Bike Commuter Profile: Eric Braddock of Ecos
Posted by: StephanieSep 23 2009, 4:52 pm
Team Ecos has been celebrating and encouraging their bike commuters during the Bike Commute Challenge by posting two commuter profiles in their office each week.
Here's one they shared with us from Eric Braddock.
How long have you been a bike commuter? Three full months.
Why did you start riding your bike to work and how long is your commute? I live 3.5 miles from the 185th Max Station in Beaverton. It would take me 15 minutes to drive it, because you sit at a single light and watch it cycle through green 3 different times before you can get through as these are major intersections during rush hour. Every day, as I watched the light go from red to green over and over again before I would get through, I thought: I really should be biking this, so I could cruise past all these cars waiting at each light, and go right up to the front. During last year’s bike commute challenge, I bike commuted twice. It was harder than I expected, but surprisingly refreshing. Especially the part when I went right to the front of each intersection every time. After 6 months of rainy season (and no biking), my wife and I decided to trim our budget down and become a 1 car family (sell my car). It was at that point (the day my car sold in June) that I committed to ride to work as often as I could, knowing it was possible from the previous year’s BCC.
How does Bike Commuting help you with your lifestyle (economics, health, relationships)? Our budget has really opened up since we dumped our SUV; lower insurance costs, less on gas, and no car payment. I was able to pay for a new bike, helmet, and lights from the cost it took to have our SUV for one month. We call that a 1 month payback (or a ‘no-brainer’) in economic terms.
Do you have a favorite route to work? Yes, the one with that allows me to be in a bike lane as long as possible.
What kind of bike to you have? A commuter (hybrid) from Schwinn. It was last year’s model, and marked down. Also it’s blue.
Any funny or interesting commuting story that you may want to share? I can attest that the city of Beaverton doesn’t have any street sweepers, at least in the biking lane. I have ridden past the same dead bird in the bike lane every day for the past 3 months. Also the bike lane is filled with little rocks and pebbles, especially close to the intersections. As I cruise past all the cars waiting at a red light (sometimes 40-50 cars deep), my tires pinch/shoot the little rocks and pebbles off the waiting cars with loud ‘tings.’ I haven’t been yelled at for that yet, but am anxiously waiting for someone to freak out.
Also, showering in the basement of the building here at Ecos can be funny. Funny because I didn’t know cockroaches could get that big, or that they enjoyed showering that much. Ask Oswaldo.
What do people say when you tell them that you are a bike commuter? Hopefully they think, “if this guy can do it, anyone can do it!”
How about bicycling advocacy? Are you active in any local or regional advocacy groups? My Morse Code is rusty, but when I am getting honked at I think the drivers are saying “way to go guy, that’s one less car on the road I have to wait for.” Otherwise, No I am not involved in any advocacy groups.
Anything else that you would like to share with the company? Riding a bike only takes me 3-5 minutes longer then driving, and this is in Beaverton. I rent a bike locker at the max platform for $15 every 3 months. This way I don’t have to try and get my bike on and off the max (which can be very tricky during rush hour). I think the easiest way to become a bike commuter is to sell your car. It’s totally worth it! Bring on the rainy season…
Eric you are a funny guy, I really enjoyed your article, say hi to Oswaldo. Way to go on the bike commuting!
You ROCK Eric! Way to keep on peddling. And don't ever stop given' those Roaches a show to remember!
Cheers, Eric! I got a good chuckle out of your story.
Yeah, I can attest that Beaverton/Aloha/Hillsboro are probably some of the worst roads to bike in the "bike lanes." Cruddy and filled with debris; then, when you are dodging debris in the bike lane, you get cursed at by cars for not staying "in your own lane."
Keep rockin' your commute, dude! WORK TO LIVE, LIVE TO BIKE, BIKE TO WORK!!!
About bike lanes being the debris zone: Last winter, after the roads were heavily sanded, and then the snow melted, all the sand (mixed with other greasy road grime) was swept over onto the bike lanes – thick, gritty, gooey gunk. I was coming into town one dark morning on a road with five regular traffic lanes (two each way plus center turn lane) and bike lanes on either side. The bike lane was so covered with the gunk that the painted lines were even completely obscured, so I was riding to the right side of the far right traffic lane – just out of the gunk. Traffic was very light, but this indignant truck driver was determined that I should be in the gunky bike lane and followed me, honking his horn. I looked back. He honked some more. I waved him around (the left lane was completely empty). He honked some more. Finally, the stripe marking the left edge of the bike lane emerged from the gunk, and I eased into the shallower gunk there. The truck driver buzzed me hard, honking some more as he went by.
Wait – here's the best part: The truck had an 'E' plate. It was a publicly owned vehicle. I was *paying* for the service! :-\
… Eventually the street sweepers came along to clean up the sand and stuff, but by then the gritty gooey sand gunk had coalesced such that all this did was spread gunk back out across the whole bike lane again each time they swept every so often for a few months or so.
City limits are weird and convoluted things. The Willow Creek Transit Center is actually in Hillsboro and the area around is mostly unincorporated Washington County so I am not surprised that the roads are not swept on a regular basis.
Eric your story is very inspiring; way jump right in on the commuting scene!
I didn't know Oregon had cockroaches.
Great story Eric, I did the same thing last fall…sold the truck, bought a bike. I thought it was bi-polar disorder or mid-life crisis but now I know I'm in good company. Cheers!