Four years ago, when he was 64, Dean Alexander got a rebuke from his kids: enough of your bellyaching about traffic congestion in Vancouver, Dad. Why don?t you do something about it?
So he started taking the bus from his home in Point Grey to his office at Burrard and Georgia, where he is director of Cypress Capital Management. His commute time went from a 15 minutes to between 30 and 45 minutes, with a transfer at Broadway and McDonald. He wasn?t impressed.
Then he figured out he could ride his bike down to 4th and McDonald, catch one of the more frequent buses downtown from that intersection, lock his bike up for the day, then pick it up and ride back home up the hill to 8th and Courtenay. He was launched as a commuter cyclist.
Last year, after three years of the bike-bus combo, he got his big break. Thanks to the Hornby bike lane, he now cycles the entire 7.5-kilometre distance to and from work, every day, rain or shine. He has become an evangelist for commuter cycling, even volunteering with the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition.
?I can?t wait to get on my bike in the morning,? he says. ?It takes me 25 minutes to get downtown. I?ve lost five pounds since I started riding because I get an hour a day of exercise without even thinking about it. It?s the best part of my day.?
Other than exercise, why do you do it?
?The most important thing about biking,? he says, ?is that you control your own situation. You don?t have to wait in the rain for a bus, you don?t have to wait in your car for traffic to move faster. You go to the front of the line at every red light. Driving in a car in the city is stressful. It?s not the pleasant experience it was 20 years ago.?
But what about biking in lousy weather?
?When you?re in a car looking out, it looks worse. It?s not that bad on a bike. When it?s cold or wet, you dress for it. The biggest problem is getting wet from sweating.?
He rides in his business slacks and shirt, then puts on one of three sports jackets he keeps on the back door of his office when he gets to work. He carries his rain gear in a removable pannier clipped to his bike. (?You have to have booties or your feet get soaked.?)
Isn?t biking dangerous?
?I don?t put myself in dangerous positions. I wouldn?t go downtown if the Hornby bike lane wasn?t there. I would never ride on the Burrard bike lane. It?s a suicide route. I would never ride on Broadway or on Point Grey Road. There?s no way my wife and I would ride around the city without bike lanes and dedicated bike routes.
?She?ll ride down and meet me for a movie at the 5th Avenue Cinema on my way home from work. We ride home and get back as fast as we would in a car when you factor in the time it takes to find a parking place and get to and from the car.
?You never have to find a parking spot on a bike, and you never have to worry about having a drink. If we have a big dinner out, it feels so much better riding home than driving home.?
What about driving in the dark?
?I am totally visible. I?ve got two lights on the front and three on the back and I wear reflective tape all over. It?s important to be conscious of how vulnerable you are.?
What?s your advice to first-time commuters during Bike to Work Week (October 31 to November 6, www.biketoworkmetrovan.ca)?
?Once you start using a bike, you?ll enjoy the benefits. You don?t have to be macho. It?s just a nice way to get around town. You smell and hear things you aren?t aware of in a car.? ?
