Certified Car-Free: A Rider's Perspective

Bicycle Coalition intern Max Rosen-Long sat down with TD Bank Bike Philly rider (and Bicycle Coalition member) Julie Cristol to get her thoughts on riding car-free for a morning.

Julie Cristol, 49, was born and raised in Philadelphia and has been riding a bike since 1988 (when she returned to Philly after finishing school).

What can you tell me about TD Bank Bike Philly?

It’s really fun. The first year I found it to be very emotional, which really surprised me. We took off down the Parkway, and I just felt overwhelmed, like I was going to cry. Because it was so wonderful to be there without any cars. And it made me realize that everyday when I’m biking I’m tense and I’m worried about the cars- I’m always wondering if someone’s gonna not see me, or get angry at me, yell at me, honk at me, whatever it is. I don’t constantly think that I’m tense, but to ride down the parkway with all of those other bikers and no cars, it was just this overwhelming feeling of joy, and I practically started crying.

What particularly about the ride do you enjoy?

The car-free thing is a big thing. It’s just so nice. And then, you know, I like biking, so it’s fun to do something with lots of other bikers. And it’s fun to look at all the other bikes. My 10 year old son this summer just went to the Neighborhood Bike Works camp and built himself a bike. Even before that, he was interested in different bike handlebars, so I remember last year he was into cataloguing how many different types of handlebars he could see. And now this year he loved camp, and he’s always talking about handlebar tape, and which seat he should put on, and that kind of thing.

Having a teenager now, it’s nice to find something we can all do together to have fun.

Do you feel like you see the city differently during TD Bank Bike Philly?

The city definitely looks really different during Bike Philly. Removing cars makes it really different, it lets you see things that you couldn’t see before. It’s a different perspective. Maybe part of it is that you’re not worrying about cars, so you can actually look around you.

Has biking changed a lot in Philly?

Well, when I started riding in 1988 there weren’t any bike lanes. And there were hardly any bikers. So in the last few years there are a ton more bikers, and bike lanes, and that’s a great improvement.