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I know this has been mentioned already, but....
Geez, I am seeing so MANY more people on their bikes lately around our rural village area. And they are not 'roadies' in spandex- they are just all different regular folks, from teens to old people, and lots of them with either a backpack or with plastic crates strapped to their bikes for errands.
It's SO COOL. :D
The more bikes there are on the roads, the more cars will have to accept their presence. :cool:
I am seeing the same thing here in suburban Utah too.
Me, too! But we had lots of invisible cyclists because of the chicken processing plant in the area, too.
Yesterday one of my roadie friends and fellow board member on the youth baseball league rode his mountain bike to the park instead of driving. He said he was inspired by me! :)
Another guy in the league who is a student at the local uni has been riding lots of bikes for a while. He's been buying great old bikes on Ebay and making them useable, and then he USES them. lol.
Karen
our invisible cyclists are a fast growing population for sure! every time i see a new one I smile or say hi.
I want them to know that THEY are US.
I had to run a quick errand from work by bike today (middle of the morning). A woman called to me as I was riding and she was walking on the sidewalk. She wanted to know what kind of bike I was riding and how much I paid for it. She said it looked so cute and that I made it look easy to ride. I said it was easy! Unfortunately, I had to explain that my bike is an old Schwinn mixte from the 70's that I bought off craigslist. She asked if I did my own work on it and I said yes but that any bike shop could also have done it. She wanted to know about the maker, the gearing and the comfort of the bike, so I got the idea she had already been shopping around. She said she was going to check out craigslist this afternoon.
No one has ever asked me about my road or touring bike. Just the cute little upright, basket on the front, mixte gets questions. The new cyclists out there are doing it for purpose...and I think that's a GREAT thing.
Unfortunately, it was about 2 hours later when it dawned on me that I'm planing on selling this bike in a month and I should have gotten her name! :eek: Duh!
Same here south of Seattle . . . I see a lot more bikes lately! I saw a bunch yesterday! It's great!
:D
yup - here too in Fort Collins - even in Laramie, Wy! (can you believe it?!) - I love it!
I would not say that I have really seen a great increase. Perhaps because its over 100 degrees most days. I have heard/seen/or know of a few people that have started bike/bus combos or just riding to work in general.
I guess for me, if gas stays up as high as it is now or even higer through the Fall, then I might see more cyclists. By this time it wont be over 100 either.
This is in Southern Utah
Red Rock
Yep, noticed it here too.
In fact, in the last few months, at least 6 or 7 (including myself!) have started commuting to work via bike.
I think for a lot of people $4 was the tipping point for them. I like to think that we regular riders are ambassadors to new riders that look at us and say, "Maybe it really ISN'T that hard or impossible. Maybe I can do this too." Keep riding and maybe we'll actually get to see that level of acceptance we're seeking. It's definitely an exciting time to be riding to me.
the sad reality is, in Europe, the cost of gas is about double what we are paying. and they have serious traffic jams. In cars. we're having sticker shock right now, but we'll (most of us) get used to it and keep driving.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mimitabby
Yes, if the prices stay where they are. If they keep going up, more and more people will be out on bikes. It's getting to where EVERYTHING is getting more expensive (we were just notified that our garbage collection is going up in price).
But there are also many times as many bikes being ridden in Europe as here.Quote:
Originally Posted by mimitabby
If food keeps getting higher and higher, and clothing, and gas, utilities, medical costs, etc....but riding a bike remains a relatively FREE means of transportation, errand running, commuting, and exercise, you will still see more and more riders- regardless of anyone getting used to sticker shock or not. There is only so much money that the average person has and can spend.
Amen, sistahs, amen. I am waiting until Wednesday to get my picture taken for my Eco Pass and totally don't want to drive to work tomorrow, but my monthly pass for June dies today. I may borrow the roommates 40lb POS and ride to work because I don't have to be until late anyway.
It's so funny because most of my coworkers drive and they seem to almost pity me for walking .3 miles from the bus stop. I have a nice truck, I pay insurance to let it sit in the driveway. I just figure since my legs work it won't kill me to walk! I walk my dogs twice a day, walk to the corner store, grocery store, and if and when the beast of burden that is my bike is done I'm sure I'll take her everywhere.
My local paper ran a full page article on bike commuting - front page of the "living" section. And it was locally produced instead of running a story off the AP wire service. Pretty much followed a couple of folks who bike commute, but did offer tips on bikes, stuff you'd need (paniers, place to change at work, water bottles, tool kit, HELMET, etc), and how happy these featured bike commuters like their commute. The article didn't touch on the lack of bike lanes, potholes the size of small cars, lack of respect from drivers - the things that sent me back to being a cager.
I want to bike commute to work, but the survival gene is just too strong. I do ride my cruiser around the neighborhood, and run local errands on it - because I can stay OFF the busy roads. But my range is limited by canals and railroad tracks.
I saw bike traffic jams in Seattle!!! :eek: A line of about a half dozen cyclists heading up a hill, stacked up and unable to pass the slowest one in front because of the line of cars on their left.Quote:
Originally Posted by Susan126
But I've seen an increase of cyclists along my route in, too. All sorts - roadies, invisibles, men, women, mtb's, fixies. I used to do my entire route without seeing another bike commuter...now I always see at least some.
More people on bikes also means that when these people will be driving their cars (because they just won't stop driving totally), they will have a lot more understanding and respect for the cyclists.
That is invaluable.
I've noticed that the bike slots on the train are usually full.
and it's good for the bike biz, too, The local paper ran an article about how Bike shops are experiencing good sales w/ utility and electric bicycles.
I have noticed it, too. My area always has a lot of recreational cyclists and some very serious roadies train around here, too. Not only are there more of them (this has been increasing over the last couple of years), but a lot more people doing local errands on bikes. My husband said in the past 2 weeks he has seen a huge increase in commuters on his way to work. We have also had a couple of articles on cycling to save on gas in the Boston Globe. Yesterday there was an article on a school for adults who were learning to ride for the first time.
I just hope these new riders follow the rules of the road. Our neighboring town now has signs up warning riders to follow the rules and ride single file (which is the law here).
W00t! I am so proud! I rode to work today. It felt super neato. Normally I get to work all feeling pleh, even with the walk from the bus stop but today I was raring to go! I took the little Schwinn we rescued out of the creek a few weeks back.
I hate to admit it, but that little commuter is kind of fun! It was kind of cool to be a part of the commuter crowd. I am loathing driving more and more. I just see no point in paying for gas when I can get there on my own and feel much better about it.
This is definitely nice to see, for sure. It's hard telling in Boulder if it has increased because there are sooooo many cyclists to begin with.
hey, congratulations!Quote:
Originally Posted by smurfalicious
I passed 17 bikers on the way home from work today. How cool is that?