Urban Cycling

80’s music sucked.

You might disagree, but I don’t think it’s a very bold statement. More debatable words have been spoken, such as “the value Mark Reynolds provides by hitting home runs exceeds the negative results of all of his strike outs.”

Very few 80’s artists and songs have been able to stay relevant a quarter century later. There are a handful of bands that didn’t play awful music; I’m sure I could count the number on one hand.  But the one band that has any relation to the title of this post is the Talking Heads.  They played awesome music. They are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (maybe B4B can visit before we catch an Indians game at Progressive Field next summer). Once in a Lifetime and Burning Down the House are two of my favorite songs. They had critical acclaim while also having several pop hits in the 80’s.  They were a great 80’s band.

For all of their esteemed musical accomplishments, lead singer David Byrne’s influence as an urban cyclist has had almost as much impact on today’s society. Byrne is an urban cyclist who has advocated cycling as a mode of transportation since he was at the height of his time with the Talking Heads in the early 80’s. He has written books on his city cycling adventures, and he even has a cycling column in the New York Times.  It seems like Byrne tours more promoting bicycling in big cities now than he does to perform his great music, and that’s a good thing.

Promoting urban cycling as a clean an efficient alternative to the personal automobile is a practical way for cities to reduce traffic congestion and smog. For cities to simultaneously confront these problems as well as climate change and the emerging inactivity and obesity epidemic, activists like David Byrne and many other advocacy groups are working hard to develop cycling as an important part of the urban transportation system.  Investment in infrastructure has been growing at a record pace;$900 million a year was invested in the United States from 2005-2009 for the installation of bicycle facilities, including parking and bike lanes.

What really interested me when reading about David Byrne was that he said, “Cycling clears his head and allows him to think creatively.” One of pop rock music’s best songwriters gets creative inspiration from cycling. It may not be a stretch to think he wrote some of the melodies of his songs while cruising the streets of NYC. He now uses his creativity to promote city biking by designing quirky bike racks for city streets. Byrne also says, “Sometimes the problems get a little closer to being solved by the time you get to where you’re going.” Stating the Ubaldo Jimenez deal to Cleveland benefits in the long run pales in comparison to Byrne’s statement. 

The cycling community needs more public figures like David Byrne. We need a pop star or pro athlete to actually lead this type of lifestyle and promote it. We need more stat-loving managers like Joe Maddon, and bring them into the cycling world. Or maybe our cycling lover is hiding in a closet somewhere, waiting for B4B to help pull him out. We’re looking. We’ll find it.