AAA President: What If Bicycling Became as Mainstream as Driving?

He may work for the American Automobile Association, but Paul Gaffney likes getting around on two wheels, too. In the latest issue of VIA magazine, the president and CEO of AAA Northern California, Nevada, and Utah dedicates his entire column to cycling promotion and share-the-road safety. 

“While I do work for an auto club, I still ride a bike,” Gaffney writes. “I’m happy to report that I’m not alone. Cycling is on the rise in most parts of the country. People ride for fun, for exercise, and, increasingly, just to get from here to there. According to a Rutgers University study, the number of bike commuters in the United States grew 64 percent over the past two decades.”

Gaffney goes on to applaud the growth in bicycling in major cities, like New York and San Francisco, and encourages folks to get out and ride, whether its pedaling to work or enjoying one of the region’s many bike trails. And, at the very end, he poses a particularly exciting question.

May is National Bike Month, but don’t let the calendar limit when you ride. With the current price of gas, cycling is good for your wallet. It’s also good for your health and good for the environment. It might even put you in a better mood. There’s something liberating about hopping on a bike that brings back a freewheeling sensation of childhood and learning to fly without training wheels…

More cyclists on the road makes me hopeful about a healthy future. We still think of biking as alternative transportation, like taking the bus or riding the train. Wouldn’t it be interesting if bicycling became as mainstream as driving?

Click here to read Gaffney’s entire column.