On a brisk spring morning, Jeffery Hughdahl, Ph.D., straps on his helmet and prepares to make the long descent down his driveway to begin his five mile commute to work. Hughdahl is a chemistry professor at Mercer University, and has been commuting to the university by bike for almost 20 years. However, it hasn’t always been easy.
In January of 2020, he was run over during his ride to work after a semi-truck making a delivery was parked in the road on Roff Avenue causing Hughdahl to have to move around it into the flow of traffic where a cab came up on him before he had a chance to move out of the way. Luckily, Hughdahl only sustained a minor concussion after his helmet slammed into the windshield of the car, and a new bike to pair with it. It didn’t take Hughdahl but two days after his accident to get on a bike again.
“I was run over once, and I got back on my bike and kept commuting that way. So it’s not really a fear so much as maybe, resignation that there’s still a chance I could get run over again, but the benefits far outweigh the problems,” Hughdahl said.
The benefits, Hughdahl mentions, include staying in shape, saving money, community engagement, having allotted time to decompress, lowering your carbon footprint, and even supporting the local economy too.
Hughdahl’s route to school crosses some of the more dangerous, less bike friendly intersections in Macon including Vineville. In fact, during his thirty minute commute there are only two bike lanes he encounters. However, the risk does not exceed the thrill of cycling for Hughdahl.
“I get a chance to just kind of think about what I’m going to do for the day while I’m riding over the 30 minutes or so that it takes me to get to work and I like just looking and seeing how the world is changing from season to season,” Hughdahl said. “When you’re cycling, you’re moving a little bit slower than when you’re driving. So you actually get to see things I think that a lot of people would miss.”
BikeWalk Macon Founder, Rachel Umana, is also a big advocate for bicycle commuting being a commuter herself. Umana opened her eyes to the incredible benefits of using other forms of transportation after doing a fellowship in Thailand where they have a rich cycling and walking culture. She was so inspired by her experience abroad she decided to start a non-profit organization called BikeWalk Macon to help transform Macon into a more walkable city that encourages and considers all forms of transportation.
“It’s not just a toy that people just get out and ride and get in the way of cars,” Bill Causey, another cyclist, said. Causey is also a former engineer for the City of Macon Public Works and has advocated and built bike trails for decades.
When Umana first started Bike Walk Macon in 2015, one in three people in Macon didn’t have a driver’s license which made it especially crucial to advocate for better accessibility for commuters of all types. In Macon, the infrastructure is primarily only designed for cars to get to the next place as efficiently as possible disregarding other types of transportation almost completely. The poor infrastructure makes the concept of growing a walking and cycling culture where other forms of transportation are encouraged especially difficult. Umana and her team at Bike Walk Macon are fighting to destroy the vicious cycle by implementing more bike lanes, working to change policies, and offering educational training courses for bikers looking to commute safely on the roads.
“I just hope that people can understand that biking and walking isn’t one single person. Biking and walking is everyone. Everyone is a pedestrian at one point,” Umana said.
In the past ten years, Umana and Bike Walk Macon have been responsible for adding over twelve miles of bike lanes throughout the city. They have pushed the county to invest in pedestrian facilities and sidewalks. The brightened, painted crosswalks around downtown is a testament to Bike Walk Macon’s hard work to make the streets safer for pedestrians. In addition, they have been a strong voice in the conversation for Macon-Bibb to pass some countywide policies. For example, a complete streets policy meaning all new road projects have to consider all forms of transportation.
“I’d like to see our streets designed with every person in mind. So my vision is a fully connected network of sidewalks and of bike pathways throughout our whole city,” Umana said.
