Steely Dan

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.

BA Commuter

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...

tim24k

+1 O^o

coldfeet

This, I think is the clue to long term increases. When you see that guy you have known for 5 years seem to get younger, while you start getting more winded climbing the stairs, and at the same time, worrying about the fact that you need a new car...


Of course, the ability to ignore painful facts seems bred into the human condition.

Chris Pringle

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.

dcrowell

(Soon to be ex-) Mayor Abramson did push for cycling facilities, but most of those would benefit recreation cyclists over commuters. Many of the bike lanes are substandard, some of which can be blamed on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet rather than the city.

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.

urban rider

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.

daredevil

Not where I live. The roads are way to inhospitable and you need to be able to climb....a lot.

vol

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.

Fare hikes have probably also played a role.

Andy_K 

At some point, this becomes like asking how expensive cigarettes need to get before people will stop smoking. Whenever there's a big jump in a short time, the casual users will jump ship for a while, but the confirmed addicts will give up their apartments and live in their cars before they stop driving. The other thing I've noticed is that gas prices are like the frog in slowly warmed water. If gas prices go up slowly, even the casual users adjust their budgets accordingly.

That said, I do think commuting is up.

ptle

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.

tarwheel 

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).

CptjohnC

They seem to have it worked out in other parts of the world. But the truth is, the US is just too car-centric. I know exactly where you're coming from, though. I can't tell you how many times I tried looking for alternative commuting options and found no practical (time effective) alternative to driving. I am very thankful to be in a position where I can use either my bike or mass transit to great effect.

Doohickie

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.

Eileen

I resemble that remark.

zoltani

Very interesting news indeed.....

AlmostTrick

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.

Steely Dan

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.

GrantH

This has been put in place at our campus for a couple semesters now. The ugly yellow bikes are in every bike rack at all hours of class. Campus is getting bike lanes from what were told (I use the road when I ride) and interior roads are going to become blocked to thru traffic of all sorts. You either walk or bike from the skirts as of now...it will only get better.

loonykathy

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."

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.

Monster Pete

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.

no motor?

I'm about in the middle of you 2, and commute at off hours. I see an occasional commuter (and more of them lately), and some of them are commuting look like they've been out of necessity for longer than I have.

neil

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.

Grim

My point was It is a time to cut your expenses and be wise with your spending. Being able to produce some of your own food is a good way to do it and gets you a leg up on when producing your own may become a necessity.

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.

gerv 

Commuting is up by 22% percent according to this article from the Denver Post