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Patrick
Bibbins (l), senior graphic designer in Public Affairs,
cruises to work from Medford. Don Lombardi, chief
intellectual property officer, pedals in from Cleveland
Circle.
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 very
day, as John Carr, RN, makes his way
to work, he pedals a bumpy path through the Blue Hills Reservation,
passing turtles, “about a billion birds” and even the occasional
deer. Josh Greenberg, JD, director
of State and Federal Relations, cruises down the quiet streets of
the stately Avon Hill neighborhood in Cambridge. And Judie
Jackson, RN, zips along the Charles River path in peaceful,
pre-dawn solitude.
Carr, Greenberg and Jackson are among many Children’s
employees who regularly commute to and from work by bicycle. During
National Bike
to Work Week, which runs May 11 through 17, they are also good
role models for anyone who wants a healthier, cheaper and potentially
faster commute than driving or taking transit to work.
Carr’s 20-mile commute from Canton to Children’s takes
him about an hour—the same amount of time it would take to drive
through traffic. As he gets older, he says, he may consider riding
only part-way, then hop
on the commuter rail. But for now, he sees pedaling 40 miles
a day as the most sensible way to get around. “There are three cars
sitting in my driveway,” he says, “but I just don’t care to drive
that much.”
Judi Jackson, on the other hand, didn’t mind driving—it
was the cost and hassle of parking that convinced her to try bike
commuting. “I really didn’t know what I was doing,” she says. “I
just put a basket on my handle bars and decided to try it. I learned
by trial and error.” Although Jackson’s commute wasn’t motivated
by any particular love for cycling, now she wouldn’t give it up.
“I remember creeping along on Storrow Drive in my car, how I couldn’t
wait to get out of traffic and be home. Now, it takes the same amount
of time, but I feel relaxed and refreshed when I get home. Riding
has become part of my mental health.”
Like Jackson, Josh Greenberg rides into work from Somerville.
His seven-mile ride takes about half an hour, mostly on back roads.
Greenberg doesn’t see his faster commute, however, as biking’s biggest
advantage. “As a parent,” he says, “sometimes this is my only time
to exercise. It’s great because I arrive at Children’s much more
energized for work, and riding home is a peaceful transition back
to the job of being a parent.”
Between them, these bicyclists have some good advice
for anyone who wants to try biking to work. Most importantly, says
Carr, “You’re most likely to have dangerous situations if you don’t
obey the rules of the road.” Carr (who has been known to salvage
old bicycles from neighbors’ trash) also says it doesn’t matter
what kind of bike you have. “The only things that really count on
a bike are the wheels, so if you put decent wheels onto the ugliest
bike frame you can find, you’re set—plus your bike is less likely
to get stolen.”
Although Carr’s Herculean mileage makes bike commuting
sound ideal for elite athletes, Jackson believes that anyone who
lives within a five miles could easily ride into Children’s. She
advises beginners to take advantage of the many resources that are
available, such as maps of local
bike routes, available at bike stores, and organizations such
as MassBike,
a statewide bicycle advocacy group that can connect commuters to
more resources. —CM |
