TexasHermit

https://news.yahoo.com/page/election-...lse-gas-prices

now why don't they have anything about folks dropping the burger and grabbing the handlebars in this article?
I didn't see an area to write in comments or I probably would have wrote about the money that could be saved by taken the bike out.

gascostalot

By hardship do they mean that they wont be able to go to Disneyland and drop $1,000 on family fun?

mark9950

No the gas is taking all their money so if they want a bike they are forced to buy from wal-mart,thats definitely hardship having to buy from wal-mart instead of the local trek dealer.

geo8rge

"She also has talked with her husband, a flooring contractor, about finding a job involving less long-distance driving with his heavy van."

Dude should get a work bike, right.

Actually people are really hurting. Poverty will not benefit bicyclists. A combination of increased crime and poorer road maintenance will make biking less fun. On the other hand craigslist deals will abound.

why don't they have anything about folks dropping the burger and grabbing the handlebars in this article?

Due to zoning laws people are banished from living near where they work. The reason they do not ride bikes is not that they are dim, they do not live near where they are going.

Bill Kapaun

A lot of people think hardship is having to actually cook a meal, instead of popping something into the microwave.
Rice & pasta are still relatively cheap if you boil it yourself!

dobber

The hardship is that people are having to chose between food, medicine and gas. You need gas to get to work, otherwise you don't get the food or the medical.

Its nice that the collective mentality of the BikeForum members can't see beyond their own front wheel.

wahoonc

The hardship is people are short sighted and buy too much on a whim, have no savings and are up to their eyeballs in debt.

If people would live within or below their means it wouldn't be such a hardship. A very large portion of the American public can only see from paycheck to paycheck. They base everything on a monthly payment, and don't save anything for the future or a "rainy day" ie; a quick run up in gas prices.

I learned this lesson early and have stuck with it. I had a great uncle that was very well off, but most people just thought he was a regular blue collar worker. He actually owned the company he worked at and was worth several million dollars at the time of his death. He lived a very comfortable life, but didn't throw money around and didn't try to out do the Joneses. I was taught by him; to save at least 10% of everything I make, regardless of how much or how little it was, and give away 10% to trustworthy charities and causes. Then to budget the remaining 80% as if it were 70% leaving a cushion for emergencies. This worked even when I was working minimum wage jobs. People are faced with choices everyday, those choices affect your life today, tomorrow and years down the road. Choose wisely, don't follow the crowd and you most likely will be better off for it.

Aaron

Kabloink

No, the problem is that people don't want to change. Seriously, how many of your co-workers drive off someplace for lunch, yet complain about the cost of gas? When they could bring their lunch and save money.

Even if they don't use a bike they could
1. car pool
2. combine their errands into one trip
3. let the kids use the school bus instead of driving them
4. use a bike or even walk to the corner store instead of driving
5. drive more slowly with less jack rabbit starts
6. use mass transit if possible
7. work toward replacing your car with a more fuel efficient model
8. learn to say no to your children's demands that they be driven someplace because they are bored.

Now the sob story in the article about the hardship of having to use bar soap instead of a liquid soap was almost laughable.

Nightshade

The "American Way of Life" has always been an unsustainable illusion. We got away
with it ever since the end of WWII but now the piper demands payment.

This is gonna hurt big time.