The average American is more likely to get a heart attack in the next year than ride a bike to work or school. Just 0.6% of American workers commute on bike in a country infamous for its car-centric suburbs. However, many American cities, particularly Claremont, have begun to shake off their reputations and bring the progressive dream of bikeable cities to life.
For some Webbies, biking is more than a mere mode of transportation. It is a lifestyle that inspires adventure and a new appreciation of the world.
“Biking brings a sense of adventure to me,” said Jonathan Li (‘25), a day student and the vice president of the Mountain Biking Club. “With a bike, I can explore the mountains, and go places which sneakers or cars could never bring me. In addition, cars turn the world into a bunch of islands separated by a mere car ride, but biking allows one to experience the world for real. The wind against your face, the sounds of birds, the rumble of car engines, and the leaves falling to the ground shows me what the world truly looks and feels like, on the other side of that car window.”
For boarders at Webb, biking would also provide a newfound freedom of movement.
“I would love to have a bike because it would be a much more convenient way of getting [to] places,” Ryan Ho (‘25) said. “Compared to walking or [going on] runs, which often have all their spots taken and don’t give much choice or flexibility, biking would be so much nicer. It would also be great since you can bike to the train station, which have bike racks.”
Biking also offers numerous physical and mental health benefits, being a great form of exercise and a way to reduce carbon footprints and pollution. However, despite the clear benefits of biking, most Webbies and Americans in general dismiss the idea as unrealistic in a sprawling American suburb.
“I don’t bike, simply because this is America,” Hanbo Xu (‘25) said. “Here, cars are everything — eternal and all-powerful.”
Greater Los Angeles is particularly notorious for its poor biking infrastructure. It ranked as the worst major city in the United States for “bikability,” while neighboring San Bernadino and Santa Ana nearby ranked 5th and 6threspectively.
Because of this, bike lanes have seen a surge in interest in numerous American cities, and the infamous biking hell of Greater Los Angeles has begun reform. Claremont is a relatively early adopter of increased biking infrastructure.
“Claremont has been very active for a long time in seeking grant funding to construct bicycle infrastructure,” said Ms. Tipping, a traffic engineer for the City of Claremont. “Over the past 20 years, it has been very successful in applying for grants that allow for installation of a number of projects that included bike lanes. We were able to get over 20 million for bicycle installation projects.”
