I'm doing it again, riding 100 miles to raise funds for Bikes Not Bombs. BNB supports sustainable transportation both here and in the developing world.

This year I'll be riding in memory of Robert Hausman, who died recently at the age of 91. Bob had a distinguished career as a lawyer, and he cared deeply about social justice. He was a committed lifelong cyclist, commuting daily to work in Washington, D.C., when he may have been the only bicycle commuter on the road.

Bob's daughter Martha writes:

My dad, a lawyer, began commuting by bike to work from our neighborhood in Northwest DC to downtown in the 1970's, before anyone else, it seemed. He also rode for pleasure. He rode with a club called the Potomac Pedalers almost weekly in good weather, around Washington and Maryland, and Virginia horse country. And my brother and I rode with him in Rock Creek Park on weekends when they closed some of the roads to car traffic.

My Dad also took much longer rides. Most famously, he and my brother, Ezra, rode to our annual family vacation in Cape Cod from DC when my brother was 16. They also went on bike trips in Europe.

I think my dad felt most free on a bike. He biked until he was in his 80s. He took great pleasure in buying his children, children-in-law and grandchildren bikes, especially from Orleans Cycle in Cape Cod.