Bicycles: Not Just For Children

A.J. Griffin, with the bike rack he requested at Herr Memorial Library

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As a child, I loved riding my bicycle. It remained my main mode of transportation throughout high school. Over the years though, like many Americans, I began to rely more heavily on public transportation and ultimately a car to get around.

I miss not having a bicycle.  It helped keep my weight down and certainly was much better for the environment than my car.

Libraries are the perfect place to promote bicycle use as they are often located a short distance from a patron’s residence.  If every patron who lived two miles or less from a library elected to bike instead of drive to and from the library, they would keep about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe per trip, according to the Worldwatch Institute. That’s significant.

Promoting bicycle use at your library can be as easy as installing a bike rack.  And if your town has a bike shop, the owner may even donate one.

At the Herr Memorial Library in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, A.J. Griffin (pictured here) and his father Michael requested a bike rack for their library. The local bike shop, Big Earl’s Bike Shop, kindly obliged, creating a win-win scenario for both the library patrons and business.  After all, wouldn’t seeing a bike rack in front of your local library inspire you to get a bicycle if you don’t already have one?  It’s inspired me! 

For a treasure trove of bike-related stats, research, articles, interesting reading and more, see Bicycling Info’s Resources Page.