Nobodyetal

Maybe it's everybody's new years resolution but there have been a ton of bike commuters out on the bikeways yesterday and today. I usually see one or two people, but I probably saw a dozen yesterday and a handful on the way in this morning.

Who knows, maybe a fluke, but it'd be really cool if it was the start of something, eh?

Anybody else seen an increase in cyclists?

chipcom 

Yeah, it seems like the entire population gets out on their bikes when the temps are in the single digits and there is six inches of snow on the ground being blown around by 15mph winds. The roads are so crowded with bikes that I have been tempted to drive.

Nobodyetal

ha HA HA!

Sorry man, I forget the rest of the country isn't "dealing" with lows in the 40s.
I guess you're right, I wouldn't be starting from scratch with snow on the ground either.

Nevermind...

yarb

Yes! I passed six or seven today and was passed by a couple more. A combination of new year's resolutions and unusually light rain this morning.

hairnet

I saw commuters/not roadies everywhere in New Orleans last week, but that might be normal.

CCrew

Heck, I'd be wearing shorts with lows in the 40's!!

chipcom 

and blinding innocent bystanders with them lily white legs? No thanks.

tjspiel

I saw only a couple of other cyclists today. One was a mom was pulling her kid in a trailer on the bike path. Pretty hardcore for -9 and not so great traction. It was a lot of work just getting myself up to speed, let alone having to deal with a trailer.

jeffpoulin

We had about a foot of new snow last night and this morning I saw at least a dozen mountain bike commuters. Way more than usual. For some reason, the snow brings them out in droves. Perhaps they like the challenge of it, or maybe it's just plain fun to ride in snow. I don't mind the snow myself, but it's not something I would deliberately seek out.

macteacher

Well...you do live in Arizona....im sure that helps. I don't see any commuters out there in the Canadian winter

yarb

Ahem. In the Ontarian winter, maybe not!

It's balmy out west.

macteacher

HAHA....your right..as my students say "my bad".... yes the ONTARIO winter.

wow...its not bad in B.C....your temps are between 3 to 8 degrees C....must be nice. I won't see those until the end of March

caloso

Were any of those commuters riding Trek Madones with super-ugly paint jobs?

EKW in DC

+1

drummingpariah

I do wear shorts in the 40's. It's nice! I've been in California for three years now, and I swear I'll never get used to this weather. I miss snow. People complaining when the temperature 'drops' to 50F is pathetic, if you ask me.

But I certainly have seen an increase in commuters. It's encouraging, but disheartening that so many cyclists (and car drivers for that matter) have no idea how to handle a vehicle on the street.

hshearer

Damn! I was wondering what was going on. I saw probably 5x the normal number of bike commuters in the last 2 days, and was actually part of a 'parade' of 3 last night. It's been weird, but kind of cool. I say 'hi' to anyone on a bike in winter because winter cyclists are so uncommon. I've said 'hi' a lot the last two days.

Of course, it must be the whole new year's resolution thing. That does explain it. What a wrong time of year to decide to start riding a bike... in Saskatoon! It was -20C all day today, and the roads are icy. I appreciate the thought, but I think a lot more people would stick with it if they just eased into it in May, or kept going through fall, instead of trying to go whole-hog in January.

It's kind of cool to know that that many people are on the cusp of being bike commuters. Even if they don't wind up keeping their resolution, at least they're interested in the concept. Maybe there's hope for bikes as a 'normal' mode of transportation after all.

noglider 

We don't have many bike commuters here, but they do seem to be on the increase. Seeing any at all this week, with low temps and high winds, is heartening. I think I saw faces of incredulity today as I sped along. I don't yet have a good hat for under the helmet, and I had to make a choice between hat and helmet. I chose the hat.

travelmama

I saw a lot more yesterday and today. Unfortunately most were riding on flats or tires indeed of a bit more air. If I were not on my scooter and on my bike, I would have given them a pump or two.

xtrajack

I haven't seen any other commuters yet this year. Actually there are not that many around here in the summer either.

gerv 

I think it was -13F/-25C here this morning. Sunny. Not much wind. The roads were packed with cyclists.

tarwheel 

I never see any other commuters, even when the weather is ideal. So I certainly don't expect to see any with the weather we are having lately -- lows in the teems and lower 20s, highs in the 30s, plus cold north winds.

RedWhiteandRed

There were maybe 40-50 on the road this AM that I saw. Less than summer but a fair turnout. ( an inch of new snow and -14C )

irclean

Temps were right around the freezing mark with light drizzle in my part of Ontario today. Made me wish my glasses had a wiper/washer mechanism on them. I've seen plenty of commuters so far this winter, that being said it's my first winter commuting so I'm more aware of them.

PaulH

I see an increase in cyclists, and I'm sure it is just the result of the holidays being over.

Paul

ItsJustMe

Heck, around here I don't see any other commuters even in the summer. People call the men in white coats and butterfly nets when they see me riding in the winter.

It's a red-letter day for me when I see even one other person on a bicycle, and then it's usually someone on a road bike with no cargo (almost certainly not a commuter). A couple of years ago at the peak of $4/gal gasoline, I actually saw TWO other commuters in one day! I just about fainted.