Dr. Jack Needleman, a health policy and management professor at the Fielding School of Public Health who teaches courses for master’s and doctoral students, aims to get on his bike every day, even when not coming to UCLA, where he’s been for over 20 years.
He resides and rides from Culver City on a Trek FX, a hybrid fitness bike and a go-to for workouts and commutes. The seven-mile trip goes from the Venice Boulevard bike path, up McLaughlin and Barrington Avenues to Ohio Ave, then cuts across to get on Gayley Ave.
Biking since high school in his hometown of the Bronx, NY, to his days as a doctoral student, Jack continued rolling as a faculty member at Harvard, then likewise here at UCLA.
“A place with 320 days of beautiful, bikeable weather, how can you not bike,” he said.
More pleasant than having to find parking for a car, biking allows time for mental reflection: to think about the day ahead and how it went on the way home.
While it may be slower than driving, Jack comes from a one-car, 3-person household, choosing two wheels over a second pair of four wheels – saying the family manages well.
“The marginal additional time over the car, I’m getting 80-90 minutes of exercise – that’s a good trade-off – and I’ve got a congenial route.”
This professor’s cycling syllabus roadmap outlines finding routes you are comfortable with and finding the style of bike and accessories — including a good helmet — you are comfortable with.
“Figure out how you need to outfit your bike to do the things you want to do on it.”
Jack also busts the bike commuting myth about needing extra time to be ready in the morning: “That is simply untrue and should not be an obstacle to biking. All you need is a quick clean-up and change of a shirt,” he said.
Other important advice: “Be visible and predictable.”
When not in a rush to get home, Jack will extend his bike trip, detouring to Santa Monica and the bike path there.
“Being outside, in the sun, in the air, it makes a difference. It just feels so refreshing to be on a bike,” he said. Riding and thriving, indeed.
