VOA常速英语:Biking Boom

Clear right.
右转。
Clear left.
左转。
Riding today is fantastic.Its not too hot.The sun is in your face.
今天骑行真是太棒了。不太热。太阳照在你的脸上。
Youve got the wind blowing, but the smells, cut grass and rolling by a BBQ shop and smelling that or cookies.
风在吹，有割草的味道，烧烤店的味道，还有饼干的味道。
Its crazy what you smell.
你闻到的味道太疯狂了。
I started really young,oh my gosh,four years old or so.
我很小的时候就开始了，天哪，四岁左右。
I used to ride to work.
我以前骑着车去上班。
That was my transportation till I got a car,for years and years.
那是我买车之前的交通工具，很多年了。
The thing about being in a car is,you disconnect yourself.
在车里的问题是，你与他人断开了联系。
You cant disconnect yourself on a bicycle in traffic, you cant.
在交通堵塞的时候骑自行车，你却是置身于外。
And you are no longer the top dog,and thats really important.
你不再是老大了，这很重要。
I actually think that that feeling is important to help you,make you a better driver
我觉得这种感觉对你很重要，让你成为一个更好的司机
because youre more aware of whats around you in the world.
因为你更了解你周围的世界。
I love riding and I want to share that love.
我喜欢骑行，我想分享这份爱。
So, I founded Maverick Charities,to give back,to expand opportunity for other folks.
所以，我成立了Maverick慈善机构，来回馈社会，为其他人扩大机会。
We partnered with organizations who help incarcerated folks,
我们与帮助被监禁的人的组织合作，
who are coming out of incarceration,get back on their feet,
从监狱出来，重新站起来，
and some of them cant have licenses.
他们中的一些人没有执照。
Were about to donate 50 bikes to Loudoun County public schools.
我们准备向劳登县公立学校捐赠50辆自行车。
And thats our first run of 50.
这是我们第一次50人骑行。
We plan on doing it frequently throughout the year,at least twice a year.
我们计划全年经常这样做，一年至少两次。
So, I think what COVID-19 meant to cycling was an opportunity.
所以，我认为疫情对骑行者来说是一个机会。
Bicycling in the United States has been increasing over the last decade or two in certain cities and places
在过去的十到二十年里，在美国的一些城市和地方骑自行车的人数一直在增加。
like Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland, Washington D.C.
比如明尼阿波利斯，旧金山，波特兰，华盛顿特区。
Bicycling has gotten an additional boost by a very unfortunate event which is the COVID crisis.
骑自行车还因为一个非常不幸的事件而得到了额外的推动，这个事件就是疫情。
Many people found themselves at home and in the need for physical activity and they were flocking to bikes,often for recreational purposes.
许多人发现自己呆在家里，需要体育锻炼，他们成群结队地骑自行车，常用于娱乐目的。
We have people who still go to work or have to make a trip
我们还有人要去上班，或者要去旅行
but are not comfortable making it on a public transport anymore.
但现在乘坐公共交通工具都不舒服了。
And they are switching to the bicycle to make that trip.
于是他们开始改骑自行车去旅行。
So, they are using the bike for a utilitarian trip purpose or as a substitute for public transport.
因此，他们使用自行车作为一个实用的旅行目的，或作为公共交通的替代品。
Many European countries have had higher cycling levels historically as the United States,
历史上，许多欧洲国家的自行车使用量都比美国高，
but even from those levels now,they have made efforts for putting in bike lanes, putting in cycle tracks,
但即使从现在的水平来看，他们努力建自行车道，
doing intersection modifications to accommodate bicyclists.
对十字路口进行改造，以容纳骑车人。
Theyve seen a big growth in cycling.
他们看到了骑自行车人数的巨大增长。
A big part of the population, according to research,between 50 and 60 percent,
根据研究，50%到60%的人，
are not willing to ride with fast moving traffic and a lot of traffic in the streets.
不愿意骑在快速移动的车辆和大量交通的街道上。
So, what they need are separate facilities.
所以，他们需要的是专门的通道。
These can be bike lanes with just a stripe of paint on the road giving them their own space or cycle tracks.
这些可以是自行车道，只是在道路上涂上一条条线，让自行车有自己的空间或自行车道。
The more people ride their bikes,the more likely drivers know cyclists who ride their bikes,
骑自行车的人越多，司机就越可能意识到骑自行车的人，
the more likely drivers are cyclists themselves.
开车的人更有可能是骑过自行车的。
We are developing more of a traffic culture thats watching out for the other because the cyclist is not the unknown or the other,
我们正在发展一种更加注意他人的交通文化，因为骑自行车的人不是未知的或其他的，
but it may be your friend or your work colleague and you can sort of relate to the people who are on bikes.
但它可能是你的朋友或你的同事，你可以与骑自行车的人有某种联系。
And, I think, its changing the traffic culture.
我认为，它正在改变交通文化。
About 40 percent of all trips that are taken a day, are shorter than two miles.
一天的行程中，大约40%不到两英里。
And so, a trip is from one place,from your home to work for example is a trip, from your work to grabbing lunch.
所以，旅行就是从一个地方到另一个地方，比如从你的家到工作的旅行，从你的工作场所到吃午饭的地方。
These are very bikeable distances.
这些距离非常适合骑自行车。
Theres a great potential, especially in cities,to move some of these trips away,away from cars.
这有很大的潜力，特别是在城市，把这些旅行从汽车中转移出来。
The more the community rides, the more the community will enjoy riding together.
社会上骑行者越多，就越会有人喜欢一起骑。
In the end, it brings us closer together.
最后，它让我们更加亲密。
Thats what bicycles do.
这就是自行车的作用。
They enable the world and they bring us closer together.
它们使这个世界成为可能，使我们更紧密地联系在一起。