This past Friday I did something I haven’t done in about five years, although it’s something that most people do regularly without so much as giving it a thought. I drove to various local neighborhood destinations, rather than hiking or biking. And, to be frank, I don’t plan on doing it again for a while.
Every six months or so I feel compelled to start my car and drive a block or two just to keep the fluids moving. This time, while I was behind the wheel, I whimsically decided to do my weekly errands as well—things like banking, food shopping, picking up the dry cleaning – that I usually attend to on foot or by bike. Now, while the hassle of driving in this city may be something most Angelenos more or less take for granted, the experience for me was one that I think was best described by Mary Chapin Carpenter in the song, “Goodnight America”:
“I’m standing at a traffic light somewhere in West L.A. / waiting for the sign to change, then I’ll be on my way / The noise, the heat, the crush of cars just robs me of my nerve / and someone yells and blasts their horn and pins me to the curb.”
Besides being every bit as nerve-racking as that song suggests, complete with honking horns and having to dodge other motorists, my little neighborhood excursion was one that deprived me of my regular dose of exercise and sun. So, rather than the sense of well-being I usually get from visiting local destinations, I ended up feeling totally frazzled, and had to unwind by riding my bike for at least an hour (an activity I always considered somewhat dangerous, given the tendency of California drivers to roll through stop signs, until I realized how much more perilous it was to drive on city streets).
Then too, this being a Friday in August with a lighter work schedule than usual, I was actually paying attention to the ride for once, since I wasn’t on the phone and I am seldom behind the wheel any more. (These days, I routinely take taxis to and from the airport and usually have a driver on other occasions so I can spend the time working.) The effect was to amplify all the senses, sensations and sensitivities that I think tend to be blocked out by those who regularly drive every day. It was almost like being a test subject in an experiment to find out what effect the experience of “normal” urban driving might have on an individual with little or no exposure to it. Well, I can report that it left me totally stressed out, even an hour later with the car tucked safely in the garage (hopefully for a long time to come). In fact, I couldn’t wait to get home and park.
My hunch is that such stress on a daily basis, minus the mitigating effects of exercise and in combination with ambient exhaust fumes, can’t be healthy, even for those who have become accustomed to it.. Which makes me wonder how we ever got ourselves into so crazy a situation –especially when you consider how the electric streetcar and light rail systems that once provided residents of this city with stress-free transportation were systematically destroyed in the name of progress.
So if you’re an urban dweller – particularly of the Southern California variety — who relies on a car to get to work or just to get around, you have my sympathies. I would, however, recommend that whenever possible, you try walking, running or pedaling around your neighborhood with a tote, if you don’t already do so. Right now, I know my bike has never looked quite so good.
