Steele-Bike

Over the weekend I received an email forward from a relative that pertained to some "National Don't Buy Gas So The Major Gas Stations Will Have To Lower Their Prices Day". Well, that got me thinking about how people are so reliant on their cars, that they see no alternative to driving. I have no statistics, but I am sure the majority of driving is done within a few miles of home. So, as of today, I am proclaiming next week as "Get Off Your Butt, Sell Your Car, And Go For A Bike Ride Week". Tell your friends and family!

JonR

Sounds good to me!

By the way, members of this forum would probably be interested in www.carfree.com, a site that every two months publishes new articles and links that have to do with non-private-motor car transport, including cycling. There you will find:
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Whoopee in Freemantle!
On 29 November 2001, Freemantle, Western Australia, held its first carfree day. The event can only be classified as a rousing success. During the 24 hours of the carfree day, traffic was 71% lower than on a normal day.
A poll was conducted of city residents on the day of the event. When asked how often the carfree day should be repeated, respondents answered:

Never 3%
Once a year 13%
Twice a year 23%
Once a month 40%
Once a week 6%
Permanently 16%

Merchants also had a nice day: The number of people using retail outlets and cafes increased moderately at all hours of the day on the carfree day.

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-- and many other stories, including a really sad one about the way Chinese cities are banning bikes in some areas because they interfere with car traffic....

Highly recommended.

Chris L

Well, it's something at least. The funny thing is, the media like to crap on about how hardly done by people are with supposedly high fuel prices. They never actually offer the real solution: Reduce Consumption!

It really is as simple as that!

Chris

LittleBigMan

At one time, motorcars had a highly stimulating effect upon the American economy (and perhaps others). The highways began to stretch out across the land, bringing new customers who could now travel all over in their motorcars. Motels, restaurants, entertainment establishments spung up everywhere there was a highway bringing customers. To underscore this effect, when new modern freeways replaced older, two lane highways, the traffic was diverted and many businesses simply withered on the old highways.

But today, in the inner cities, the isolation of motoring has the opposite effect. People who stay in their cars don't visit shops as much. They don't even see them.
The only thing they visit are malls and drive-throughs.
If this trend continues, the internet is the only place people will shop.

I think it's time for a revolution.

Joe Pozer

Pete,

I didn't realize you were such a revolutionary.

This is actually a great idea. Way too many people, and I'm guilty of this, get in there car to go somewhere that's only a mile away.

From now on, If the location is in close proximity, I will ride my bike there.

You guys provide such inspiration...Hopefully I won't have a Badger incident

JonR

There are people, and I know this for a sad fact, who will get in their cars and drive to the convenience store a half block from where they live--and then perhaps have to drive around the block a few times to get another parking space when they return home.

My friend David, who died of cancer last September, bless him, was carless like me, and he lived a quarter block behind a QuikTrip store. A friend of his who lived across the street would routinely drive to that store and back. And he would see others do it, too.

It's as though it were a disgrace to use your feet and your body to go somewhere--instead, you are obliged to turn to your servant, the car, which has cunningly made you its slave.

Hunter

AH HAH you are catching on grasshopper! Remember the thread where I took the place of big buisness in cars vs. bikes? Remember when I mentioned cars bring money in huh huh huh? See what I mean? There are benefits to bikes sure it is obvious. If the worldliness of the many would end and the unGODly way of the life of convenience would end well............

LittleBigMan

Joe,

Are you crazy?

If so, let me go with you!



Grasshopper: "Yes, Master, I am catching on..."

Hunter

I am just playing Pete no harm meant! I was serious about the reference though.

technogirl

Yeah! I got that same darn e-mail, too! My friend sent me the email, and I replied with this really long rant about how does this really help to NOT visit a few stupid gas stations. I mean really we're just funneling the money somewhere else--just another gasoline station. (It doesn't help that the demand for fuel is furthered by SUV's insatiable MPG. )

So, I told her we should ride our bikes more (she rides too), and forget about boycotting a few gasoline stations. I'm sure she didn't like the email too much, coz she didn't reply back to me. I know she probably thinks I meant well though...

Pete, we need your revolution!!!

Steele-Bike

Hey everybody...we ARE the revolution. Day in and day out, we lead by example. Just watch, soon the others will see the error in their ways. Keep biking and spread the joy!

KevinG

Is this a call to arms?

The Revolution WILL NOT be Motorized

JonR

Love it!

Ranger Jake

Servus,

I love hearing about how "expensive" gas is in the States! Here a liter of Unleaded costs DM 2.25, which is roughly $1.10. There are 3.8 liters to a gallon, which comes to about $4.18 a gallon. Which is not too bad for European fuel prices right now!

Here at work, I have non-cycling colleagues who think it would really be great if I could ride to work, despite the fact that it's about 50km one-way. I figured that I could do the "one day there, one day back" program with a break on Wed. As it is, I take bus and train to work daily like millions of other Germans which helps reduce pollution and consumption. Not bad...in fifty km a day, I walk about 500 meters in total, door to door. Maybe if America spent more money on EFFECTIVE, inexpensive, and safe public transport, people would be more inclined to leave the 'ol smogbox at home. And with less drivers on the road, the roads would become more bicycle-friendly. And with more cyclists on the road, eventually we would take over the world. All hope is not lost so long as there are those out there who think like us.

Just my DM 0.042

Steele-Bike

Until gas prices rise, people are not going to stop driving. Even though, I bet if gas prices doubled or tripled, people would still drive just as much.

Maybe I am just an optimist, but I like to think that when people see me biking, they are influenced to seek other forms of transportation.

steve33

I did about five years ago.!

LittleBigMan

The idea that more and more people switch from cars to human power is a wonderfully simple solution to the problem of automobile overcrowding. The possibility of the continued spread of asphalt and smog is too terrible
to think about.

The "revolution" has to begin in people's minds. First, people have to see the problem as it really is. Then, the human power solution becomes more obvious. (This is something car makers do not want: for people to see the obvious.) Human powered transport is better than driving. Better for people, better for their children, better for their communities, better for the world.

The more people that demonstrate the personal benefits of travel by human power, the more people will be "won over." Besides, even if the "motoring Goliath" is not slain, each person who switches to human power will benefit personally with a higher quality of life. That alone makes the effort worthwhile. And even if I convince no one, I will still reap the benefits for myself.

So there's nothing at all to lose!

aerobat

As usual, Pete, you're right on the money. It's like dropping a pebble in a pond, the ripples slowly spread outward, in this case, affecting a few people at a time. I've been influenced by our local biking guru, and possibly others will be influenced by both of us riding all the time.

The other thing is that if your quality of life is improved, so will the lives of others close to you, such as your family, even if they don't bike themselves.

JonR

Very good and very important! It's like the "butterfly effect" whereby a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon rain forest eventually influences storm patterns in the Northern Hemisphere.

Improvements don't have to be obvious, expected, or even noticed by others, to have an effect. This is so important to realize.

Chris L

Well, of course, we all know that cycling will improve the quality of our lives, and that's about all that really matters. There are some who will never get the message, but isn't that their problem?

Personally, I will keep doing what suits me. If others want to join me, that's good. If not, well, sh*t happens.

Chris