Bike Commuter in Memphis TN

[Kendra H]

Hi everyone! I'm a bike commuter in Memphis TN. Bike commuting combines two of my passions: Urban Studies (which I teach) and biking. I have three bikes: a Tern HSD, Bianchi Volpe, and a folding Bike Friday. I got the Tern 4 years ago when I noticed my middle-aged knees showing signs of, well...middle age! Now I can ride no matter how heavy the load or how strong the wind. The cargo capacity also makes it easy to choose the bike over the car.

Every year for the past 8 years, I've had a little competition with myself. My bikes have to get more miles than my car does. I'll keep the competition going in 2025! Join in if you'd like. There's no way to lose this competition because even if the car gets more miles, you still get to ride the bike a bunch!

 

[Bike Shop Girl]

Kendra, thanks so much for joining this community! How is the Memphis bike infrastructure changed since about 12 years ago when I last visited?!

 

[Kendra H]

Memphis had a boom in bike infrastructure about a decade ago, and there was a period where I was really hopeful about becoming a bike-friendly city. But, starting about 5 years ago, we had a mayor who just didn't get why it mattered. He didn't support complete street plans, and we lost momentum. The network we have hasn't been maintained at all. The lanes have never been enforced, so people treat them like extra on-street parking.

Sorry for the downer post! I'm really disappointed. But, we do have a few good bits of infrastructure, and if you are creative about your route, you can almost always find a safe way to get where you're going.

 

[Nacho Bikes]

Welcome Kendra! Your set up looks awesome and very practical.

I think a lot of cities are in the same boat but I have no issues being a squeaky wheel and advocating for better infrastructure.

 

[siblek]

Hi Kendra and welcome, just a note from the UK, similar problem here what little infrastructure we have is pretty much ignored by the local council and in places acts as overflow car parking.
Still we can live in hope that the bike revolution is on its way, and us stalwarts can keep on preaching about the benefits and sheer joy of cycling.
Cards on the table I work for the dark side, ie in the motor trade, but i am an avid believer that private car ownership has entered a death spiral, and I am confident that bikes of all sorts whether cargo or not are the future answer as they once were before the motor car.

So let's hope that we are going " Back to The future" hey.