Rider

Michael Poplawski


From Victoria BC Canada


Commutes 8 Kilometers RoundTrip for 15 years and months
Seven days a week, my bike is my primary transportation Year Round

The most direct route for me to get to work is by taking Fort and Cook Streets, which are not well designed for cycling, so taking the lane is part of the necessary strategy for riding on them.

I use a bike to travel since I can't justify the pollution, cost or space requirements of car travel, nor do I enjoy public transit as the buses are noisy and uncomfortable, and Victoria's travel distances are too short to justify waits for transit. Besides, I'm lazy, love sports and cycling forces me to exercise every day and gives me a good fitness base to do things I love to do! And riding a bike well is something I love to do, too!

People generally treat me very well on the roads, but it's true that cyclists need to develop a thicker skin since there are so many poor cyclists giving cyclists a generally poor reputation. I would encourage people to seek out Cyclecraft and Effective Cycling to understand the advantages of proper cycling style. The geometric and legal reality is that using the road like other road users is the fastest and most fun way to get around. Learning this for myself changed my life!

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