Gas prices prompt workers to cycle

By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Escalating gasoline prices and the desire for exercise have prompted three Trumbull County government workers to ride their bicycles regularly to their downtown jobs.
"Six years ago, when they said that gas was going to be $1.50 a gallon, I said: 'Forget this. No way.' I took my tax refund and I bought a bike, and I've been riding ever since," said Kathryn Bartow, 47, a civil cost and billing clerk in the clerk of courts office.
With gasoline recently having approached $3 a gallon, Bartow has been pedaling the 16-mile daily round trip from her Braceville residence in almost all kinds of weather. Riding up to 2,600 miles a year, she typically begins cycling to work in March and has continued as late as mid-December.
Bartow owns a large pickup truck that doesn't offer ideal fuel economy. "I just thought: 'You know what? I have energy to spare. I can use my own energy to get to work,'" she explained.
"Warren is such a nice city that I feel comfortable riding my bicycle to work," she said, adding that she'd encourage others to cycle to work. "It's really good exercise. It saves money. You don't have to worry about trying to find a parking spot," Bartow said.
For errands and fun
Bartow also rides her bicycle on local bike trails and on errands in Newton Falls. "If I have to go to the grocery store, and the stuff will fit in my pack, I ride the bike," she added.
"Saving on gas would probably be the predominant reason, and exercise is a nice benefit," said Mark Malacky, 38, of Warren, a systems administrator in the data processing department, whose daily round-trip commute is four miles.
Malacky, who cycles to work "any day it's warm enough and dry enough," rode to work until last October and resumed in March. He said he lives close enough to work that his commuting time would be about the same whether he drives his car or bicycles.
He began cycling to work "when gas got up high and started really becoming an issue." This is his second year of cycling to work.
Malacky, whose commute is almost entirely on busy Market Street, also bicycles on the weekends with his sons, Joseph, 12, and Thomas, 6, and daughter, Susanne, 9. His wife, Ellen, also occasionally cycles through the neighborhood where they reside.
"I started riding on nice days about a month ago. I've been going about two days a week. As [weather] gets nicer, I'm going to try to ride more," said Jim Stan, 43, of Warren, who began biking to work last summer when gasoline prices went up.
Getting in some exercise
"I just thought: Why bother driving a mile and a half [each way] when I can get there just as fast on my bike?" Stan explained, adding that he also enjoys the exercise. "When I get up and ride my bike to work, I feel much healthier than when I sit in my car and drive to work."
Stan, who is Malacky's brother-in-law, is a computer operator in the data processing department. He rides three miles round trip to work and also enjoys riding on the Western Reserve Greenway.
Stan said his wife, Angela, and sons, Michael, 16, Peter, 14, Nick, 9, and daughter, Diana, 12, enjoy bicycling.
Malacky and his older son and Stan are planning a weekend bicycle trip this summer to Lake Erie, where Stan's family has a residence in Saybrook.
Some motorists need to be educated concerning the right of bicyclists to be on the roads, and some cyclists need to be educated concerning their responsibilities to obey traffic laws, including the prohibition against cycling against the flow of traffic, Bartow said.
Cyclists should ride as far to the right as they reasonably can, but motorists must realize cyclists have a right to avoid obstacles, including potholes, glass and gravel, she said. "We are to be considered a vehicle. We have a right to that lane," Bartow said.
Advice to motorists
Bartow, who typically rides 17-20 mph while commuting, advises motorists: "Don't pass us and then pull right in front of us and stop to make a turn."
Stan concurred, saying his biggest problem is motorists making a right turn directly in front of him. "I hit my brakes quite a lot for that," he said. "If you're coming up a little behind them, they [the motorists] may not even see you."
A few motorists have been downright nasty to Bartow, blaring their horns, telling her to get off the road and sometimes tossing lighted cigarettes, pop cans and eggs at her, she recalled. "If they're going to be ignorant, we're risking our lives," she said.
Motorists should expect to see more bicyclists on the roads because of high gasoline prices, Malacky said. Bartow said she's already seen an increase in the number of cyclists.
As for motorists, Stan concluded: "I just wish they'd be a little more aware that we are allowed on the roads and take that into consideration."
milliken@vindy.com