009 Drive Less and Walk More

Oyster900

– Mark and Adele talk about the benefits of walking vs. driving, including for exercise, health, mental health and happiness, and for discovering new people and places you may have driven by many times in the past without really seeing them. Mark talks about managing to get in walking time on his treadmill when his regular walking routine was disrupted recently by heavy rains. Mark doesn’t use a pedometer when he walks. He notes that he does keep track of cycling miles when he rides, and that some form of measuring is important to setting and achieving personal goals. Adele describes walking (and bicycling) years ago before she owned a car. Mark, an avid cyclist who pedals up to 800 miles a month around Los Angeles, considers riding a bicycle to the office in the future. Adele mentions that due to new bike lanes on city streets, riding a bike in traffic is safer now, and how there is a movement across the U.S. to make communities more walkable and bikeable. Mark talks about a bicycling coalition in the San Gabriel Valley, Bike San Gabriel, and plans to invite a representative as a guest on the show. Mark also talks about walking with his better half (wife!) a couple miles from Alhambra to South Pasadena to enjoy local shops and restaurants, and then being able to hop on the Metro train at the South Pasadena station if they want to expand the area they cover and visit interesting places like Chinatown. Adele encourages Oyster900 listeners to take a walk to somewhere they normally drive to, and then share their experiences. Wrapping up, the message is: Drive less, Walk (and Bike) More!

Mentioned in this episode:
Bike San Gabriel, www.bikesgv.org

Metro Gold Line, South Pasadena Station
www.metro.net/riding/maps/gold-line/
805 S Meridian Av, South Pasadena 91030
Nearby Free Parking (Independent) – 120 Spaces
14 Bike Rack Spaces