At the twins' schools, the cars line up as parents drop off their children, the engines rumbling.
But Arlo and Stella Campbell, both 5, arrive quietly in the trailer of a bicycle powered by either John or Bevin, their parents, who then ride the bicycle to work.
Bicycle commuting is just something that the Campbells do. Both John and Bevin have ridden competitively. And when they lived in New Zealand, John rode 32 miles to and from work every day for a year.
Now, John rides about 20 miles a day and Bevin rides about 10.
"After ditching one car, you find out Bozeman is a very bikeable place to live," Bevin said. "We try to point out to people that it's possible."
Some people don't understand how they manage two kids, full-time jobs and the morning and afternoon commutes each day. But the Campbells find it logical.
"The time we spend commuting is comparable to the time people spend at the gym," Bevin explained.
Also, by just having one car and driving it only when the weather requires, the Campbells estimate they save at least $100 a month on gas alone.
But there is an ongoing feud between drivers and bikers, as demonstrated by Lance Armstrong's recent squabble with ESPN's Tony Kornheiser, who suggested drivers "run ‘em down."
"I think we can get along," Bevin said. "It's all about sharing the road. There's room enough for all of us."
The Campbells call themselves environmentalists, but insist they're not self-righteous about it.
"I get lazy sometimes and drive," Bevin said. "It's generally just more sensible to ride the bike sometimes, though."
Arlo and Stella enjoy the commute, too, Bevin said. They sit side by side in the trailer, always wearing their helmets.
The Campbells notice that it has also made the twins more aware of biking as a mode of transportation.
"As toddlers in New Zealand, they watched John commute every day on his bike," Bevin said. "So they're turning into bikers, too. They realize that anything under five miles is always bikeable."
Getting out the door isn't always easy.
"Getting ready and getting on the bike can sometimes feel like a chore," Bevin admitted. "But as soon as I'm riding, I'm always grinning."Michael Gibney can be reached at mgibney@dailychronicle.com or 406-582-2638
During Bike to Work & School Week in May, my 5-year-old son accepted the challenge of bicycling four miles to his preschool. The trip took us a while, but we had a blast! He talked non-stop and arrived at school energized, confident and alert. We were hooked.
Forty years ago, the majority of kids walked or biked to school and, as a nation, we were a lot leaner. Today, bike and walk-to-school rates are closer to 5-15 percent, and nearly a third of children are overweight.
Inactivity has been identified as one of the major factors in childhood obesity. Many children are failing to get the recommended daily amount of physical activity. What better way to add exercise to a child's (and your) day than by incorporating it into their transportation?
Studies show that communities with more walkers and cyclists are healthier (take Europe for example). As walking and biking rates increase, obesity and diabetes rates decrease. Moreover, research indicates that exercise improves concentration, enhances creativity and allows children to manage stress better.
Most parents would argue that they drive their kids to school for their protection. But are we really making our children safer? In addition to being hard on the environment and increasing our risk of obesity, cars are hazardous to our health and safety in other ways.
Cars emit pollutants, and our children are being exposed to car exhaust when they arrive at school, when surrounded by too many cars. These pollutants include carbon monoxide (which blocks the transport of oxygen to the brain), sulfur dioxide (which poses the largest health risk to young children and asthmatics) and hazardous chemical compounds such as Benzene, acetaldehyde, and 1,3-butadiene (which are linked to birth defects, cancer and other serious illnesses).
Air quality inside our cars isn't much better. The EPA lists indoor air pollution as one of the top five environmental risks to public health. UV light releases a number of toxic chemicals that can cause serious health problems (including impaired learning). Fire retardants and phthalates present in the interior break down and are ingested as dust. Air in your car is a toxic soup of car exhaust and volatile organic compounds (such as formaldehyde), which aggravate allergy and asthma symptoms, cause cancer and lead to other neurological effects. Air pollution in a car is often worse than the air quality at the side of the road.
Considering that motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death of children, one could argue that kids are safer on bikes than in cars. Indeed, it is not the actual bike ride to school that is unsafe, as it is the arrival.
In the mayhem created by too many parents driving their kids to school, we are actually increasing our children's endangerment. By reducing the number of vehicles, we could reduce the chances of students being injured.
The good news is that pedestrian and bike-related deaths are on the decline nationally. And statistics show that the health benefits of biking outweigh the risks 20 to 1. Just three hours of bicycling per week can reduce your risk of heart disease by 50 percent. The average adult loses 13 pounds in their first year of commuting by bicycle.
With significant increases in the federal budget for pedestrian and bicycle programs, along with initiatives such as Safe Routes to School, non-motorized transportation to school is getting safer. And strength in numbers is a big part of the safety equation: the more kids that bike and walk, the safer it becomes.
A walk or bike ride to school with your children is a chance for quality time together. For older kids, it's an opportunity for independence and adventure. Twenty years from now our children will be thanking us for it.
Bevin Barber-Campbell lives in Bozeman with her family. She bikes our streets (almost) every day, including the two miles to Hawthorne Elementary School with her children.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/article_51623e20-bf75-11df-a149-001cc4c002e0.html
My first article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle: We're just driving ourselves crazy
I recently discovered that I have friends in high places. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, loves cyclists. On March 15, Secretary LaHood made a bold and unprecedented proclamation: The car is no longer king of the road.
Specifically, the Department of Transportation (DOT) declared that walking and biking must be considered as equals with cars and trucks in all matters related to transportation. Whoa... or should I say saddle up? Call me crazy, but I think he is trying to start a revolution. LaHood himself called it a major policy revision.
Whether or not the DOT has focused solely on motorized modes of transportation in the past, the prevailing belief in the U.S. is that roads are for cars, and it should stay that way. Secretary LaHood intends to change that, as roads become "fully integrated active transportation networks" because "walking and biking foster safer, more livable family-friendly communities."
As a part of President Obama's initiative for creating more sustainable communities, the DOT, in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency, is integrating the principles of "livability" into its policies. And for LaHood, livability has a lot to do with being less reliant on your car.
LaHood states, "Livability means being able to take your kids to school, go to work, see a doctor, drop by the grocery store or post office, go out to dinner and a movie ... all without having to get in your car."
LaHood and I are on the same page. I moved back to Bozeman three years ago because I consider it one of our nation's most livable, and bikeable, cities. In Bozeman I can create a three-mile radius from my house, and within that sphere I can hit most of my major destinations on bike: my kids' school, my workplace, the grocery store, our friends' houses.
Yet as a bike commuter in Bozeman, I am ever aware that I am a member of a very small club. Why is it that so few in our town choose to go by bike?
Considering that nearly 50 percent of trips Americans make are less than three miles, why not ride your bike? The benefits are enormous. Biking alleviates congestion, increases fitness, improves air quality, reduces heart disease, strengthens the immune system, increases civility, reduces carbon emissions, fights childhood obesity, saves money, and reduces our dependence on foreign oil. The bicycle is a simple answer to some of our nation's biggest problems.
Even after a decade of explosive growth, Bozeman still ranks high in quality of life. By all measures, we've got a lot going for us: good schools, clean air and a bounty of recreational opportunities. Yet with each new family, we add two more vehicles to our roads. At some point, do too many cars threaten the kind of traditional community design that nourishes the livability we enjoyed in the 1990s?
With some population projections putting Bozeman at 90,000 in 15 years, we need to think about what these numbers mean in terms of transportation, congestion and quality of life. The city of Bozeman's Web site declares, "Bozeman: the Most Livable Place." At what point will this sentiment become merely wishful thinking?
Working with federal and local governments to get the right infrastructure in place will be a big part of the solution, such as the recent adoption of a "Complete Streets" policy by our City Commission. Aligned with LaHood's federal mandate, the city will gradually make adjustments to our streets to accommodate all users more safely.
Yet creating safe bikeways won't do it alone. Each of us needs to rethink the way we get places and work toward lessening our dependence on the car. Even one trip a week by bike will keep you fitter, make our air cleaner and help us retain that small-town quality of life we all live here for.
Bevin Barber-Campbell lives with her family in Bozeman. She bikes our streets (almost) every day.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/guest_columnists/article_2216d222-9e4e-11df-a2e7-001cc4c002e0.html
