1

William Avila
03/12/15
Frinq: Portland
Dr.knepler

Portlands Bicycle Benefits and Health

Portland is known for its artisan cyclist community. We love our bikes so much artisans spend
their days making one of a kind bike to fit the lifestyle of the buyer. For any purpose, or reason
bikes can be specially made to suit the needs of the person whether it be used for transportation,
heavy travel, for fun, and for fitness and exercise. These artisans have developed bikes that make
the ride a more enjoyable experience but do people ride bikes for exercise and fitness? What are
the roles that play against people wanting to ride a bike? And lastly, what are the benefits of
cycling? Riding a bike has many benefits to a persons health but there are some issues with
cycling; including the safety concerns and what Portland is doing to make the streets more
bicycle accessible.
There are many places in Portlands downtown area that are popular with bikers; the one
that is the most known to me is the waterfront by the famous Voodoo Doughnuts. At the water
front, I was hoping to collect some valuable information on the amount of cyclists that are
around there. Being the first time ever being at the waterfront, I was expecting to see a lot of
cyclists passing by in no rush, but I was mistaken; taking into consideration the weather and the
48 degree temperature, there werent many cyclists out. On the water front I counted a total
number of 10 cyclists within 15 minutes, which to me wasnt very fulfilling, but what I did find
interesting was the fact that all but one was wearing a helmet and that only one person seemed to
be in no rush to go anywhere. The waterfront was not giving me the data I required so I traveled

down to the Hawthorn Bridge, where immediately there was a change in the amount of cyclist
that where present for the next 15 to 20 minutes. I counted a total of 38 more cyclists crossing
the bridge. Throughout my time being there out of the 48 cyclists 9 were not wearing a helmet or
any protective gear. This could mean most wear one in fear that they might fall or be in an
accident while riding their bicycles. I also noticed that 28 out of the 48 cyclists all had
multispeed bicycles that are primarily used for exercise and endurance training, but these bikes
are also used to make traveling up hilly roads an easier task. In addition to my findings, the
Graph (bottom page) illustrating the average bike traffic for each bridge demonstrates the large
amount of cyclists that we have in Portland on a daily bases. The numbers have only increased
over the years; at the end of the observation I noticed the bicycle count number for that day was
already 2170 (Image 2, Avila)
According to Charles Heying in Brew to Bikes Portland has become the place for bikes
( Heying, 108). Portland has really become a cyclist friendly place. Heying describes in detail the
large amount of people that are taking up cycling and how Portland is helping them. The bike
friendly bridges alone have given cyclists an advantage over the traffic and in return add 90
million dollars to the citys economy and help decrease traffic congestion (Heying,108). Dan
Burden and Peter Lagerweys Road Diets Losing Width and gaining Respect agree with Heyings
views about Portland becoming more bike friendly In the process formerly fat streets often
become leaner, safer and more efficient (Burden& Lagerwey, 2) this describes the citys use of
tax dollars to give cyclists a safer feel by converting wider roads into thinner, more bike;
accessible roads. The bike culture in Portland began to expand more and more due to the city
adding bike trails and bikes lanes that ultimately made bicycling a little safer and more
accessible to cyclists (Heying 109). Improvements such as these small infrastructure upgrades

allow cyclists to feel safer on the streets because of the laws that prevent cars from being in said
bike lanes. The upgrades also contributed to the growth of the cyclist community because it
became easier to travel around with bike routes in place (Heying 110).
In Cost and Benefits of Bicycling Investments in Portland, Oregon, Thomas Gotschi
states that the act of bicycling has become part of Portlands comprehensive and sustainable
health, transportation and environmental policies. The author goes on to state the benefits of
cycling in terms of long term investments and as a health measure to help prevent the spread of
disease (S49). Gotshci not only states the facts about the benefits of cycling he also states the
negatives about the cycling community. For Example the investments Portland would have to
make to improve the 274 mile bikeway network that already exists; he calculates to be close to
57 million dollars (S50). Gotschi collected in 1995 about the lack of physical activity people
need to be healthy. The author determined that the cost of treatments due to no physical activity
would add up to 24 billion dollars due to coronary heart disease, hypertension, depression,
anxiety and more. According to Gotschi, 30 minutes a day of riding a bike could save someone
thousands of dollars in medical expenses (S52). But even though cycling could save a person a
lot of money in the long run Hoffman states Riding a bicycle is 12 times more likely to lead
to mortality than riding in a car (P.1112).
Both are correct, I believe this data because I was born with bad knee joints that got so
bad a one point I was unable to walk across a classroom without one of my knee caps slipping
out of place. I was told that intense physical therapy was needed to repair my damaged joints, but
I could not afford the therapy session so my doctor told me that riding a bike for an hour or so a
couple times a week should help get rid of my knee problems, and so far it has. Thirty minutes
of daily bicycling are therefore credited with $544 in health care savings annually. Gotschi

claims 30 minutes a day of bicycling can save you money. I went from about 80 dollar sessions
of physical therapy to one payment of 150 dollars for a BMX bike. I have had the for about 3
years with nothing changed on it but the inner tubes in the tires, for a total of about 160 dollars
for 3 years of basically free therapy and saving money on health care. But on the other hand, as
Hoffman puts it, Injuries result in costly medical bills, time off work, surgery, and permanent
disability (Hoffman.1112), Hoffman is right, I paid close to $3000 because of my accident; the
ambulance alone was near to $1000 dollars.
In addition, in todays date in time society believes that men have less fear then women,
but is it true? US studies consistently find that women are less likely to bicycle than men (1216). One explanation is that some studies find that women are more concerned about safety,
particularly from vehicle traffic (Dill S96). Naturally this made me think about the truth in who
is more concerned with safety so I ran a little test in my house and ask my parents at different
times if I could ride my bike, I asked my mother, she replied with dont forget to put on your
helmet and my father just simply replied with an OK, dont be gone to long. This to me was a
successful experiment because it showed that in this case a woman is more concerned about
safety, US studies consistently find that women are less likely to bicycle than men (Dill S96),
Dill than states that from a study women bike less than men; this surprised me because I honestly
thought women would ride more than men because of the comfort issues men have when riding
for long periods of time, but from what Dill is explaining, it sounds to me that fear of danger is
playing a big role for the decision of cycling for women. Overall I believe that fear for cyclists
are not mainly for one gender, but for both, it only takes one accident to make someone see the
real danger in cycling. Mine happened the last day of spring break in the 7 th grade. Riding a bike
had come naturally to me, and apart from the occasional falls, scrapes, and bruises I was never in

a severe accident, so naturally I didnt have a fear of having an accident until I had to be rushed
to the urgent care for bicycle trauma at OHSU. A couple hours later with 17 stitches in my lip
and eyebrow, x-rays and CT-scans completed the doctor said I was lucky to have lived. It wasnt
until the third time I blacked out that I woke up in the hospital bed with my mother crying in a
chair beside me that I realized how bad my injury actually was. I had suffered my first major
concussion and my first seizure all at the same time and I couldnt remember anything up to the
accident, the doctor said I had lost a lot of blood and that I was going to have consistent painful
headaches from time to time for about a month, he also told me that I was going to have scars all
over my face for the rest of my life, and he wasnt wrong until this day I still have the scars
where the stitches were but luckily everything else went away. Even events that do not lead to
injury can adversely affect a cyclists sense of safety, leading them to stop commuting by bike
(Hoffman, P.1112). Hoffmans article Bicycle Commuter Injury Prevention agrees with Gotschi
and the others: cycling is dangerous and even though cyclists may not have been seriously
injured, that cyclists will now have that fear that it could be worse the next time. After my
accident the danger all became real to me. I had been too close to death on my first real accident
and warned about the outcomes if it were to happen again for me to ignore the danger aspect of
bicycling; for the next year I did not own or ride a bike in fear that I would fall again and end my
own life. I do not blame women for noticing the danger, after all as Hoffman puts it the
potential for fatalities and injuries also exist (P.1112). I understand them and dont think
differently of the people who are afraid, but since then there has been an improvement on the
bike infrastructure in Portland and people will agree that the new infrastructure adds a feeling of
safety and protection to the daily cyclist. Simple stated preference studies usually find that
people prefer bike paths and lanes or indicate that having such infrastructure would encourage

them to bicycle more (Dill 19,22). Some studies present respondents with two options, trading
off a higher quality facility (e.g., a dedicated bike lane) with a longer travel time. At least two
such studies have found that bicyclists value bike lanes and off-street paths (Dill 23, 24) Dill
adds support to my idea by stating that a cyclist would rather take a longer path or specified bike
lanes if it means a safer way of cycling (S97).
In continuation, on 1818 SW 6th Ave, the corner of a never ending busy street is a small
bicycle shop called the Bike Hub. In the Bike Hub I met a young man who introduced himself as
Erick the Bike Mechanic. Erick, like Dill, believes that danger plays a big role in whether a
person rides a bike, and when asked the question if fear/danger plays a role in cycling he says
Yes, I believe danger is something big with cyclists, but we offer classes here to train new
cyclists about the proper use of a bike and the passages (Erick). The class is called intro to bike
commuting. Erick being a bike mechanic knows everything there is to bicycling and also
believes that a way that the cyclists community can get past the danger aspect of cycling they
need to be taught about bikes because it allows the rider to feel safer, which in turn allows for a
safer travel (Erick). When Erick was asked a question about the infrastructure of Portland I was
surprised to hear that Portland has contributed more than most cities. Yes, It has definitely done
more than most cities, the infrastructure here is better than where I came from like places in
California where there is no infrastructure (Erick). This shows that Portland cyclists are already
very fortunate to live in a cyclists supported city, Erick than told me about his bad experiences in
California with angry drivers and sketchy roads. With a couple questions left he was able to tell
me the most bought bike, which was a multi-gear commuter bike, and that they dont make handmade bikes but they have had costumers bring in the frame of their choice and trust the Bike Hub
to put on everything else. In the end what surprised me the most was the answer to the question

do you believe there are health benefits to cycling? he replied with oh yeah, absolutely, it
relieves stress, and makes a person feel happier (Erick). He also believed that Dills 30 minutes a
day of cycling is an excellent source of exercise and that buying a bike is definitely a smart
investment if you live within a reasonable distance of the place you want to go, he adds on
traffic SUCKS and says that not spending money on gas and a car will save a lot of money
(Erick).
Portland is putting around 60 million dollars into improving and making the roads more
bicycle accessible, in order to make more people want to bicycle. Infrastructure is being rebuilt
and improved all throughout the year to ensure a safer ride for the cyclist. In this research fear
and danger are the main reasons why people dont want to cycle. In the end bicycles may not
always be the best form of transportation or the ideal way to get around but they do have their
advantages. For example they are cheaper than buying a car and you dont spend money on fuel;
making purchasing a bike a smart investment. Not only are they more economical, they could
also save you hundreds in medical expenses due to the exercise you do while riding a bicycle;
the medical benefits far outweigh the negatives of cycling. Lastly, Portlands Artisans are able to
create the perfect bike for a person with special needs, so why not take advantage and make a
smart investment.

Figure 1. Average Daily Bicycle Traffic, Google Images. http://bikeportland.org/wpcontent/images/AverageDailyBicycleTraff_01.jpg

Figure 2. Daily Cyclists Count, Picture taken by Avila, William. Feb 3, 2015.

10

Incident Rate of Traumatic Events

Figure 3. Incidence rates of traumatic events (white bar) and

Serious traumatic events (black bar) per 100,000 miles commuted,
by skill level. Beg, beginner; Int, intermediate; Adv,
Advanced.( 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins)

11

Works Cited

Burden, Dan, and Peter Lagerwey. "Road Diets." Walkable Communities(1999): 1-15.
Dill, Jennifer. "Bicycling for transportation and health: the role of
infrastructure."Journal of public health policy (2009): S95-S110.
Dill, Jennifer, and Kim Voros. "Factors affecting bicycling demand: initial survey
findings from the Portland, Oregon, region." Transportation Research Record:
Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2031.1 (2007): 9-17.
Dill, Jennifer, and Theresa Carr. "Bicycle commuting and facilities in major US cities:
if you build them, commuters will use them." Transportation Research Record:
Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1828.1 (2003): 116-123.
Gotschi, Thomas. "Costs and benefits of bicycling investments in Portland,
Oregon." Journal of Physical Activity and Health 8.1 (2011): S49-S58.
Hoffman, Melissa R., et al. "Bicycle commuter injury prevention: It is time to focus
on the environment." Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 69.5 (2010): 11121119.
Unknown, Erick. Bike Hub, interview by William Avila, Feb.5, 2015, interview.
Avila, William Observation.jpg. Feb.3,2015
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Incidence rates of traumatic events, Web.2010
Unknown, Average Daily Bicycle Traffic, Google Images. http://bikeportland.org/wpcontent/images/AverageDailyBicycleTraff_01.jpg. Google.Web.