Originally Posted by
Roody
Just a guess, but I think the Northwest was the main region to see a faddish increase in cycling. Fads die sooner or later. That could explain a decrease in cycling in that one region. I would guess that in the Northwest, there are now more riders than there were 15 years ago, but fewer than there were 5 years ago.
In other parts of the country and the world, there has been more of a slow trend rather than a quick fad. Around here, SS/FG riders in wool knickers and little caps were never very common. Since we didn't have the rapid fad, we don't have the rapid decrease either.
You are likely correct. It was a fun decade of growth and youthful optimism even if it is turning the other way.
However, I'm not sure fad is the right word, since even our darkest times have many more bikes than what inspires visions of cycling Nirvana back east. I prefer to see it more as the ebb and flow of enthusiasm, always too low to satisfy me yet always better than most places.
Interestingly, I'm not seeing the same deep drops in California, where I spend quite a bit of time. CA was a bit slower to come out of the dark ages of the '90s, but seems to be building a steady momentum. Things are going so well there that some crack-pot politician is trying to dim people's enthusiasm by attempting to push through a mandatory helmet and reflective clothing law. You know you're winning when they start fighting dirty.