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just some anecdotal evidence from my world. Since I began bike commuting to work over 3 years ago, it has caught on big time at my office. We're only a small office of 7 people, but 5 of the 7 of us are now part-time bike commuters, including my boss! Now, I'm the only hardcore, ride every day commuter, but the fact that others are at least into it on part-time basis is a step in the right direction. Every time a person chooses a bike instead of a car, it's a small victory for good over evil.
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I disagree - same ol schtuff around here. If fuel costs creep up or over $4-5 a gallon, maybe, but serious bike commuters will always be second class commuters in the U.S.
I do what I can to raise awareness at my office and have convinced a few to give bicycle commuting a try, but most would rather drive and turn on their AC and/or heaters... |
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 11820391)
If our government keeps printing money people will not be able to afford to drive as inflation and layoffs continue. You will see a big increase of pedestrians and riders.
Save your pennies and plant a garden. It may get ugly soon. :( |
Originally Posted by dcrowell
(Post 11817666)
More like $10 to make a serious difference.
That said, there are more here in Louisville. It's not just due to gas prices or the economy. It more awareness that it can be done, that it saves money, and helps you get more fit. Of course, the ability to ignore painful facts seems bred into the human condition. |
Definitely more bikes on the roads everywhere. I believe it's a combination of people becoming more conscious about climate change, their eco-footprint, their health and saving money in the process. It's even becoming fashionable with the surge of CycleChic and other similar blogs around the world.
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Originally Posted by Sundance89
(Post 11820058)
Louisville is the "current" best model for what can be possible for urban cycling, and what made it possible was a bold vision by their mayor, Jerry Abramson.
The Louisville cycling community didn't happen by accident. It was made in large part from a conscious decision by a leader in government which influenced infrastructure, and then by the citizens buying in to that vision. This is just excellent and I'm surprised Louisville doesn't get more attention nationwide for the process in how it got there. Once it reaches the point where the citizens began to reap the benefits and proudly identify cycling as part of their city offerings, it takes on a life force of its own. This is the new Portland and it keeps getting better. Congrats. The city did create Bike Louisville to help educate which is a big improvement. We also have a couple of non-profits pushing for transportation improvements: CART KY Bicycling for Louisville We still have a way to go. We need to educate those riding with no lights at night. A man died last week while riding on a busy arterial with no lights. We need to educate drivers that bikes are allowed in the road. I still get yelled at to get on the sidewalk occasionally. I had a stack of magazines thrown at me from a passing car yesterday. It's not Portland, yet. :) |
I have noticed more middle aged women riding their bikes. unfortunately I have not noticed more bike paths.
Gas, .69 cents, the price of a can of beans. |
Not where I live. The roads are way to inhospitable and you need to be able to climb....a lot.
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Maybe there are more, but most of the people I see riding bikes here are delivery guys. They usually look alike: old mountain bike without lights, large front basket, short figure, baggy shirts and pants, sometimes with a helmet loosely on, and they ride fast and run the lights--also, they make up 90+% of salmon riders.
Originally Posted by 1nterceptor
(Post 11817592)
And New York City DOT confirms that there has been a big increase
in cyclists. It's not a coincidence that in this time period, NY has been adding bike lanes all over the city. |
Originally Posted by dcrowell
(Post 11817666)
More like $10 to make a serious difference.
That said, I do think commuting is up. |
I'm not sure how much detail I'm suppose to give out, but my college is going to try to start up a bike commute program, which involves semester long bike rentals (at a very affordable price) and more bike commuting information around campus. I'm helping out with the program.
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No increase in commuting where I live, as far as I can tell. I've been biking to work nearly 4 years now and I rarely ever see other bike commuters. Every now and then I will see another cyclist but they either don't stick with it or ride different times and/or routes than me. We don't have a system of bike lanes or paths oriented toward commuters. My city does have a huge system of greenbelt paths, but they are aimed at recreation and don't go anywhere useful for riding to work or shopping.
What is surprising to me is that recreational cycling is very big around here and has seen a huge increase. Group pickup rides on weekends often attract 50 or more cyclists. But few if any of these weekend warriors seem to be willing to take the next step (or pedal). |
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 11820426)
With the government running mass transit it will always be a failure in suburban settings.
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I think I notice the commuters more, now that I ride a bike to work myself. However, most commuters are not "like me" (hi-viz jacket, good lighting, panniers). Most of the commuters I see are sidewalk crawlers and gutter bunnies on $100 X-Mart bikes. They aren't commuting out of choice but out of necessity. At first I wanted to pull them aside and tell them they're doing it wrong, but who am I to say? I suspect many of them have been commuting on bicycles far longer than I have.
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Originally Posted by urban rider
(Post 11823480)
I have noticed more middle aged women riding their bikes. unfortunately I have not noticed more bike paths.
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Originally Posted by ptle
(Post 11824161)
I'm not sure how much detail I'm suppose to give out, but my college is going to try to start up a bike commute program, which involves semester long bike rentals (at a very affordable price) and more bike commuting information around campus. I'm helping out with the program.
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I’m on my fifth year now and this is the first year that I’ve noticed the same 2-3 riders out on more than one occasion. I still can go days without seeing another cyclist though, so I certainly can’t say it’s catching on around here.
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Originally Posted by AlmostTrick
(Post 11826070)
I’m on my fifth year now and this is the first year that I’ve noticed the same 2-3 riders out on more than one occasion. I still can go days without seeing another cyclist though, so I certainly can’t say it’s catching on around here.
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Originally Posted by ptle
(Post 11824161)
I'm not sure how much detail I'm suppose to give out, but my college is going to try to start up a bike commute program, which involves semester long bike rentals (at a very affordable price) and more bike commuting information around campus. I'm helping out with the program.
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Considering I've been giving a friend advise for the last week as he gears up to ride to his new job, I'd have to say "yes." :thumb:
I've definitely seen more bikes around lately. I only started commuting by bike last year, but even in that time, I've seen an increase in people on the road. |
I've certainly noticed a lot more bikes around this year, most of them clearly commuting as they're in regular clothes, usually on an older mtb they probably revived from the depths of the garage. Not certain whether there's actually more cyclists on the road or if I'm just noticing them more.
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Originally Posted by Steely Dan
(Post 11826310)
it's funny how we probably only live 50 miles away from each other and yet have such drastically different experiences. i see hundreds of other bike commuters everyday on my commute in the city, but out in the satellite burbs i guess it's a completely different story.
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When I started my current job, it was common for my bike to be the only one in the rack, even in summer. Some days there'd be a second bike. Now in the summer, the rack is full most days (about 10 bikes), and I see there was even a second bike there this morning, when it's -20º out. At the bike co-op, we've also noticed such a big increase in demand that we are trying to acquire a second location. Currently, the shop is pretty much full whenever we're open, all summer. Winter still has some extra space, but even that's getting busier every year.
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 11820391)
In all seriousness. If our government keeps printing money people will not be able to afford to drive as inflation and layoffs continue. You will see a big increase of pedestrians and riders.
Save your pennies and plant a garden. It may get ugly soon. |
Originally Posted by neil
(Post 11826949)
When I started my current job, it was common for my bike to be the only one in the rack, even in summer. Some days there'd be a second bike. Now in the summer, the rack is full most days (about 10 bikes), and I see there was even a second bike there this morning, when it's -20º out. At the bike co-op, we've also noticed such a big increase in demand that we are trying to acquire a second location. Currently, the shop is pretty much full whenever we're open, all summer. Winter still has some extra space, but even that's getting busier every year.
Off topic, but I'm amused that you suggest saving your money as a way to plan for inflation. I don't want to get into whether inflation is coming or not, since even amongst the experts forecasts for both extremes are common. But the simple fact is that if you expect inflation, the rational response is to spend your money now and horde durable goods, since they'll be more expensive later. Saving money is a way to plan for deflation. Or retirement. When Bread is $5 a half loaf and a pound of ground beef is $25 what are you going to buy it with if you dont already have the money? Our salary (for those that manage to stay employed) is not going to suddenly increase with inflation. It will stay the same and if we don't like it there is a line of people willing to work for what we are making. We are going to end up just like the Russians if this continues, throwing away the dollar bills because they take up space and have no value and smelting the coins because the metal is worth 50 times its face value as money. HELL our penny is already worth more for its metal then its face value as currency. You are correct though, we do need to buy necessities now that are not a perishable and hoard them away while we can afford it. |
Commuting is up by 22% percent according to this article from the Denver Post
Snow, rain and sleet can't keep Rob Gusky and his bicycle off the roads of Wisconsin. Most days, he makes the 17-mile round trip to his office in Neenah, about 100 miles from Milwaukee. When winter makes commuting treacherous, Gusky, 48, trades in his Trek for a Schwinn with studded tires. Gusky has plenty of company these days. He is one of about 765,000 Americans who regularly bike to work, according to 2009 figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 22 percent since 2006. Those numbers likely will grow as companies step up their efforts to get employees to leave their cars at home, said Andy Clarke, who runs the League of American Bicyclists, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. "Every company is on the lookout for something that gets more people physically active," he said. |
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