Bike 'n' Bus

Today, as I came out of Boone Hospital after rounds, I found the right lane of Broadway coned off for construction. That's the way I usually get to my bus stop, but today I decided it was so beautiful anyway, that I would just whiz down the hill and pedal on to my office. I was glad I did. What a beautiful morning!

The bus bike racks have been a huge part of getting going with non-motorized transportation for me. Way back in 2001, when I decided to participate in the 1st Bike Walk Wheel Week, I had lots of barrier: I was out of shape, it was 7 miles to my office, I have to stop and change clothes to see patients in the hospital on the way many mornings, and at that time East Broadway was a terrifying ride, especially the pinch point bridge over the Hinkson Creek.

So I got out the bus map, and at that time, there was a bus that came down Stadium to Old 63, then up over the hill, and out to my office. I found that I could go entirely be trail, except for the short segment of Old 63 from Grindstone Nature Area to the bus stop, and be delivered in a mostly timely manner to my office on Keene Street. That didn't take me past Boone, so I only did it on days that I had no patients to round on, but it was a start. Later, I started riding to Boone to do rounds, and then met the bus at the bottom of the hill, and found I could make that work. At some point, they changed the bus route so that it no longer went down Stadium, and become the perfect route for me. I could finish at Boone at about 8:00, catch the bus right on Broadway, and be dropped off right in front of my office by 8:20, still in my work clothes from rounds. It was ideal! If I ever got tied up and missed the bus, which sometimes happened, it's only about a 15 minute ride, and somewhere in there, they built the new bridge and Pedway on East Broadway, so it's not a bad ride at all--but hilly enough that I, at least, work up a bit of a sweat, making the issue of whether or not to change clothes again one that I had to consider.

More recently, the bus route has changed again, making it less convenient for me (it gets to my office at 8:30 instead of 8:20, which is cutting it close), but I can tell by the markedly increased ridership that it was probably a good move for a lot of people, so I'm not really complaining. And I'm really not complaining about the new orange route, which actually puts a bus stop within a mile of my house on the SW side of town!! That gives me more opportunities to use the bus even without my bike, as I have done several times now.

I love that our NCLCWC cards work as bus passes. And I really love that the bus drivers seem to recognize them and just wave me on! Now, if they would only get around to printing the timetables and maps for the routes that have been in effect since early August....