ogbigbird

remember last summer when gas prices soared towards $5 a gallon, everyone freaked out and we sat back and watched so many climb into their garages to wheel out their bikes that hadn't seen daylight in years and got them going again and road them? the LBSs and other bike and parts providers say an increase of sales and repairs, as well as the bike dept at your local xmart, people were out riding more than ever, feeling good and helping the enviorment as well as the "bike" industry as a whole. good times, good times.

but then, the weather started getting colder and wetter as gas prices began to plumet back towards only $2 a gallon and less people kept riding their bikes as the masses of the nondedicated or committed crawed back in their cars and parked their bikes. optimism for shop owners and the "bike" industry turning to uncertainty in the future market and a general let down.

will we be able to pull out the "petrolium pasifier" next spring and get back on our bikes and/or continue to stay on them? will we forget our commitment to the enviorment and our health we made last year because we can afford to drive again? i hope not.

Machka 

I don't know about the rest of the people here but I've been riding my bicycle regularly for the past 18.5 years, and I don't intend to stop any time soon.

Oh, and it has nothing to do with the environment ... I just love riding my bicycle.

Zan

it's unreasonable for me to ride my bike in the winter. i ride my bike in the summer all the time, unless i'm going to the store to buy something that won't fit in a backpack. the bike is more fun, and much cheaper. using the bike as a transit mechanism = less time i have to ride to stay in shape, too!

as for everyone else, i predict that it's over, unless there's something that causes people to ride again. why ride when you can drive? the sport isn't that enjoyable unless you're good at it.

msincredible

+1

Wanderer

Originally Posted by Machka Oh, and it has nothing to do with the environment ... I just love riding my bicycle.

I'm with you, kid!

CCrew

What do you mean "get back" ? I still ride mine to work almost daily

And, it's not unreasonable to ride in the winter, it's a choice.

CB HI

When gas prices were $5, who told you the reason they started riding was for the environment or health?

Dahon.Steve

Once OPEC reduces production by 2 million barrels, you'll see the price go right back up during the summer. Remember it was the high gas prices that started slowing the economy in the first place and now OPEC is going to cut production in the middle of a deep recession. I don't know folks but if the price goes back to $5.00 dollars a gallon, this is going to be a long and deep recession.

Lebowski

+1 oh hells yeah, hit the nail on the head for me.

i ride past those people driving with global warming or environmental bumper stickers and just wonder. i don't worry about the environment my self but it just looks pretty nonsensical on the back of a car. i don't care if gas is .30 cents a gallon i hate driving and unless I'm going 40 miles or more cars don't even cross my mind.

ogbigbird

1. i ride because i love to ride myself. $2 a gallon or $5 a gallon.
2. for all those who say riding in the winter is a choice, the deep snow here these times of year make that almost impossible.
3. we all know the enviorment and health were THE reasons we chose to ride, but they were the good benifits those who normally don't ride told themselves when it was cost of fuel that put them there.

obviously those in severe winter conditions can't ride in it or it isn't safe to in traffic. i wish i lived where i didn't have to drive to work cuz deep snow.

monk

What are you saying here? Do you wish gas was $4.00 a gallon again?

Machka 

No. Environment and health were not THE reasons I chose to ride.

I ride my bicycle because my father rode a bicycle and taught me how to ride a bicycle when I was 6 years old. I got away from riding between the ages of 17 and 23 because of college and other interests, but I got back into it again because of a cycling event my college was putting on. I didn't end up doing the event, but I enjoyed cycling so much, I stuck with it for the next 18.5 years.

Environment has never been a factor. Health might have been a minor factor ... it helps keep my weight down. But much, much bigger factors have been things like fun, adventure, challenge, travel, meeting people, etc.

As for winter ... I've been off the bicycle outside for the past 3 weeks because of the really horrible road conditions, but road conditions don't have to be this bad if you live in a city with a decent road clearing crew. And as far as I'm concerned, if the road is halfway decent, I'll ride in any temperature. If I were staying in this area, I'd get a decent winter bicycle and studded tires. Go check out the winter forum for others who ride through the winter. https://www.bikeforums.net/winter-cycling/

Robert Foster

Talking to some of my LBS I don’t believe the big surge ever really happened. A slight increase was more like it. We may have seen more people on bikes but it was during the summer and maybe more people simply were riding during the summer? In my city I didn’t see and city efforts to make cycling easier or safer. The stores in my area were not any more, or less, bike friendly. So if there were any real honeymoon it wasn’t much of one. It was more like dating. I have been putting in more cycling miles however.

Velo Dog

Gas OUGHT to be at least $5 a gallon, and I'm reasonably certain it will be within a few years. There's increasing talk about a flat 50-cent per gallon federal tax, which would be nice. The U.S. has among the lowest gas prices in the world, less than half the Euro average even when we were all b!tching about it, and you can see the result all around us.

cyclezealot

Calif . one sees bicyclists all year. Having just visited the rust belt area.. I saw an increasing number of bikes. Likely because the cars are being repossessed.

Abneycat

Gas prices may be down, but there's not much doubt about whats going up, up, up!
Unemployment, uncertainty, and economic turmoil.

Its already showing to keep high profile spending down, and I think that it will also keep driving down, depending on how deep the rabbit hole we're in at the moment goes. But, not even the "experts" know exactly what that is, yet.

I don't think its necessarily good for the cycling industry either though, at least not for those companies who deal in high priced boutique and sporty bikes. People in a pinch will be more likely to seek something more practical or low cost, neither of which is the realm of a great deal of bike shops out there right now.

Tapeworm21

If gas prices started to go up, I would be sooooo happy! But I have my reasons and I'll continue to ride no matter what. Like stated before, it doesn't have to do with the gas prices for me to ride a bike.

stevetone

Yreka's 20" of snow annually with an average winter temperature of 33 degrees is definitely rideable.

Zan

it's -12 celsius out right now and there's 2 feet of snow sitting on the front lawn. i COULD ride my bike down these snow covered roads, but driving a car is so much easier.

the snow clean-up crew leaves the roads covered in snow (residential roads - roads you'd ride your bike on - left 'till last). the drivers here are wack. it's cold out. it's dangerous riding in the summer, it's a lot worse in the winter. drivers don't share the road with you in the summer when there are two full lanes. why would they share with you when there's only the middle of the road that is clear?

fair enough... it IS a choice. deciding to ride your bike is not the safest one.

i would say mountain biking in the snow and ice is safer than on the roads.

cc_rider

I ride for fun and for exercise. The only effect high gas prices had was on whether and how far I'd drive to start a ride. Most rides this past year started at or within a couple of miles of home or work. Limited myself to only one ride a month that I had to drive any distance to the start, and most of those were organized events. Passed on some good club rides that were a little too far away.
I've put the bike away for the season, but if this next weekend's weather forecast holds, I'll probably be riding.

chipcom 

Winter doesn't stop me from riding - and I don't ride for health or the environment, I ride to/from work because I love to ride...and have been doing so for around 35 years. Assuming that everyone else shares your motives or limitations is a mistake.

chipcom 

Bulltwinkle. You have already stated that you don't ride in the winter...so your statement is based on conjecture rather than on fact or experience. In over 30 years I have experienced nothing to indicate that riding my bike in winter conditions is any more dangerous than driving or walking. Of course being in a nice warm vehicle protected from the elements is more comfortable...so perhaps your statement could more accurately be that 'deciding to ride your bike is not the most comfortable one'.

dynodonn 

Though gas is much cheaper this winter than last, there are more cyclists on the road in my area. I'm not sure what each individual cyclist's reason for riding a bike this winter, but the price of gas doesn't seem to be a deterent.

bkaapcke

All the new faces on our MUP have disappeared. It's strictly back to the regulars. It's one of the best MUPs in the county, too. bk

ghettocruiser

And I COULD sit in snowbound traffic on Hwy 7 taking 30+ minutes to get from Warden to the 404, or I could bike basically all the way home to Willowdale, snow or no snow.

Winter cycling involves hazards that summer cycling does not. But I'm not cheating death. Seriously.