eddubal

I learned yesterday that my brother-in-law waited 5 hours to get into a bike store in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan (one of the harder hit areas) to buy a bike. It beats the lines for gas in the area though: 12+ hours with no guarantee that gas will be there. Because of rationing and the fact that truck drivers don't want to go into the area without a guarantee of gas for a return trip, this area, an hour north of Tokyo is severely low on gasoline. Right now, the bicycle industry is roaring. Any bike that is available is snapped up quickly.

How long would you wait in front of your LBS to get a bike? What would it take for you to do such? A question for those of you in Japan: Is this happening where you are?

Mr. Beanz

You're asking this on a bike forum where most riders have more than one bike. We've still got 7 after getting rid of a few. I wouldn't wait.

What would it take? Probably a natural disaster.

CNY James

totally different situation that your bro is in that most of us can fathom.

if you're in a disaster area, you might NEED a bike. So for [insert object that I NEED here] I would wait every bit of 5 hours.
for [insert object that I WANT here] I am less likely to wait.

When I got my Felt, I was at the LBS for maybe 2 hours start to finish - from waiting for the owner to get back from an appointment and finish my fit to ringing out and loading it into my car. If the shop wasn't an hour from home, I would have left and come back another time.

wahoonc

I wouldn't be waiting...I would be SELLING! Current collection is around 30 bikes (give or take)...

I have kept a bicycle close by for several years, even when traveling. After Katrina I was in Mobile, AL working, bike was with me and came in handy. A lot of the crew I was working with were spending 3-5 hours in line at the gas station every evening to get their 5 gallons worth of gas. I was riding my bike back and forth to work and anywhere else I needed to go. Truck was parked.

Aaron

tsl

I understand that both Richard Sachs and Vanilla Bicycles have waiting lists in excess of five YEARS. So five hours seems hardly worth mentioning.

fietsbob

Japan? given current events, if the Geiger counters are going wild,
the line gets short, I'd expect..

Back on topic .. I went back and forth with the seller, on the opposite coast ,
[a gift from the wife , remained un ridden, he needed permission]
of my used bike purchase for several months , final result:
he shipped, prepaid, then after it arrived I sent the check..

It needed new oil seals.. Rohloff hub, sent to Rohloff US, In SF East Bay.

Stuffstuff1

I never waited online for a bike. I got about three bikes here at home (+1 girl bike) so unless i lost all of my bikes i wouldnt mind waiting a couple hours.

Velo Dog

Me, either. We donated six or eight bikes last summer (outgrown kids' stuff and things we've replaced) but still have eight in the garage, five of mine and three of my wife's. If I were in Japan and needed the ride, of course, I'd wait for however long it took, but we're far from that.

DX-MAN

My last three "new" bikes were online buys, so a week's wait was built in. But then, I was able to move around and entertain myself for that time, too.

If I had to wait in line, I'd better have Asimov's "Foundation" in hand, my mp3, and a full mussette bag.

Robert Foster

If I were to wait in line for anything in Japan right now it would be for a plane ticket out. They are running low on water as well as gas. You can get a bike in whatever country you move to.

I have moved simply because I was where they got too much snow I would have no problem moving when there is too much radiation.

Mr. Beanz

Haha! I think the 3 that we sold were friends begging me to sell.

One guy on the bike trail begged me to sell him a bike for cheap. I offered him an $800 barely used Bianchi for $100 (choice of saddles, stem, pedals, speedometer). He started jerking me around so I "donated" it to another forum member we met on the trail. I felt she deserved it and Thank goodness cause she's taken good care of our baby.

Proof below V ............ Stange though, I do something nice and Gina gets credit.

Machka 

I waited 4 months for one of my bicycles.

Chris L

That's about where I am, too (although I have 3.5 rather than 7). I'd probably wait the 15-20 seconds it takes me to walk to my garage where they are.

I'm not sure how I'd react in a natural disaster though. On the one hand, I'd wait for as long as it took if I was desperate and had no other bikes. On the other hand, I'm also quite a prolific walker, and covering 20km on foot in a day is not unusual for me, so maybe I wouldn't wait at all, especially if the shortage of bikes was reflected in the price.

Artkansas 

If I needed the bike, I'd be in that line as long as it took.

Here's another note. Any indications on whether in the rebuilding of these areas that they will make them more bike friendly?

tornado60

Lets not forget your bikes might be buried under a pile(s) of rubble. If I couldn't get to mine I'd wait.

Machka 

I'm guessing you've never been through a disaster. They are nowhere near that kind of decision at this point!!

Two years after the bushfires here, and we're finally starting to see some progress with the rebuilding ... and there are small gravelly MUPs going in as part of that because of someone's bright idea that it would bring communities together and help the healing process.

That part of Japan will likely go through a year or more of public consultations while the rubble is hauled away and the area is cleaned up so that they can actually do something ... and then another year or more drawing up a plan of what they want to do ... and then you might see some indications of what the plans are.

eddubal

Matchka's right. The situation isn't even stabilized yet. They have quite a bit of time before they rebuild. Once it happens, it'll be quick. Japan is already very bike friendly. It goes back to the days when automobiles were a major luxury. My wife can remember being taken to the doctor on bike when she was a kid. AFAIK the majority of cycling in Japan is utilitarian. I'm sure they will probably keep the bike friendly atmosphere up.

It's good to see Japan so easily going back to relying on cycling as a primary mode of transportation. My cynical side doubts that this would happen here in the US.

BlazingPedals

+1. I wouldn't be waiting in line; I would be selling a couple of mine for beyond top dollar.

womble

"Bike friendly" isn't such an issue in Japan (based at least on my observations in Tokyo and Osaka). Whilst I don't recall seeing dedicated cycle lanes in either city, most cycle commuters tend to ride really slowly, and quite often on the sidewalk (with no pedestrian conflict).

It's completely different than the often adversarial situations that cycle commuters face in other countries.

Artkansas 

No I understand that it wouldn't happen that soon. I've lived through a number of major earthquakes and hurricanes and even a tornado. But this would be the perfect opportunity for them to start thinking about it. I realize that they are still looking for bodies and removing rubble. I'm looking for a blade of grass, not a forest.

Artkansas 

If they weren't buried under rubble that used to be your house.

Machka 

They haven't finished digging out all the bodies and finding and identifying everyone yet. I think they've got more important things on their minds than bicycle lanes!


https://www.news.com.au/breaking-news...-1226028106974
"In its report yesterday, the National Police Agency said that 9811 people had been confirmed dead and 17,541 officially listed as missing - a total of 27,352 - as of 9 pm local time (11pm AEDT) as a result of the March 11 catastrophe."

https://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0110325x3.html
"The official death toll from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami topped 10,000 on Friday, while around 240,000 people continue to seek shelter in some 1,900 evacuation centers.
According to the National Police Agency, more than 27,000 people had been confirmed dead or missing as of noon Friday, comprising 10,035 deaths and 17,443 unaccounted for.
The full extent of loss of life is still unclear, as search efforts in Fukushima Prefecture have been hampered by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, which is leaking radiation.
...
Meanwhile, aftershocks have continued to jolt survivors of the disaster, and the Meteorological Agency is forecasting a 20 percent chance of an aftershock with a magnitude of more than 7.0 striking through Sunday."

Artkansas 

Relax, Machka. I understand the proportions of this disaster. And I understand that right now, people are mostly concerned with recovering the bodies, finding housing and food for survivors, dealing with radiation and disease. My grandmother lived through the 1923 Tokyo quake. You make it sound as if I am demanding they build bike paths right now.

Well, Actually, it appears that they do need bike paths more than ever right now if bicycle use is as much up as it seems. But IN THE LONG TERM this does represent a chance for them to rebuild their cities on a whole new model. That is my point.

And the truth is that there are people already in Japan looking to see how they can turn the situation to their own advantage, whether they wanted the land that a now demolished Buddhist temple was on for 1,000 years or just want to sell overpriced bicycles or water. My suggesting that there was an opportunity for enlightened civic planning hardly seems something to get flamed for. As soon as a mayor or head of a prefecture declares that their area will be rebuilt, ( something they are likely to do if only as a morale booster), the race is on.

wahoonc

Bet a bicycle would be easier to dig out and stand a better chance of surviving...

Aaron

xizangstan

Just more reason to believe the Japanese are truly civilized people. They are waiting hours and hours to BUY a bicycle. In New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the locals were looting and STEALING everything they wanted, whether they needed it or not. Can you see a difference in the people?