Initially I thought it seemed like more than 60% increase - and looking at the ACS report, of course I was right! Most of the commuters and most of the increases occurred in denser populations, so a cyclist in or near a larger city is likely to see more than 100% increase, or 4-500% in some cases.

Apparently they counted 1,320 bicycle commuters in Atlanta (area). A tiny number considering a population of over five million in the urban area. No wonder I see a handful on the Greenway but never a one on the roads.

I'm always intrigued by the demographic dichotomies of cycling. The highest commuting rate by race were multi-racial or race not tracked by the Census (.8%). People with graduate or professional degrees had a .9%, yet people who did not finish high school were at .7%. Both higher rates than the national average. From the two ends of the spectrum, distant reasons but the same solution.

Ratio of unemployed went up with fuel costs... the wages fell and so bikes are an economic requirement as the old folks retired

and the Bosses imposed 2 tier rate for new hires is low.

Year round bike commuters are a rare breed. Anyone who thinks the average person is going to ride a bike in a snowstorm is more delusional than the person riding the bike. I'd be surprised if any urban area in the US had more than 1% "real" bike commuters, meaning (at least to me) people who ride to work 4-5 times a week on average all year. People for whom their bike is the primary mode of transportation for getting to work.

Speaking personally, there are no other every-day all year commuters on the same route during my commuting times. But Georgia is near the bottom of the list in bike commuting. In places like Portland or Minneapolis with 6.1% and 4.5% respectively, it wouldn't surprise me if at least 1% were every day commuters.

You'd be surprised at the numbers from cities with most snow. Madison, Minneapolis, Denver, Salt Lake City (I didn't know that one had so much snow!) have high bicycle modal share. I'm getting all this from League of American Bicyclists report by the way.

Expensive as hell! I live in Sweden, and I've been to Denmark a bunch of times, and both seem to be very outdoor/nature oriented. They seem to make a big point of soaking up as much sun as they can when they get it. They'll sit outside on a cold, sunny day eating ice cream or drinking cold beer.

For what it's worth, I was 31 when I moved here. An advanced technical degree is helpful for finding employment (as it is everywhere). More important for me was actually the industrial experience that I had in my industry. As it was, my employer had to convince the government that there was nobody in Sweden that could do my job, and then that there was nobody within the European Union that could do it either. Suffice to say, the process was lengthy even after I accepted my job offer.

Most foreigners I know either came here as refugees or because of a girl...

Actually, a PhD is an automatic residence permit, without the needs-based requirement in Sweden. FWIW, I don't find Sweden that expensive. Just cut back and it's OK. Stockholm/Copenhagen aren't so bad if you live within your means.

The easiest country to understand if you'd gain residence within is Denmark. Once you have a Danish visa, it's good for all of Schengen.

Just take the test here:

New to Denmark - The Greencard scheme

They're quite open about it. I lived with my gf for 18 months in Germany (registered at the same address) ... so I got an automatic co-habitating partner residence permit.

Ahem. I find riding in snowstorms to be pretty and exhilarating. The more intense the better. Only times i do not ride or try to avoid riding is thunderstorms, because that's just dangerous being on a metal object out in the open.

And as for dressing for weather...... You can only strip down so much in the heat. In reality when it gets dangerous hot (100+) you need light and very breathable fabric clothing and LOTS of water, and a very intense cool-down procedure after riding, and preferably cooling rest stops as well.

In the sub freezing cold all you really need are two things, a warmth layer and a wind blocking layer. The wind blocking is very important for neck, elbows, and hands, and the warmth is very important for torso and parts of the head.

- Andy

I've been part of that 1% group for almost 7 years now and damn proud of it...

Tell that to folks in Amsterdam (or anywhere in The Netherlands), Copenhagen, Stockholm, Munich, Helsinki, Berlin, or most of Sweden, Finland, Germany, or Denmark. For North America there's Montreal, Edmonton and Minneapolis. Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges in NYC still have a steady stream of folks during snowstorms and cold weather.

And for Asia, there are Japan and China, at the very least. :)

I was talking about this with a guy at work. I said that there's always a chance you might fall in front of a car, and the car can't stop. But once you get over your fear of a painful death, it's actually great fun. He said he'll just take my word for it.

I don't think there is such thing as snowstorm in Amsterdam. I remember one time about an inch of snow fell and Schiphol airport was shutdown for almost the entire day. I spent about 8 hr in the plane on the taxiway. The passengers were furious.

I'd guess the problem was wind, not snow.

Well, there's snow then there's ice. If it's icy out the only real option is to ride in the middle of the lane so no one tries to pass you, reducing the risk of being hit. You also need to have proper tires for riding in icy conditions. Slicks are no good, you need at least a somewhat raised tread to have gripping edges. If the road is cleared, you gotta be wary of those weird lil parts where the shoulder vanishes under a mound of icy snow, or parts where the plow trucks missed & get compacted down. It can be tricky, but proper tires will usually track reliably over all of this.. :)

- Andy

My biggest problem is tire tracks. I can plow through fresh snow, but moving in and out of deep tracks gives me a bit of a problem.

Again, snow and ice would be much less of an issue if we (in the U.S.) had the kind of bike culture and infrastructure prevalent in places like Amsterdam... provided that the paths are ploughed properly. :)

Mmmhmm...! I muchly prefer to be the one making the tracks. Remnants of tracks usually freeze up creating some seriously challenging ruts. :twitchy::notamused:

- Andy

Yeah, it's heading in a good direction, but we have a long way to go. A very long way.

Here in NYC, it's nice that lots of different kinds of people are commuting by bike. They're not bike nuts like us. They're just people of all sorts.

Fortunately the pace seems to be picking up so hopefully we'll see another 60% increase in the next couple of years and then continue on that pace. I'm in NYC fairly often. It's been good to see the increase in people riding, protected bike lanes, bike parking, and shops like Adeline Adeline and Rolling Orange. I think I saw 5 different bakfiets last weekend which was great. Helmets and lycra seem to be going the way of Robert Moses.

we have 6x the mode share of nyc and most riders wear helments and ride drop bar bikes (retro road bikes and cross bikes). it's also been about 6 months since i saw an oma in the wild. does this mean our "bike culture" in PDX sucks?

I don't remember saying anything bad about Portland. ??

I think so.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=380677

nah but you definitely suggested that a preference for bikes sold by Rolling Orange and reduced use of helments and lycra is a sign of progress. i disagree. and as mode share in pdx has increased from 2.5% to 6% i've continued to see lots of helment and even --*gasp*-- lycra use. moreover, contrary to the expectations of some, there has been no explosion of interest in dutch city bikes.

That you've been able to grow mode share that much even with handicaps like lycra, helmets, drop bars, and external derailleurs is very commendable :-)

i swear these days there are more euro-grouches than retro-grouches. ;)

I think in NYC, helmet usage might be rising. I've seen people wear them on citibikes, which, I suppose, explains why I've seen a couple of people carrying them while walking without a bike.

Along with the spate of anti-cell/drive laws in PA & NJ.... there are some bills kicking around that would require helmets for riding on public roads and possibly in state and county parks. Currently the law requires helmets for individuals of age 12 and under, even if they are in a kids trailer.

- Andy

I've lived in the South for nearly 50 years and I'm baffled why we don't have more cyclists compared to places like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon that have much less favorable weather. Although summers can be brutal here, you can easily deal with the heat by riding at appropriate times, wearing the right clothes and drinking plenty of fluids. Winter is actually my favorite season for commuting here because we rarely get snow and ice, and I don't ride in that kind of weather. Weather is pretty close to ideal in spring and fall, but we often to get bad storms and windy weather then.

Regarding the 60% increase in bike commuters, I doubt if we have seen that sort of increase here. At least I don't see it. I sometimes go for months without seeing other bike commuters on my route, except for right downtown.

Similar for me in Austin. Downtown and by the University you can see people riding bikes every day that appear to be going to work or class. Out in the suburbs and country south of Austin where I live, not so much. Group rides on weekends are the more frequent sighting. There was one fellow who was commuting to his job at Goodwill that I used to see on the road, but not recently.

In a strange way I think the relatively high number of bike commuters in Minneapolis is connected to the long, dark, and cold winters. There's a longstanding willingness to invest in things that will make this often godforsaken tundra into a more livable place. We do not take nice weather for granted and outdoor experiences are cherished, even something as simple as riding your bike to work on a sunny, warm day.