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.

- 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.

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.

Maybe the fact that I was born in Minneapolis has something to do with my compulsion to bike commute!

Wonder if this will kill bicycling like it did in Australia and parts of Canada? For that matter, I often wonder what impact the 'it's stupid not to wear a helmet' mantra has had on bicycling in the U.S.

I dunno, but i've had my life saved 2x by helmets. I've seen enough vibrant people get turned into shadows of their former selves from motorcycle & bicycle crashes. So, i won't even ride an inch with no helmet.

- Andy

It probably is misleading but I think just seeing and hearing about people bike commuting has a way of getting more people to do it. It's become a very common means of getting to work in our office when at one time it was just me. It can snowball I guess is what I'm saying.

+1. I used to be a superbike racer. In 1996 I crashed in talledega Alabama. I quit breathing on impact, was flown to the brain trama clinic in Birmingham, spent 12 days in a coma and then years of recovery. I would not be alive were it not for my helmet. No doubt.

I've given up riding motorbikes. I don't have the quick reflexes I had before. I just ride my bicycle now. The helmet stays on the whole time. If nothing else, it's a way to say thank you to god.

I think it would be very stupid for a person to quit and stop cycling just because they are required to wear a helmet...I don't understand why it is such a big deal for some people to wear a helmet when riding ?? Why do people make such a big issue out of it ??

I agree 1000%. Being originally from Ohio and moving up and down the east coast to finally settle into South FL. By far, I will take South FL. A few months out of the year, the weather is great from commuting to and from work. Once wet season hits, it is hot, humid and wet many days. But I will take the hot, humid and wet over any cold, gray, miserable day in the Midwest. The biggest problem here in South FL, is the dang bugs. I am either eating them or plastered with them on my face and body. One night, after dinner, my teenager says something about all the black dead bugs stuck to my face. Her or my husband could not have told me this before I sat down to dinner? I guess it was just amusing to them. I am not tolerable of cold weather, but I can better tolerate heat.

I don't think so. If as many people had their lives saved by helmets as say they have then nobody would have survived before helmets existed.

Before reading studies of Australia and Canada I'd have agreed with you, but the numbers declined quite sharply when mandatory helmet laws were implemented.

The bigger impact though is that people don't start riding. Either because of not wanting to wear a helmet (hassle, hot, messes my hair, looks dorky, ...) or because it makes bicycling look terribly dangerous.

Vastly different helmet than a bicycle helmet. Harder shell, better compressive structure, protects your neck as well.

On a side note, I use to race MG's at Talladega (and Road Atlanta, Peachtree, Charlotte, etc.). Fun stuff. I was in Assen NL a couple of weeks ago and stayed at the same hotel as all of the superbike teams and got to spend some time at the track with them. I raced motocross for a number of years, no way I'd do superbike. Glad you survived your crash.