in their words
THE AUTHO R IS A DUK E P RO F E SSO R OF ME DICINE A ND IMMUN OLOGY WH O HAS LIVE D IN D URH A M S IN CE THE L AT E ’ 7 0 S .
The Wheel Turns B Y DAV I D S . P I S ET S KY, M.D., PH.D.
A
MONG MY TRAITS, CURIOSITY IS ONE OF THE MOST DEFINING. This should come as no great surprise since I am a scientist, and scientists, by their nature, are curious about things. Usually, my curiosity focuses on obscure and arcane phenomena that occur in test tubes and go by names derived from Greek. Right now, however, my curiosity concerns bicycles. Those of you who don’t go downtown often may not realize that the city is now filled with bicycles. Downtown is booming with more than 100 restaurants as well as many businesses, hotels, shops and outposts of various Duke entities, including the new labs in the Chesterfield Building. With so many venues and attractions, access can be a challenge, which has sparked the proliferation of bicycles. Cars in cities are very impractical. They crowd roads, spew pollution and demand parking, which can be scarce in any downtown. Who wants to drive around the block countless times looking for a place to park for a quick bite? One solution to this problem is bicycle sharing, now a worldwide phenomenon that’s hit its stride with the development of technology like smart phone apps. The methods vary: Some bike sharing involves docks that keep their bikes locked until needed. In dockless systems, bikes are distributed throughout a defined area and can be left anywhere, with an individual lock on the back tire.
To get an idea of the size of these programs, China has a combined fleet of more than 18 million share bikes. Beijing alone has more than two million. Depending on the city, a ride can be free or involve a fee. Some are run by local governments, others by private companies. Bikes have always been part of city life, but ownership has drawbacks. A primary worry is theft. Bikes can be expensive, and they are easy to fence. In some cities, it’s not unusual to see a bike chained to a rack, the seat and one of the wheels removed to prevent an
28
|
durhammag.com
|
j u n e / j u ly 2 0 1 8