I Love Riding in the City

NAME: Tim Woody
LOCATION: Anchorage, AK
OCCUPATION: Diaskeuast

Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?
I commute year-round in Anchorage, Alaska, where we get the full range of weather: rain, strong winds, a little heat, lots of sub-zero cold, and mosquitoes. Mosquitoes count as weather. You’ve heard of “clouds of mosquitoes,” right? We’ve got ‘em.

What’s your favorite (or the most exotic) city you’ve ridden in, and what made it special or memorable?
Anchorage is my favorite because it’s the least-hostile city in which I’ve spent a lot of time on the bike, and the scenery and wildlife are so amazing. You can literally be riding through downtown traffic one minute, then zip a couple of blocks down a side street and encounter a 1,500-pound bull moose standing by the curb. Take the right trail on the way home, and you might come across a bear. I carry pepper spray on my after-dinner trail rides.
Cold is manageable. You can always add layers.

Why do you love riding in the city?
Cycling through a city gives you a much greater knowledge of your surroundings. You learn who walks his dog on your route every morning; where the aroma of good food wafts out of a restaurant; where the homeless people sleep; where the sidewalks are crumbling and which subdivision just got repaved.
Riding in traffic heightens your awareness and sharpens your skills in ways that trail riding doesn’t. It’s like a bizarre team sport in which you constantly find yourself on a field full of players, but you don’t know their loyalties or which uniform they wear. Who’s going to stumble and knock you down? Who’s going to attempt a vicious tackle? Who’s going to open a hole by throwing a traffic block and wave you through to the end zone on the other side of the intersection?

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