Library Talks feature Bikes as Thrifty Solution

As we've seen and heard about with the audiences for recent talks by Jeffrey Tumlin, Gil Penalosa, and James Sallis, advocates are doing pretty well reaching the choir, but there's great difficulty yet reaching and persuading those not already converted to the virtues of urbanism, public health, and the role of walking and biking in the mix. Mostly we're all just talking to ourselves and with a few like-minded friends. It's a different version of the echo-chamber.

So the Library's got a series of talks that comes to bicycling from a different angle: How to save money.

Maybe this will be a way to reach a different set of folks and to enlarge some of the conversation about bicycling and transportation!

A car is expensive, even AAA says!
Almost $9,000 a year (2014 analysis)

From the blurb:

The Salem Public Library has dubbed November “Penny-Pincher” month and is featuring authors and practitioners who follow a frugal lifestyle from a variety of creative angles.

The series opens with Jeff Yeager, the man dubbed “The Ultimate Cheapskate” by Matt Lauer on NBC’s “The Today Show.” Yeager will speak on “Finding Wholesale Happiness in a Retail World.” His talk is based on his book The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less.

Later in the series is a bike talk.

Brian Benson and Alexander Hongo:
Bicycling for Adventure and Thrift
2:30 p.m. Saturday, November 15
Loucks Auditorium

Bicycling is a thrifty, environmentally conscious, and healthful mode of transportation. But it is also a transformative activity. Two speakers, Portland author Brian Benson and Eugene Bicycling organizer and mechanic Alexander Hongo will present different aspects of this seemingly simple, yet life-altering practice.

Brian's talk will be about going on longer trips, but Alexander will be talking about biking in the city:

Alexander Hongo will present a “How to Bike Commute” clinic, featuring tips on how to set up for success with equipment, clothing, methods, and mindset. He will also discuss basic preventative bicycle maintenance to reduce the cost of repairs.

from the November
Community Connection

Alexander Hongo is a mechanic at Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life and a teacher at the University of Oregon Bike Program in Eugene, where he lives with his partner, their dog, and about a dozen bicycles. In his free time, he contributes to community bicycle events like Sunday Streets, the Disaster Relief Trials, Moonlight Mash, and the Bicycle Music Festival.

The timing of this is obviously not optimal, but since it's part of a series rather than a stand-alone, that's not really very relevant.

Still, starting to bike places is best in the fair weather when rain and cold isn't a distraction, bother, or worry. So I don't know how effective a "how to" will be in mid-November. But maybe it will plant the seed for something in the spring.

You might remember this ad from a few years back

There's also our diversity problem: White Dudes in Spandex. Maybe Yeager's principal audience is men looking to downshift, but the library has lots of families, too, and our prevailing arrangements - unfair as they are - still typically have moms chauffeuring the kids. Moreover, Latinos are a hugely underreported proportion of people who bike in Salem.

We need to make this an easy choice for families
Photo: Beth Casper

All in all, I'm not sure the talk will reach beyond the "usual suspects" for whom bike talk is already catnip. But it's a worthy try, and maybe we will all be surprised!

Bicycling for Adventure and Thrift, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, November 15