave Bonan
dave bonan
The Ride, Issue 110
"My car's transmission died so I borrowed by friend's Fuji and I biked everywhere for 2 months while saving up money to fix my car", said Bonan. "It was great." When he got his car back from the shop, Bonan intended to keep riding, continuing to enjoy the exhilaration and freedom that he felt on the bike. "It didn't happen," he said. "The bike collected dust, and I became depressed and stressed. I was broke again due to the constant upkeep of an automobile in this car- and oil-dependent culture." So he got rid of the car. Bonan now rides his souped-up 21-speed Bridgestone on a 12-mile round trip to his regular job as a political/event organizer. He also helps edit and publish Danbury's 5,000-circulation cooperative newspaper, called The Hat City Free Press, and delivers stacks of the paper to more than forty local outlets - all by bike. "It takes about 2 days but it's better than stop-and-go in a car!" Bonan has taken trips from his Connecticut home to New York City, utilizing both rail-trails and roads. While others might shrink at the idea of confronting trucks and SUVs intent on squeezing him off the road, Bonan relishes it. "Riding in New York City is my zen and where I get my stress out. I advocate taking the lane and engaging drivers in some traffic-calming techniques. "Bicycles belong in the streets. The law in all 50 states deems bicycles a vehicle of the road," he said. "Folks, take the lane! Enforce the law that recognizes you. There are plenty of others to break." It's time to move beyond merely educating bicyclists to watch out for cars, he says. "It should be vice versa, or at least we should meet halfway". Bonan wishes that the sport of bicycle racing could find a way to become more involved in the issues that face regular people out riding their bikes on the roads. "We need to harness their energy and have then join our fight - to organize, educate, and get the recognition we deserve as vehicles of the road." Citing the powerful influence of American bicycle racing's most famous current rider, "I also wish Lance Armstrong would stop doing ads for cars! That's retroactive." The bill currently making the rounds in Washington, D.C., which would give bicycle commuters a monetary reimbursement akin to that received by car, bus and train commuters, encourages Bonan. He hopes people will realize that spending an average of 2 hours a day on a daily commute adds up to a loss of 21 entire days a year! But until the rest of the East Coast catches on, Bonan says: "I love getting up in the middle of the night and tearing off on the main roads with no hands for miles and miles. The euphoria, the adrenaline, and screaming out loud to all who can hear, 'I love my bike!'" | more supercommuters » BikeCulture Magazine and Planet Bike honor the silent hero of the Revolution: the bicycle commuter. A supercommuter rides through every season, in all types of weather, day and night. Choosing the simplicity, health and pleasure of bicycling, a supercommuter isn't necessarily against automobiles. They simply prefer to ride a bike to the grocery store, to work, to a concert or the cafe. nominate a supercommuter » For each issue BikeCulture chooses a new Supercommuter. They are posted here in addition to BikeCulture Magazine. |
