Friday, May 20, 2005

National Bike to Work Day

Today is National Bike to Work Day.

Commuting is a stage race, not a one-day event. The benefits are cumulative. One day will probably introduce you to more of the inconveniences of it than its advantages.

Evolution follows the path of least resistance. Something has to make the new way better than the old way. We went from being prehistoric grunts to socially complex, technologically-equipped grunts because it worked for us. Our brains led us to explore new, unnatural ways.

Our brains now lead us, haltingly and perhaps too slowly, to discover how those comfortable, unnatural ways can be made more compatible with the natural systems that make life possible at all.

Gas is over $2 a gallon now, and I heard one analyst say we should not expect to see it cost less than $2 a gallon ever again.

Toss in some pollution, traffic congestion and parking problems and the path of least resistance bends slightly away from the freeway.

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