Put the Pedal to the Pavement!

Today, I tested fate. I biked to school, something I hadn't done for almost a year.

This may seem like an awfully brash statement, an exaggeration or some dramatic attempt to catch your attention, but my track record speaks for itself.

On my second day ever of biking to school last year, I was hit by a car (Some maintain that in reality, I hit the car with my bike. Technically, they are right). Upon impact, my instincts took over, arms flailed, and I clung to the car's back window in a desperate attempt to save myself from plummeting to the ground. It worked for a few seconds, but then the car kept moving. My body slowly peeled off the back of the car, and I crumbled to the ground underneath my bike. Luckily, there was no physical bruising to report, just a crooked set of handlebars and slightly damaged pride.

Over the next week or so, my biking curse only worsened. One sunny afternoon, I started biking home from school only to become stuck in a sudden torrential downpour (thunderstorm plus metal bike equals cursed). A few days later, I accidentally biked through a mud puddle (leftover from the flash flood earlier in the week) and was thoroughly covered in a spray of brown muddy muck. Then came the last straw. The back wheel of my bike fell apart, as in the rubber tread completely disconnected from the rim...while I was riding my bike...while I was riding my bike across an intersection.

In other words, I'm an accident waiting to happen on my bike. So why did I chance death this morning? I don't like to give up without a fight. I recently invested in a helmet (a requirement for my roommates' permission to get back on my bike), and I know how to use it. Also, biking has its perks:

First, it's faster. I'm always eager for an excuse to sleep longer, and biking saves time. There is no searching for a parking spot or waiting for an often-late bus.

Second, i get exercise without even noticing. According to the SELF.com calorie burning calculator, I burn almost 250 calories by leisurely biking to and from school.

Third, it saves me gas money. David Fiedler, bike enthusiast and former AP writer, said that driving costs about 20 to 30 cents per mile. After a year of consistent biking, the cents add up. Fiedler saves more than $400 a year for biking 32 miles a week in place of driving.

Lastly, biking helps the environment. The fewer the gas fumes, the happier the o-zone.

So for all you non-bikers, I challenge you to give biking a chance. I'm still biking, so you have no excuse. And as an ending word of encouragement, I'm proud to say that I biked home today relatively unscathed. Sadly, I cannot say the same for one unfortunate trash can that jumped in front my handlebars. Rest in peace.