More people riding their bikes than driving their cars?

[bikerHen]

Well my commuter bike is a road bike and is comfortable with a moderate load but not sure about groceries.

Maybe I can get a BOB trailer and connect it to my mountain bike? My husband thinks I am crazy but my real reason is I want to park near the exit.

A+ recomendation for a BOB trailer. I got one for christmas and have been using it to haul all sorts of things. I got an "atta girl" for beating the cost of gas, from an elderly gentleman as I was loading BOB up at the grocery store on Monday.

And . . . I saw four bike commuters on my way home yesterday. That's three more than I have ever seen on my commutes! bikerHen

[Geonz]

This is the creature to get, tho' now they are getting so popular they're hard to find.

(here's mine: )




You can put it on the bike you have. Turns the back of hte bike into the back seat of a car.

[Aggie_Ama]

Sue- You're my idol. Actually that is pretty darn cool.

The store is still a year or more from completion, so it is not any time soon. I might convert my mountain bike to an errand bike with a rigid fork and do the BOB trailer. My mountain bike was always intended to be a starter. She doesn't see the trail enough but she does get me to the community swimming pool! It is so odd all the neighbors will drive the .5 mile to the pool. It is a 10 minute walk from any house in the neighborhood, takes us 2 minutes or less to bike!

I met another commuter today who has just started. He was lamenting that I was riding way too fast to keep up. On Mondays I usually see Mr. Gary Fisher, that is what I call him since he rides his Gary Fisher and talks to me. He just started for this year, did some last summer.

[mudmucker]

Geonz, I love that!

I've just started commuting myself. A 22 mi one-way trip biking with still a half hour or so 30 mile drive. I posted in another commuter thread earlier. I have a 104 mi/day roundtrip to work. I saved 88 miles of driving this week. I see several commuters on the road, but I am probably new to them as I've just started.

Unfortunately there are no buses and trains where I am. The nearest commuter train is still a 25 minute drive and it wouldn't take me northwest to Lowell where I work, but due east into Boston.

I know many people I talk to are very conscious on saving trips, thinking twice about that trip to the store until they can bundle it up with other errands nearby. I think it really is on the forefront of people's minds. Although these people I know wouldn't get groceries with a bike.

My nearest really good has everything grocery store is about 14 miles in either direction. There is one closer convenience store for emergencies that is about 6 miles although there is a 3 mile hill between me and it on the way back. If I wanted yogurt or anything good like that I'd have to go the 14. I make a lot of things from scratch just to save me a trip to the store.

Since I still am driving for my commute to work I always stop to get groceries on the way home. But I am going to refurbish my old mt bike and make it into a commuter of sorts. It has a broken sun-tour derailler, now obsolete (now you know how old it is - front suspension, what is that). A friend actually sold me an entire xtr used gruppo for $60 so I'll overhaul with that. I have an old rack with panniers from the early 90's which are still in excellent condition.

Right now there are quite a few existing rail trails throughout the state here in MA. Some link to each other, some link to those in NH. The longer ones seem to go north-south. There are a few proposed rail trails. My company is bidding to do the environmental permitting on a 26-miler that goes from Danvers through Newburyport past Salisbury Beach up to the MA-NH line. I would be jealous over that one. There is also one that is proposed in Townsend. Unfortunately here in MA, several abutters are contesting the rail trails. NIMBY, Not in My Backyard.

Even though our state budget is hurting like everyone else's, I think there is a new mindset as there is funding for these rail trails. As gas prices increase I believe there will be pressure for things to happen.

[Melalvai]

A+ recomendation for a BOB trailer. I got one for christmas and have been using it to haul all sorts of things. I got an "atta girl" for beating the cost of gas, from an elderly gentleman as I was loading BOB up at the grocery store on Monday.

I think the Xtracycles are very cool, but I don't have one. (yet.)
I used a Bob trailer once and hated it. Everyone I know either loves it or hates it.
For a very cheap trailer, buy a used kiddie trailer. Even if the cloth or plastic seats are unusable, it's really easy to take the axle & hitch off the old trailer and put it on a piece of plywood. Or just use it as is until the plastic falls apart, then salvage it.

[KnottedYet]

I have "plans" for SKnot's Kona Smoke, when he outgrows it.

Mmmm, 26" wheels, sturdy steel frame, comfortable stable geometry, simple reliable components.... Xtracycle!!!!

The boy is almost 6' these days... got it for a 5'8" rider... I can see the future, and the future is almost now!

[Trek420]

Knott, where do you "plan" to put this? Are there x-tra bike racks

[KnottedYet]

Weeeellll... this is the bike that currently lives in the dining room. I figure there is enough room along the wall to accommodate the extra length of an Xtracycle.

or there's always the bathtub. 23 3/4 of the day it is the idea bike storage area!

[shootingstar]

Hard to know if there are alot more cyclists now in our area compared to several years ago..unless I ask for statistics.

I live downtown and already live in an area where there are already on-road and off-road bike paths and routes.

However methinks that people respond to me on the idea of bike commuting more positively when they see me in my gear with more general acceptance and not totally strange (but still we're abit rare) compared to 10 years ago when I commuted by bike.

Their positive attitude is more on becoming fit/more healthy vs. saving gas money...so far.

I still think there is a huge difference between volume of regular cyclists in downtown core area vs. the sprawling suburbs. Where I work in the suburbs, it's highly unusual to see a cyclist on the road vs. bobbling on the sidewalk. Of course, I don't cycle in this area because my commute is too long already, but also there are too many transport and construction trucks and heavy equipment swinging around/speeding along.

In fact, the cycling advocates representing the suburbs in our area, really have a much tougher time on improved cycling facilities and routes. It's a serious uphill battle for them ...to convince municipal council.

[Trek420]

And in other news: Portland outbikes Copenhagen

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-...MtMjAwOC03LTEx