WALKING IN BROOKLYN:

On the evening of October 27, 2012, I walked from my house to experience the use of bicycle throughout of my neighborhood. I took a walk along E 21^st Street from E 21^st Street and Beverley through Prospect Park to exit at E Lake Dr and Ocean Ave.From there, I went toward the intersection of Ocean Ave and Flatbush Ave.Then, I walked along Flatbush to get to my house. Here is the path of my trip (picture 1).

(Picture 1: Path of my trip)

When I got into the Park by the entrance of Ocean Ave and Parkside Ave, I found a well marking pavement. There are vehicle lanes, two-way bike path and two–way pedestrians’ path. Therefore, the safety is there (for more details, see picture below).

On my way to Ocean Ave and Flatbush from the intersection of E Lake Dr and Ocean Ave, I saw one man jump on his bicycle to ride in the direction of the traffic. Two minutes later; I saw a woman ride on the same direction as the man. It took me a couple minutes to watch them and analyze their path. So, to me, biking on shoulders of highway (Streets or Avenues) is 90% safe.

                (Picture 2: In Prospect Park)

From Ocean Ave and Flatbush Ave, I walked along Flatbush where I saw a man on his bicycle ready to cross the Avenue while a bus is passing. The man crossed through the intersection to the opposite direction of the vehicles. And then, he bikes on the pedestrian crosswalk (see picture 4).For me, biking in the opposite directions of the vehicles flow is not safe. The government should do something to prevent bicycle user from doing it.

                                                                                              (Picture 3 : Inside the Prospect park)

     (Picture 4: man on his bike ready to cross)

CITY OF CAHORS NEAR BORDEAUX (FRANCE):

In summer of 2004, I came to a City called “Cahors” to work.The place where I was working was located far away from the City. It was about 10 minutes in driving and 30 minutes in biking. To get to the City during my last couple months in this area, I used a bicycle that I borrowed from one of my cowokers.

My schedule at work was 5 days a week and 7 hours a day. I got break between 2pm and 7pm.As I like to read, I went everyday to the library of Cahors in the city in order to get a book or use internet to find out what’s going on through the world. Getting to the City have taken me a lot time between the time to get bus or vehicles from a bus stop and to reach the library or go back to my work site. Sometimes, I spent more than 3 hours waiting at the bus stop for going to the library.

One day; when I spoke to one of my coworkers about my daily commute to go the city, he felt sorry. And then, he decided to lend me his bike. It was a great bike( see the picture below that I took during this period of time). From the day I received it, it was easy for me to get to the library. As you can see in the map below, this was my path from the site of my work to the library.

My experience from biking during this summer:

First of the all, this two-wheeled adventure through rolling hills, mountains and valleys of the Cahors near “Bordeaux” improved my general health such as mental health and wellbeing. It also helps me with weight, stress management, fitness and saving money.

Secondly; from the day I got it until I left the place , I did by this bike all my daily commute, to and from the place where I lived and/or to somewhere in this small village. It helped me discover many historic sites, enjoy the scenic and get to the library any times I want.

Most of my trips, I shared the roadway with vehicles traffic. The only bad experience I have had is that I was riding uphill when an inter-regional bus was about 10 cm away to hit me. That was something unforgettable in my life. The problem is that there weren’t bike lanes on all over the roadways ( see the picture bellow that I took during this period of time).

Therefore, my positive experiences of biking are higher than the negatives.

                                                 On my way to the library