brunop

anybody see this in today's (17 may) boston globe? go to:

boston.com

brunop

cnn link is better! see below!

newbojeff

Thanks for pointing this out. With fewer than 1% of Americans biking to work, it is interesting to consider what "critical mass" really would be. Would we ever see 5% of Americans biking to work?

mihlbach

The article says less than 1% of Americans bike to work. If the number of actual bike commuters even approached 1%, I would expect thousands more to be on this forum. It must be more like 0.01%. On my weekday commute, I must see thousands and thousands of cars for every cyclist. I only encounter other cyclists a few random times a year, and those look like regular roadies, not commuters. Maybe its different in some cities, but for most of America, the proportion of bike commuters seems more like 0%. Even in bike shops, if you tell them thyat you commute...they look at you like its a new thing.

McGillicutty

I hear you. I stopped on the side of the road once to wait for someone. I was there 15 minutes (this was in the a.m. on the way to work) and there must have been hundreds and hundreds of cars that passed me, and only one bike. I was shocked, to say the least. I live in a small town, and many people only have to commute 2-10 miles.

Luckily with the good weather and gas prices, I've been seeing more commuters, but not that many compared to the number of cars on the road these days.

unkchunk

I think bike shops have seen this bike commute push thing and then not much become of it, so many times that they don't believe you. Like the Boy Who Cried Wolf type thing. Also a decent mechanic, after a quick examination, could proabably tell whether the bike in the last year, has been ridden or stored on the back porch, how many miles on the road or the dirt accurately even if you wash the bike right before bringing it in for a check up.

Anyway, I'm not seeing much of new bike commuters here either. Last summer I was in Chicago for a week and saw at least 100 bike commuters each day. I was impressed. And at least three street sweeping machines each day too. Inverted U racks were everywhere and I was wishing I had my bike or even a rental.