I often enjoy riding my bike to work or around downtown. Biking is one of the fastest ways to get around the city of Albany, and it's green and healthy. Sometimes though it's too dark to safely ride home, it's too cold or wet, or your too tired.

That's when CDTA's bike racks can be a great asset. You can easily put your bike on all CDTA buses and for a buck ride wherever you need to go. It's cheap and combines a no-carbon impact activity with a no-new carbon impact activity. It's also a lot of fun – you get around the city easily on a bus, then can quickly get to or from your destination on your bike.

The nice thing about riding your bike is you get around nearly as fast as a car, but don't have to worry about parking. It is expensive to park on the streets in downtown Albany, especially if you can't find a free spot. With a bike you ride anywhere you need to go, then just tie your bike up to light pole or tree.

There are so many places one can go with a bikable bus. You can go to stores downtown or up, go to Five Rivers, the Pine Bush, the Stockade, or even Saratoga. All for $3 or less for a whole day of getting around. Not only do you save money, you can lose weight, be healthy, and get around and enjoy the great outdoors.

Admittedly, riding a bike isn't a good thing when you have to haul bulky packages around or go to the grocery store and buy a lot of things. It's also not particularly a lot of fun in the rain, and riding in the snow and ice can be tricky. I wouldn't try it when you have to be dressed up for work in a suit. Yet, there are plenty of occasions when none of those things are true.

Now that gasoline is reaching towards $4 a gallon, it's time to think about another way to get around our cities. On a bike maybe one just way for many of us to get around.