Advocacy & Safety - Your ancedotal evidence of bike interest rising

Gas Prices crank up us of bikes (http://origin.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9871144)


Around here, it's mostly been talk. I still see the parking lot full with single drivers, but I've heard more of the "I really should start doing that" when people talk to me around my bike. Have you seen that or more in your community?

I voted slight uptick, because it's certainly not heavy at this point. It falls somewhere in between. We have a rather large immagrant population here, and many of them are bicycle users, so they've been there (on the sidewalks) for a long time. However there are several new bike commuters that I see regularly, with about a 50/50 mix of them being on some sort of road bike configuration or comfort bikes.

I give credit to my LBS when I note that the vast majority of those riding "bike store bikes" are also wearing helmets, usually have some sort of visible clothing, and have at least minimal lighting and some cargo carrying capacity. Roughly half of this new crowd are riding on the roads rather than the sidewalks.

I think we'll star seeing some more uptick when gas passes $4.50 then $5. For instance, where I work the pay starts at $7.25/hour. Given that I'm not so sure many people will be able to drop a Lincoln for a single gallon of gas.

It is actually in between A slight uptick and It's beginning to resemble the tour de france around here. This summer there are lots of new riders around here. I just yesterday explained to a new lady rider how to trigger the stop light at the corner. Last night up in town I saw as many bikes as cars. So, quite a few new riders here this year.

I am seeing far more riders around town than I used to. And I get lots more comments from strangers about my own utility set-up (rigid mtb with 1x9 drivetrain and often pulling a trailer).

jim

I've been fielding allot of questions but haven't seen any results.

Yes.
Part of my commute runs through a neighborhood. Over the last year, I've notice more and more ppl walking and I've seen a slight increase in bike riders. Formerly I rarely saw anyone, now maybe three every morning.

a slight uptick in ridership and a vastly larger uptick in rage against cyclists.:(

I have seen a few new cyclists... who were obviously new cyclists as they were wrong way riders or sidewalk riders. But indeed, I am seeing new cyclists out there.

I see more people on bikes when I'm in town. Out in the sticks where I live, I've also noticed more people on weekend mornings getting in a ride before the heat starts.

So I vote slight uptick.

I have seen a few more cyclist. When I was looking for my new road bike all the LBS,s said that they were seeing an increase in low to mid range priced bike sales like the referenced article stated. Also, they are seeing a lot of older bike being dusted off and put back into service. What I really notice around here is a big increase in small car use. This area is SUV/ Pick up truck central, and while it is not bike use, I much prefer to see them around town then the big gas guzzlers.

It's becoming a hassle on some routes/times of day as I have to jockey for position at intersections with 5-10 other cyclists. It's a problem, but a good one.

I voted the most. Not only have I noticed it on the streets, but our bike rack at work is filling up and while discussing the topic with the LBS, they indicated that their sales are up about 52% over last year at this time.

Slight uptick, generally, and in the complex I live in, I'm being actively sought out for bike advice very frequently now.

Saw two guys loading bikes into their minivan on the way home this AM. Odd looking saddle so I back-tracked to chat. One MTB and one wierd bike. It had a metal flake saddle, a three speed shifter and front and rear drum brakes. Rider said he was getting back into Cycling. I tipped them off about a new low cost one man bike shop in town.

Since gas went past $4.50/gal I've seen a sharp jump in middle-aged ladies riding.

I work for our bike co-op as a mechanic / shop facilitator and this has been the busiest spring we have ever seen... we are busty from open to close regardless of the weather.

The bike traffic on my rides is far greater than it has ever been and I don't even commute in rush hour...I would expect that the number of bikes is way up during those periods.

In some places bike parking is at a premium and I have made suggestions to our city council and local businesses to replace some parking stalls with bike racks.

Gasoline costs more than $10/gallon here, but still, I think more people commute for their health--- and there are a ton of commuters. It is simply a cultural difference between Europe and the US.

Even when I lived in the US and I had a 20 mile commute each way--- I biked more for my health. It took marginally more time than driving, and it saved me a trip to the gym. The beauty of commuting is it forced me to be out in all weather--- which I would otherwise be a fair-weather rider.

Due to vehicle taxes, an avg. new station wagon costs at least $80K (US). I bike so we can get by with one vehicle, but again, I don't really care about the fuel costs--- and I would probably bike anyway. Having only one vehicle, I am not even tempted to drive if the weather is nasty. Also, I could always take the bus--- but I truly hate that option.

There's been an uptick. I guess maybe I'm one, though I began biking again for health and the realization that I've missed it...used to do about 100 miles a week. I'm seeing more use of our greenbelt trails by cyclists, more bike trailers. The area I live in is mostly middle to upper middle class and most own bikes, so its been dusting off the existing bikes. The fancy bike shop says more are buying baskets now. My preferred shop, mainly a repair and used bike shop, say the used mtn bikes and old cruisers are moving pretty good.

A slight uptick. I am definitely one of them. I commuted regularly for about 10 years and then stopped in '95 when I changed careers. Back on the bike and loving it. My hero is a guy who saw me riding and started from scratch. He's 54 years old, purchased a Schwinn cruiser (single speed w/ steel fenders and rack), and is doing a 25 mile round trip 2 or 3 days a week. I am impressed.

I have noticed a few more bicycle equipped to commute around this summer. What has really increased is the number of people on motorcycles with a backpack or carrier of some sort and scooters

Happy biking

... we are busty from open to close regardless of the weather.

the Hooters of bike shops.:p

None of the above.

I haven't even heard talk about increased bike use.

I can't go just one block to the grocery store without seeing at least one person on a bike -- often two or three, in fact. My LBS sold out of 3/4 of their helmets within two weeks, and I wouldn't be able to find any in my size if I needed one tomorrow. They're also almost selling bikes faster than they can build them. One day that I looked, every lockable post (tubular bike racks, parking meters, small trees) near a Metro station had a bike locked to it. Rather than one bike being parked outside in my immediate neighborhood, there are probably a half-dozen -- not counting the ones I see in my building or waiting on the sidewalk while their owners are setting up to ride.

Bikes aren't creating their own congestion yet, but they're everywhere. It's pretty wild.

See more bikes around town than last summer. Big increase in volume at the LBS. Friend at work asks me,"Hey, I was in LBNJ yesterday, what's with all the bicycles?" :)

Last year I could count 2 or 3 cyclists on my way into the city now I am finding 2 or 3 cyclists on almost every one mile section of my route, not exactly Tour de France but a good magnitude of an increase.

Ran into more bicyclist lately than ever before. I even passed one the other day. er he was changing his tire. Anyway I dropped him like he was standing still (he was). Really it does seem like there are a lot more commuters out there now then ever.

I've been noticing a lot more "newbies" on my route, which had generally been dominated not so much by "commuters" but rather "roadies who like to ride their bikes to work." More mountain bikes and hybrids crossing the causeway, more riders who obviously have not dived wholeheartedly into the latest roadie fashion trends. More sneakers, ten speeds, and this amazing 60+ year old lady who does a 35 mile round trip on a hybrid three days a week.

I was at my LBS yesterday, and asked if they're having trouble keeping bikes in stock. There are empty spaces on the sales racks, and they have fewer and fewer bikes displayed on the sidewalk.

I was told that they can't even get the bikes fast enough. "Odds are, if you see a bike in a box, it's sold already. We'd have a customer who wants a certain bike but they need a different size, so we tell them when we get the one they need."

And, as usual, the mechanically inept come in for fixing flat tires and whatnot. There was a woman with a rear wheel that had almost completely detensioned itself, so I could understand needing experienced help with that; but when the yuppie couple decides to get their newly-flattened tire fixed by the shop even though they never thought to regularly check its pressure back home, I have to really practice my self-control and not roll my eyes & groan. ;)

I live in a small town, and really only ever saw kids pedaling around and road cyclists traveling through on the state routes (with the exception of one guy who picked up his granddaughter from kindergarten on his bike regularly). But as the summer wears on, I've seen more and more adults with racks and/or baskets. A friend and I were talking about my rack addition and errand runs, and headed off the the LBS and got a bike and trailer (for kids and groceries). Mine is no longer the only bike I've seen parked in front of the grocery store. I've seen 2 or three different ones there lately.

Pedestrian traffic has remained steady, however.

I have gone from seeing maybe 1 or 2 bike people a week during my commute to seeing maybe 10 people a day. Not exactly tour numbers but a definite upswing.

Last year people thought I was just crazy for commuting. This year they think I am doing it to save gas. They were much more right last year. lol

Two years ago the bike racks at commuter rail stations weren't even half full. Now, if you get there late, you can't find a place to lock up.

I'd say there is a little bit more than a slight uptick here. Where I notice it most is on the bus, actually (I still ride the bus sometimes). Several times this summer I've seen people with bikes have to wait for the next bus because the bus bike racks are full. I've never seen that happen until this year. It used to be a sort of rare thing for anyone to use those racks, now almost every trip there's at least one bike on the rack.