Monday, January 5, 2009 10:17 PM CST
Bicyclist makes resolution long before the new year
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — While many people are making New Year’s resolutions, Keith Cox has already bicycled halfway toward achieving a resolution of his own.
In July, Cox resolved to spend a year riding his bicycle as often as possible to his work as manager of the Bike-N-Hike store on 18th Street in Charleston.
“At the time the gasoline was more expensive, so that was the motivation,” said Cox, adding he enjoys bicycling anyway.
Cox said he lives 1.5 miles from work, so switching from a car to a bicycle only added a few extra minutes to his travel time while saving him money. He added Charleston is not too geographically spread out.
“You can get anywhere here almost as fast on a bike,” Cox said.
From July through October, he was able to ride his bicycle almost every day to work, Cox said. He said this riding declined in November and December due to a need for him to staff the Effingham Bike-N-Hike, a bout with the flu, and icy weather.
Cox said icy road conditions make it difficult for him to ride. Still, he said cold temperatures by themselves have not been a problem so far because his ride is short and he layers his clothing.
“It’s not hard to wear a couple thin base layers to keep you warm,” Cox said. “Whenever it rains I will wear a rain jacket and bring a spare set of clothes in case I get really wet.”
On the job, Cox has been able to transport a treadmill motor and tools for a repair job by attaching a trailer to his bicycle.
“You can fit 70 pounds worth of stuff in there. My wife and I did our grocery shopping with it in the summer,” Cox said, pointing out the trailer’s water-resistant duffel bag.
Cox said Sheila Simons, a health studies faculty member at Eastern Illinois University, and other Bike-N-Hike customers regularly commute via bicycle to work. He said this practice seems to be becoming more popular.
Simons said she started bicycle commuting last year partly because gasoline prices are high and partly to set a good example for her students.
“I live within a couple of miles from campus so there is no reason why I shouldn’t do it,” Simons said.
There are some students who live in Greek Court and drive to the Student Recreation Center on the other side of campus so they can exercise, Simons said.
“It’s counterintuitive to what they want to achieve with a workout,” Simons said. She added more students might ride on campus if there were more secure places to park valuable bicycles, such as bike lockers.
Simons said she only curtails her riding during times of inclement weather or when the needs of her work make it impractical to ride. She said knowing that Cox is also bicycling to work has been a motivating factor for her during the last year.
“If he is still riding, I am going to keep doing it also,” Simons said.
Cox said he might take a little break from riding his bicycle to work in August after he completes his one-year resolution but otherwise he plans to keep going.
“It’s fun, it’s a great stress reliever, and it’s very healthy,” Cox said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
CLICK TO ENLARGE
|
Read all over wrote on Jan 5, 2009 5:38 PM:
But with Bike-N-Hike in the story, this piece seems more like a veiled advertisement. "