The Wheel Deal
by Matthew Modine20 June 2008 - this article originally appeared in Finch’s Quarterly Review Issue 1
Matthew Modine on his Bicycle for a Day project—a pedal-powered green revolution, coming soon to a street near you.
Quite often, when people hear terms like global warming, climate change or greenhouse gases, they shut down. They just think, “What can I do about it?” Or they feel the problem is too big, or that the government should be solving it. The idea behind my project Bicycle for a Day is to help people understand that there is something they can do—in fact, just one simple thing they can do every day to become part of the solution. If everybody does this one thing, the cumulative effect could be tremendous.
Basically, BFAD’s goal is to empower individuals. I want to persuade people all over the world that we have a moral duty to leave the world a better place than we found it. There is a lot of cleaning up to be done. There is a lot of responsibility to be taken. This is a wonderful challenge for all of us. An opportunity to work together. To set aside race, religion and political beliefs and solve the environmental problems we have created.
My friend Charles Finch planted the seed. Charles was approached by Young Global Leaders, a group of 500 businessmen and women from around the world. They were reaching out to authors, artists and film-makers, asking “If there was something you could do to reduce carbon emissions, what would it be?” They wanted to present their discovery at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Charles asked me if I would make a film encouraging people to ride a bike for a day. The film was presented at Davos in 2006, where it went down very well. The question then was what to do next, how to make it happen. For the past two years I have been trying to make my BFAD dream become a reality. At last I’m getting close!
Cities themselves have an important role to play. The safer the streets become for pedestrians and cyclists, and the more people are encouraged to use public transportation, the better. (I once cycled straight into a pothole the size of a Smart Car, which almost cost me my two front teeth.) The good news is that the mayors of many of our cities, above all New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Portland, are leading the way. In New York—my favourite place on earth to cycle—Mayor Bloomberg and an organisation called Transportation Alternatives have been working together to make the city safer and more bike-friendly. We’re learning from other cities in other countries—London, Paris and Bogotá, for example—that recognise the value of cars sharing streets with vehicles that are not gas-powered. Everybody can apply their own version.
Why is getting people back on their bikes such hard work? Because we fell in love with the automobile. We all did. It was a symbol of freedom. A thing you could climb into to get away. Go on a date. Drive fast and express yourself by making it loud or putting on big tires. Cars were sexy. Car companies spend billions of dollars keeping these fantasies alive. Watch the commercials and ask yourself if they are selling a realistic image or experience of driving today. There is never any traffic in car advertisements. There are no red lights. When was the last time you drove on the beach or climbed a mountain in your car? These are delusions that the automobile industry spends millions of dollars convincing you are real. But have you ever seen a bicycle ad on television?
I’ve been riding bikes all my life, but I only became a really avid cyclist when I moved to New York to study acting. I couldn’t afford a subway token, let alone a car. I was selling homemade lemonade (no kidding) on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue to make ends meet. One day a guy dumped a Raleigh Beach Cruiser on the corner and ran away. After a while I leaned it against a building. Later, when I’d finished selling my lemonade, the bike was still there, so I took it back to my apartment. My guess is that the guy who dumped it had stolen it. I rode that bike for 20 years. The frame finally gave up and it broke my heart to let her go. These days, though, I have a new Beach Cruiser, with an aluminium frame and fat tires with white walls. Very classic.
BFAD launches officially in September. I think it has a bright future. Check out the website (www.bicycleforaday.com), get involved, make a difference, improve the environment. Just imagine New York City, 25 years from now, with many of the crosstown streets given over to pedestrians and bikes. No cars. Quiet pathways for the good people to walk and cycle along, untroubled by traffic and pollution. Now that I would like to see.
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August 28th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
[...] project Bicycle for a Day is to help people understand that there is something they can do,” he recently wrote. “In fact, just one simple thing they can do every day to become part of the solution. If [...]