hankbrandenburg

Even though we were cut out of the energy bill, at least we're getting some attention. This from the front page of the WSJ (Saturday edition).

For Congressman, Life in Bike Lane Comes Naturally

Earl Blumenauer of Oregon Rides to the White House; Look Out for Motorcades

By GREG HITT

Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2007; Page A1

WASHINGTON -- A little after 6:00 one morning, Earl Blumenauer emerged from his Capitol Hill row house. The temperature hovered near 40 degrees and it was really raining. The Oregon congressman hopped on his rust-colored Trek Portland, an aluminum-frame bicycle with a carbon front fork designed to absorb road shock, and pedaled to his office.

Though he was alone on the road, and despite the downpour, he stopped at every red traffic signal. At one odd-shaped intersection, Mr. Blumenauer mused aloud about all the streets jutting off at odd angles. Perfect for a traffic circle, he suggested.
[Earl Blumenauer]

Later that morning, House Minority Leader John Boehner, the Ohio Republican, was incredulous that anyone had been out in such weather. "Are you out of your mind?" he asked.

Some members of Congress come to Washington and get in the fast lane. The 59-year-old Mr. Blumenauer came to Washington and got in the bike lane. Few members of Congress care more than he does about cranks and sprockets.

Mr. Blumenauer's "obsession with bicycling borders on the interesting," sniffed TV satirist Stephen Colbert.

"Bikeman," a House colleague from Oregon calls him. Mr. Blumenauer owns seven bikes. His congressional office is one of the few -- if not the only one -- that didn't even apply for a parking permit. On occasion, Mr. Blumenauer has cycled to the White House. On Mr. Blumenauer's first visit, the Secret Service, more accustomed to limousines, was flummoxed at the sight of his bike.

"I leaned it up against the portico," Mr. Blumenauer says.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon is a cycling fanatic who rides one of his seven bikes to his Capitol Hill office everyday. The WSJ's Greg Hitt reports on the congressmen's efforts to promote bicycle commuting.

Washington isn't particularly bicycle friendly. The summers are swampy. The winters are cold. And if you aren't careful, you could get flattened by a motorcade.

But Mr. Blumenauer has been a pedal pusher since his days on the Portland City Council, when he pressed for more bike lanes and set an example by riding around in his suit and a big bow tie. When Mr. Blumenauer arrived in Washington in 1996, he didn't bring a car. Soon he was preaching the benefits of pedaling.

He launched the Congressional Bike Caucus, a bipartisan group that promotes public investment in cycling. In his early days, he tracked down Speaker Newt Gingrich in the House gym to pitch transit-fare subsidies for House workers. He got them. As the ranks of the Bicycle Caucus have grown -- there are now more than 170 members -- money for bike projects has grown, more than doubling during his time in office.

So, too, has Mr. Blumenauer's reputation: He's a Pacific Northwest liberal, labor and eco-friendly, with an earnest demeanor. He broke his foot in early 2006, tripping as he took out the trash for recycling at his home in Portland. "It could not have been more politically correct," says Kerry Tymchuk, state director for Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, a Republican. For several weeks afterward, Mr. Blumenauer, on crutches, stayed off his bike.

At a community fund-raiser last winter, Washington Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat representing a district across the Columbia River from Portland, spoofed Mr. Blumenauer and Portland's liberal sensibilities. In a dead-on parody of President Bush, Mr. Baird confused the word "bicycle" with "bisexual."

"Maybe they do things different out there in Oregon than we do in Texas," Mr. Baird said with a Bush twang.

Mr. Blumenauer's bike, a Trek Portland, leans up against the wall in his Washington office. Trek makes two bikes named for urban places -- the other is the Trek Soho -- and Mr. Blumenauer likes the idea that he represents one of them. "Really slick," he says. "How do I not buy that?" Actually, Mr. Blumenauer bought two -- one for Washington and one to keep at home.

On his way out of Rayburn House Office Building, Mr. Blumenauer pushed open the door with one hand and dragged his bike through with the other. He exited among soaring columns and onto a horseshoe-shaped drive, where 11 cars lined up along the curb. Many more were parked tightly on the street beyond.

Mr. Blumenauer swung his leg over the Trek and pedaled off, a blue messenger bag slung around his neck, crumpling the collar of his blazer. A reflector strap was tied around his pant leg. He turned right at the bottom of the drive, avoiding Independence Avenue, choosing instead a more circuitous but less congested route.

As he approached a metal guard gate, a Capitol policeman called out, "Getting your exercise, Sir?"

He passed several Greenpeace activists tromping around in whale suits near the Supreme Court.

A few blocks beyond, he pulled up at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, where Democrats were meeting to talk election-year strategy. He was there to give a presentation on online town halls. He looked around for a bike rack. With none in sight, he grabbed the heavy-duty U-lock slung over his handlebars and secured the bike to a street sign: Authorized Permit Parking Only.

With Democrats in the majority for the first time since he came to Washington, Mr. Blumenauer snagged a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, and has had some success peddling a proposal to encourage bike commuting. The tax code already encourages employers to subsidize parking spots for workers who drive or fare cards for those who use mass transit. But it is silent on bikes.

"You can't provide a benefit for people who burn calories instead of petroleum," says Mr. Blumenauer, in disbelief. "It just seemed outrageous that somebody who cycles got zip."

The provision would encourage employers to provide fringe benefits to bicycle commuters -- such as for repairs and annual upkeep -- at a cost to American taxpayers of $1 million a year.

Mr. Blumenauer found a home for the proposal in the massive energy bill crafted by Democratic leaders in the House over the summer. When the measure first hit the floor, Republican critics derided it as an attempt "to tell the American people, stop driving, ride a bike," as Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina put it. The measure was later dropped, and has a ways to go before becoming law.

"I'm not anticar," Mr. Blumenauer says. In a pinch, he will take a cab. And back in Portland, he and his wife drive a Toyota Highlander Hybrid.

In his more than 10 years in Congress, Mr. Blumenauer says he has saved tens of thousands of dollars by not driving, money that helped pay for the townhouse he bought. And when he cycles across town to an event, he often gets there faster than his friends in Congress do.

During his rainy ride to the Capitol, Mr. Blumenauer was unfazed by the wind and the damp. He wore running shorts and a black pullover, and planned to change into work clothes at the office. He pulled up to the garage at the back of the Rayburn building at about 6:30. A heavily bundled police officer waved him in. Late that night, action on the House floor kept the congressman from making a trip across town to the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown. He stayed instead in the Capitol. After votes, he led an hour-long debate on energy policy and global warming. One important solution: bikes, he says.

Video Here

genec

Drop him a line here: https://blumenauer.house.gov/about/Contact.shtml

Let him know how you feel about cycling in America.

thestoutdog

There may be hope for Washington yet! Makes me smile.

MMACH 5

Maybe he can make a few converts.

tsl

And he rides a Portland. That alone makes him okay in my book.

Sir Bikesalot

Nice helmet, goes well with the suit.

heywood

Even though I live in Canada, I just sent him a message that he in a real inspiration.

Good article..

Thanks!

Boudicca

Interesting also that the WSJ ran the story straight, without snide comments about loony greens. I suspect they must have a few closet cyclists on their weekend staff -- there was a piece a while back about boomers riding fixed-gear bikes, and another one on how much biking costs.

donnamb 

I'm a constituent of his.

M_S

Me too.

Freaking hippie.

Mr. Underbridge

WSJ's usually rather objective outside of the commentary pages.

To me, this is a fantastic example of how cycling advocacy is best done - not by rhetoric, but by example. Hope he can exert a little more influence as he gets more experienced.

newbojeff

Trek Portland...he's hipper than me though. Is that a "bad lieutenant" helmet?

zephyr

What a great article. WSJ has a blue ribbon staff of writers, I always like reading their columns about interesting people. I'll have to send Mr. Blumenauer a note of appreciation.

bizzz111

yeah, anyone know what kind of helmet that is? Looks better than the one I currently have.

LittleBigMan

"A little after 6:00 one morning, Earl Blumenauer emerged from his Capitol Hill row house. The temperature hovered near 40 degrees and it was really raining. The Oregon congressman hopped on his rust-colored Trek Portland, an aluminum-frame bicycle with a carbon front fork designed to absorb road shock, and pedaled to his office.

Though he was alone on the road, and despite the downpour, he stopped at every red traffic signal. At one odd-shaped intersection, Mr. Blumenauer mused aloud about all the streets jutting off at odd angles. Perfect for a traffic circle, he suggested.
[Earl Blumenauer]

Later that morning, House Minority Leader John Boehner, the Ohio Republican, was incredulous that anyone had been out in such weather. 'Are you out of your mind?' he asked."

I am shocked that a representative from Ohio, especially the House Minority Leader, is so far gone from his Ohio forefathers' pioneer roots that he is afraid of a little cold rain.

Merriwether

Anytime I run across an uncritical reporting of big-government, nanny-state micromanagement-- tax-code fussing about parking subsidies, park-and-ride subsidies, minivan windshield wiper subsidies, bike lock subsidies and God knows what else-- I want to bury my face in my hands and cry.

That said, this is (otherwise) a good article. I'm sure a lot of us can relate to being the odd bike-rider out.

And, yeah, I marvel at how often otherwise well-informed, intelligent people are amazed how efficient a bicycle can be.

tcs

Though he was alone on the road, and despite the downpour, he stopped at every red traffic signal.

Ah, but he wasn't alone. The press was there. Werner Heisenburg, call your office.

170 members in the Congressional Bike Caucus? Based on what they've accomplished, I'm guessing three are members because they're passionate about the bicycle getting a fair shake when the federal government mucks about with transportation, and the other 167 are members because it looks good on their resume.

Best,
TCS

lazlo

That's my Congressman! I'm so proud.

ericy

Oberstar from Minnesota is another one that both talks the talk and rides the ride. I don't know enough to say much about the level of commitment from the others.