Meghan Cahill '03
For the first time since she was 15, Meghan Cahill '03 will be without a car. She's selling the Nissan and embracing the bicycle. It's goodbye gas money and car insurance payments, hello healthy living. And she hopes you'll consider doing the same.
As the director of communications for the American League of Bicyclists, Cahill helps to educate others about the benefits of bicycling, as well as encourage the creation of bike-friendly communities. She's taken the message she promotes to heart, biking to work at least three times a week, pedaling more than 7 miles each way between her home in Arlington, Va., and her office in downtown Washington, D.C. Commuting by bicycle means she can skip a visit to the gym, and it's faster than the bus, so she can sleep longer each morning. It's also helping her cope with asthma.
"Now my lung capacity is amazing," she says.
Nationwide, though, Cahill is in the minority. According to the 2000 census, just .38 percent of Americans bike to work. Americans bike an average of .06 miles a day, according to 2003 statistics, while the Dutch average 1.55 miles daily.
"Our nation is definitely a car nation," says Cahill.
But that could be changing. High gas prices, concerns about global warming and fitness benefits are all factors in increased ridership. More people are riding their bikes, Cahill says, and that means the League of American Bicyclists has a greater constituency to represent and protect. Cahill spends much of her time producing the league's bimonthly publication, American Bicyclist, and updating the league's website, which combats politicians' sometimes uninformed opinions about bicycling and includes information about how to respond to traffic fatalities involving bicyclists.
Cahill wasn't always so gung-ho about bicycling. In fact, when she interviewed for her position, she innocently asked her future co-workers where the parking garage was.
"They pointed to the bike rack - that's our parking," they told her.
Now she's a convert, and you'd be hard-pressed to get Cahill back behind a steering wheel.
"I've definitely switched my logic about transportation," she says. "There's nothing negative about the bicycle. You're either having fun or getting in shape ... and you're not contributing to smog or pollution." 