It wasn't just the first time I saw an expectant mother on a bike that startled me. It was every time, and there were many in Copenhagen. The Danish city has done much to lure people out of cars and families back to its core, and here were the fruits of their labor, so to speak. Pregnant women, sometimes very pregnant, astride two wheels. My American eyes were confounded.
In the Inland Northwest, many people hear "bike" and think of a middle-aged man in lycra or a child at play or some other dismissive conception of who is allowed to ride a bike on our crowded, dangerous streets.
Not in Denmark, or any other country where lots of people get around by their own steam, pedaling from place to place. Visit Amsterdam, Paris or any number of European cities — not to mention their American counterparts where cycling has once again become a viable mode of transportation, places like Portland, Minneapolis and Boulder, Colorado. You'll see those soon-to-be-new mothers riding, along with kids, older people and everyone in between, heading to work, home, the store, the library, the park.
And, surely, you'll wonder: Can I do that?
The requirements for getting into bike commuting, or riding for pleasure, are ridiculously low. You must have a bike and the willingness to give it a go.
Once you go, however, good luck stopping. As many people who ride bikes — including the one writing this story — will attest, it's difficult not to be happy when riding a bike. Melancholy just isn't compatible with a bike. Beyond decreased levels of anxiety, depression and stress, the health benefits of cycling are almost too numerous to list: Increased cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength and flexibility. Improved joint mobility, posture and coordination. It burns calories. It's a full body workout on par with swimming or rowing.
If your personal health isn't of consequence, consider this: The American transportation system is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses nationwide, and personal vehicles account for the majority of those emissions. What's more, most trips Americans make in their cars are shorter than five miles — a distance that is, in fact, perfect for a bicycle.
But, the critics say, Spokane is not a perfect city for bicycles. Look at the hills. And the snow. Ah, but Spokane was once a bike town, and it can be again.
In fact, the first pavement in the Inland Northwest was paid for and constructed by cyclists. It was the 1890s, and the bicycle had a strong grip on the American imagination. Cars were a decade away from being commonplace. Horses were temperamental, and there was all that manure. Streetcars were noisy. The bicycle, however, offered freedom and excitement.
Yet the streets were muddy and treacherous. So members of the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club raised money to build a 6-mile "cinder path" running near where Summit Parkway runs through Kendall Yards. Then they built it, the city's first pavement. Soon local adherents of the Good Roads Movement — which, again, was started by cyclists — spread the word, and Spokane and its (sometimes potholed and cracked) pavement were forever intertwined.
If the history of Spokane pavement doesn't move you, perhaps today's futuristic technology will.
The last decade has seen the rapid development of electric-assist bicycles. The safest kind, which still offer a slew of health benefits, are pedal-assist bikes that keep their speed below 20 mph. They're still bikes, so you have to pedal to keep moving, and the relatively low speed lets you lawfully ride on the region's numerous paths: Centennial, Fish Lake and Ben Burr trails, to name just a few.
What's best, however, is the assist. The motor gives a little extra pep to each push of the pedal. It powers you up hills as if the incline was nil. It thrusts you miles away from town, as if a stiff wind were at your back. It makes someone who hasn't ridden a bike in years suddenly very powerful.
These bikes are becoming more and more popular, and as their ubiquity increases, their prices keep dropping.
"People used to come in and say, 'What the heck are those?'" says Mac Blackpine, who works at North Division Bicycle. "Now they say, 'Show me the e-bikes. I want an e-bike.' It's about 40 percent of our sales. The secret's out."
Not only that, but the stigma is gone. When e-bikes first hit the cycling scene, the well-calfed turned up their noses. Those things were for lazy people or seniors. Now, you can see just about anyone on an e-bike.
"Whatever sort of cycling discipline you're into, there's an e-bike for you," Blackpine says.
North Division carries many makes and models of e-bikes, including Trek, Niner, Gazelle and Serfas. But there are still more: Rad Power, Aventon, VanMoof, Specialized, Ride1Up. Prices vary, but a good e-bike can range from $1,000 to an eye-popping $10,000.
While just a fraction of owning a car, which on average costs $10,000 a year according to AAA, the price of an e-bike does make some people wary of buying one.
Before you hit your local bike shop, you might consider calling your representatives in government or electric utility. Numerous states, cities and electric utilities across the nation offer incentives or tax rebates for people buying e-bikes. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Oklahoma all offer statewide cash rebates of between $200 and $1,700 to people who buy e-bikes. Cities in these states, as well as in Michigan, Vermont and Oregon, offer additional rebates.
The e-bike rebate program is working especially well in Denver. In 2022, more than 4,700 residents bought e-bikes and received rebates up to $1,700 per bike. Two-thirds of these people reported driving less, and a third said they hadn't driven at all since getting an e-bike. The city estimates that its program has led to e-bikes replacing 100,000 vehicle miles each week.
While the U.S. government offers a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for electric cars, nothing similar exists for e-bikes. An e-bike tax credit was part of the Build Back Better Act, which died in the U.S. Senate. Its successor, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which was passed into law, had no similar benefit. In March, representatives from Oregon and California introduced the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act, which would cover 30 percent of the cost, up to a $1,500, of an e-bike.
Neither Idaho or Washington state offer rebates, though in 2021 the Washington House passed a bill that would've exempted sales tax from e-bike purchases. It wasn't taken up in the state Senate, and wasn't reintroduced during the current legislative session.
"It'd be more efficient if there weren't all those cars in the way."
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What's more, while utilities in Iowa, New York and California all offer rebates on e-bikes, no local utilities offer rebates. But Avista's manager of electric transportation, Rendall Farley, says he's "monitoring micro mobility" but that Avista's "programs are focused on how might electric transportation affect the grid."
In other words, as cars and trucks switch from gas to electric, Avista is making sure its grid can handle the load.
While Farley said Avista works closely with the Spokane Regional Transportation Commission and will provide support to help charge e-bikes and scooters, offering rebates or incentives to people buying e-bikes is not on the horizon.
"We'll have to monitor it and see what's realistic," he said. "In the near term, we won't have bike incentives, but it might make sense in the future."
Don't let the lack of a rebate dissuade you. Many e-bike manufacturers offer one-time discounts for first-time buyers. Whether you're looking for a comfortable bike to ride to work or a cargo bike to tote the groceries and kiddos, there's a model for you.
Blackpine, at North Division, describes the adoption of e-bikes like a snowball. The critical mass theory of uptake. The more who ride, the more people will see them and, perhaps, ride with them. But, he says, more has to be done to make bike commuting viable in Spokane.
"I think that, at least in this part of the world, they don't think they have a safe place to do it. We don't have safe infrastructure here," he says. "We have ridiculous bike lanes here. A strip of paint that doesn't protect you. More people would ride if they didn't think it was so dangerous. It's like public transit: It'd be more efficient if there weren't all those cars in the way."
What you need (other than a bike) to ride in safety and style
Helmet
Safety first, and that comes with a helmet. In Europe, it's common to see people on bikes without a helmet, or wearing a collar airbag for cyclists from Hövding. But here in the U.S., most people wear a helmet. Go cute with one from bikepretty.com, or go retro with one from explorethousand.com, but be sure to go with one that fits.
Pannier
Bike bags are essential for anyone who wants to ride with a purpose. Keep a nice pair of shoes, a change of clothes, your picnic lunch, groceries, some books — whatever! — in a bag that has style or at least is waterproof. Ortlieb has been the go-to for decades, and remains that way, but contenders to the throne exist: among them Arkel and Northwest-based pannier designers Swift Industries and Revelate Designs.
Bell
The Inland Northwest is fortunate to have many paved trails to ride on. But those trails are enjoyed by other people, too. Be a good neighbor and give them a hearty heads-up with a ring of the bell well before you pass. A couple of dings from a distance gives them a moment to ponder that beautiful sound before realizing it was a warning and step aside. They're available at most local bike shops.
