Bicycle sales boom in US amid rising gas prices

[dutchdemocrat]

Coming from Holland I think this is a great trend for the US. I know about the open spaces being too large, lack of infrastructure for bikes, and hilly conditions in some areas - but it's still a wonderful development and consequence of high fuel prices.

Check out the last paragraph though. I find it insulting the the US federal government is spending a mere $3.5 million dollars to build bike 'trails' in the US next year (most likely off-road adventure paths). My city alone in Holland spends more than that on sensible bicycle roads which run parallel and in between sidewalks and auto roads with bicycle stoplights (separate from vehicular lights) to ensure safe relationships between pedestrians cars and bikes.

Bicycle sales boom in US amid rising gas prices


WASHINGTON (AFP) - More bicycles than cars have been sold in the United States over the past 12 months, with rising gas prices prompting commuters to opt for two wheels instead of four.

Not since the oil crisis of 1973 have bicycles sold in such big numbers, according to Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong, an industry association. "Bicycle sales are near an all-time high with 19 million sold last year -- close to the 20 million sold during the oil embargo in the early 1970s," said Blumenthal, whose association is based in Boulder in the western state of Colorado.

The US Chamber of Commerce says more bicycles have been sold than cars over the past 12 months. In a country where most of the population still relies heavily on cars, some 87 million people have climbed on a bike in the past 12 months, Blumenthal said.

The average price of gas in the United States has increased 47.3 percent in a year, according to figures published last week by the American Automobile Association.

The US government has also done its part to promote a more bicycle-friendly environment. Some 3.5 million dollars in federal money has been set aside to create cycling trails over the next four years.

SNIPPED FROM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051001/sc_afp/usstormenergyenvironmentbicycles_051001131406

[Fovea]

1. My Local Bike Shop

can't seem to keep electric bikes and commuter bikes in stock.

He's a Giant dealer, and they are swamped.

[oblivious]

2. That's over 1 cent per citizen over 4 years. A big-time investment.

Who said the US govt wasn't serious about conserving?

[serryjw]

3. Just think in a few years

the obesity in America will be down and we will put Dr OZ out of Business (cardiologist)

[Trillo]

4. Motorized?

Here's one picture I ran across today, it's gasoline powered (good for older fogies like me with joint injuries) and is claimed to get 200mpg.
http://www.bikemotor.com.nyud.net:8090/images/bikeandtrailer.jpg
I wonder if the motor can be converted to run on alcohol.

There are electric versions as well. I imagine the motor just might negate the need to shower once arriving at work if one has hills to climb and such. Where to park it securely might be an issue, though.

[dutchdemocrat]

5. I have that kids cart

I have a kids cart like that - for my two young un's

Bought it on ebay.nl for €100 euro brand new out of Germany.



I also have another cart for groceries.

This is exactly like my wife's bike (two kids seats and all).



Check this site out for an array of simply awesome dutch bicycle carts (fietskars)

http://www.fietskar.com/overzicht.htm

[dutchdemocrat]

6. Pics of more funky bikes and bike accessories from Holland

Bikes images are from here:

http://www.marktplaats.nl/index.php3?sref=false&url=http%3A//kopen.marktplaats.nl/fietsen_en_accessoires/c445.html



























(ELECTRIC MOTORS ON TWO ABOVE)

[oblivious]

8. Thanks very much for those pics DD.

Are most of those home-made or are some of them specials made by bike manufacturers?

[dutchdemocrat]

11. Almost all are from Bike manufacturers

You can see them for sale on the first link I put above the images. These are all for sale.

It's in Dutch but...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

7. Solar bicycle

http://www.galtglobalreview.com/newtech/solar_bikes.html

(...)
"Using modern technology such as electric motors and photovoltaic cells (solar panels), Hills and his 4-member team at Solar Bicycle have been transforming the ordinary street bike into a vehicle capable of transporting its rider for up to 100 miles at 30 miles per hour - without a single turn of the crankshaft!

On a cloudy day, however, the distance is reduced to 20 miles without pedaling.

The Solar Bike's design incorporates the front and rear fenders into a small array of solar panels that transfer energy to 2, 12 volt deep cell batteries located on the bike's frame just below the cross bar. From there, a small electric motor above the rear wheel powers the bike. The whole system is on a continuous feedback loop, enabling the bike to partially recharge while in use thus extending the bike's range. A simple throttle located on the handlebars gives you variable speed control.

The rider can switch from pedal power to solar power easily, and when not in use, the solar panels continue to recharge the batteries. The motor's maximum 4-horsepower capabilities aid this 80-pound vehicle in speedy hill ascents."
(...)

[oblivious]

10. That's pretty cool. One question though.

The article says, "The Solar Bike's design incorporates the front and rear fenders into a small array of solar panels..."

But I don't see any front or rear fenders, so I wonder where the panels are in the picture. Any idea?

[shenmue]

9. Just the same...

You are ignoring the fact that many people simply cannot, for various reasons, live within biking distance of work. I live in a rural area and the nearest big city is over 30 miles away. That's far too much time, when you consider urban traffic that I'll be heading into, and so a bicycle is actually less practical as a means of commute. I'm sorry. You can dream your green dreams all day long but hopping on a two-wheeler isn't the solution for everybody.

I would simply get fired for taking too much commute time. It would take me hours, whereas a car takes under 45 minutes. If you deny this, you are living in idealistic dream-world and don't know how corporate managers actually think and move. I don't like them any more than you do, but they're the people I'm stuck with and that's it.

Sorry.

And for your information, I'd like to scrape together enough cash for a hybrid but I was one of the many recently laid off...so no yelling, thanks...

:(

[oblivious]

12. But a bicycle friendly environment might make a difference.

Maybe with higher gas prices it would influence your next choice of home, to something closer to work where you could cycle to work half the time or something.

And even if it wouldn't get you to abandon the car, it might encourage others to consider a change of lifestyle, so it's still a good idea, not necessarily just "an idealistic dreamworld."

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

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[oblivious]

23. We can do without your insults.

Lots of people have a choice. I moved homes last week to a place that allows me to take ferry and bicycle to work. Millions of other people have the choice of moving closer to work.

I'm sorry losing your job has made you so bitter, but perhaps you can now look for a job closer to home.

Your attempts to derail this thread with uncalled for insults are not appreciated.

[shenmue]

27. Who said I was trying to do anything like that?

I don't know about derailing, that's *your* accusation, you deal with it.

I'm only sorry I tried to explain things and got *your* insults in return.

This is ridiculous.

I live somewhere I can't bike to work. That's all.

Wonder why you wanted to turn it into anything else...

[oblivious]

29. You've told people to *** off and filled your posts with personal insults.

And I see they've been deleted. What disturbs you so much about people talking about using bicycles instead of cars. If it doesn't suit your situation fine, but it is a possibility for many others if a more bicycle friendly environment were available.

Why on earth do you have to be so bitter about such a discussion?

What kind of a person engages in name-calling over an alternative transportation style?

[shenmue]

31. They did that to me

I explained how it was impossible for me to do what they were doing, and they got mad at me for being some bike-hating, oil-loving American, I guess.

I took issue with the claims of someone from another country who seemed to think it should be easy for me to bike over 30 miles from a rural to a very crowded urban area in the relatively short amount of time a person has available before work in the morning. How much time early am I supposed to get up, four hours? Six?

His supporters quickly took the same tack. Now you have expressed anger over 'what kind of transportation I would use,' and you, like that other person, don't even know me. How can you lambaste me and not him? Pot and the kettle?

This is why I don't often get along with purist green types. They are as intolerant as they claim the other side is. And for your information, I did say I wish I could afford a hybrid. So don't paint me as the oil-wasting jerk. I drive because right now I have to. You don't want to believe that? Sorry. Don't know what else I can say.

But you seem to be having too much fun scolding me and playing a game jumping on the other person's side to bother with nuances like this. I have not 'filled my posts' with anything but a defense against a rude and snappish fellow poster. I am not a moderator and I don't tell anyone what to delete. So if that happened, it's not my fault. He started fighting with me. He could have just blocked me, written once and stopped, or said he disagreed and that's that.

I just wanted to take my stance on that issue and am surprised that this provoked such a knee-jerk reaction from anyone. Where did I 'insult' them until they had done so to me? Where did my first post say anything bad about them? It didn't. They took it down that road, not me. I guess some people enjoy picking on the 'ugly American' stereotype more than they enjoy checking to see if it's true.

So if you feel you need to get mad on his behalf, you do that. I just don't see the need.

This is the last post I will make on this thread. Any further dragging out of events will not be my fault.

[dutchdemocrat]

13. How is this ignoring?

I know about the open spaces being too large...
That's what I wrote. That does not sound like I am ignoring anything.


People in the Netherlands who live too far from work to cycle usually take the train to the city where they pick up their bike (locked somewhere safe) and get to work. Or walk from there.

Amtrak has been beaten to death by Bushco in order to keep you all driving cars.

The irony is - Bush's Great Grandfather, Samuel Prescott Bush, made his money as an Ohio steel executive, whose Buckeye Steel Castings Co. business projects included making parts for the Harriman railway empire. The company went out of business recently due to Shrub's cutbacks to Amtrak. Rather ironic.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

15. I absolutely disagree. We in the US think the co's have all the

power. They really don't. Yes, it would take a great uprising, but we can Doti. The co's can be sued, if an accident happened on the way to work. With the gas prices the way they are, there is a case to be made. I am still trying to walk normal, from an ankle Reconstruction, but you would be surprised by the disabled ability to do normal tasks.

The best thing to happen now, is that the jo 6 pk to starting a ride to work. The oils to be, would just crap themselves, they are stilling the box.

They keep telling us to think outside the box, from inside the box.

They wold fall, like the Roman Empire, which is why they are trying so hard not to!

PS. I tried to insert, but it didn't work!

[shenmue]

16. Well...

in practical terms bike advocates in general do anyway. They don't seem to account for or care about people who have to live with certain realities, namely, that biking isn't simply a nice leisurely pop over the bridge. That's all fine to say when you have an hour or two to ride (!--even that is crazy), and I remember my father having to bike during the 1970s transportation failures, but in now terms this is really just an idle dream for many people.

Listen, I would love to bike to work. But there simply isn't time nor safety on the roads where I presently live and look for work. You have to see that. This is a free country, think what you want, but it is more than somebody just not being willing to spare the time and effort to schlep off to work under pedal gears...

[dutchdemocrat]

17. whatever.

Take a bus. Then get on your bike.

It takes you 45 minutes to go 30 miles?

If you deny this, you are living in idealistic dream-world

No I live in Holland. Where I ride my bike every day. And before that I lived in St. Maarten, where I rode my bike to work every day (or took a dinghy). And before that, I lived in London, England where I rode my bike to work every day. And at one point I lived in Vancouver, where I commuted by skytrain around 20 kilometres, then rode my bike to work everyday.

What an insulting post by the way.

This thread has been hijacked into a bike bashing session and it's not the first time this has happened at DU when I have touched this subject. I don't really understand it... bikes make sense for many Americans for health and now economic reasons. What's with the anti-bike diatribes everytime?

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

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[dutchdemocrat]

19. Um...

What's your problem? You really have some anger issues to deal with or have had a few too many drinks.

Please don't play the anti-American card with me - I do more than you EVER will for progressive politics in the US... I have volunteered my time to create and build www.chris-floyd.com , www.jeffgannon.org and have helped with donated time rebuilding a database at www.votetrustusa.org.

Why would someone who's not American work with other progressive Americans and immerse themselves in US politics?

Because I care about the US - and I care about my family in Canada. Whatever happens south of the border creeps into my "homeland" north of the border. Our healthcare system is under fire. Our military spending is going up because we are being forced too. And on and on and on....



Get off yer' high horse please....


Not so, here in this quaint little place we call 'reality.'

I have no idea what this means.

[Name removed]

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[dutchdemocrat]

24. Bye...

Bye

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

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[ikojo]

28. Americans love their cars and it will take gas

prices higher than they currently are to force people to question choices they made when gas prices were not as high.

I agree that people can and should move closer to where they work. If life is so great in the country then try to find a job out that way.

BTW, I have been car free in St Louis for 15.5 years. I now have a 50cc scooter that I use to take me to work every day it is not raining. On rainy days I take the bus.

People also use the excuse that they have kids to schlep in cars. Odd that people the world over are able to raise kids without a huge gas guzzling minivan or SUV.

[MadHound]

30. Some of us moved to the country in order to get away

From the coming crash in the urban areas. Besides, living in the country allows me much opportunity to save energy. I can put up my own external wood stove, a wind turbine, make my own biodiesel and at least four Kw worth of solar panels, all of which I was unable to where I lived in the city. And quite frankly, when the shit really hits the fan vis-a-vis oil, cities are going to be inundated by food riots, for given our food supply chain, most cities only have a three day supply of food at any given time. When that food starts to become scarce due to lack of that petroleum based fertilizer, cities are going to go down. Meanwhile, I'll be off the grid, and producing my own food out here in the country on my twenty acres.

So as you see, not all decisions to move to rural America are bad. Try to put up a wind turbine in a city and see how far you get.

As far as commuting, well I've got a little Bajaj scooter, 145cc, four stroke, single cylinder that rolls at 55mpph and gets 100 mpg. My situation is, overall, probably less energy intensive than yours, but hey, we all do what we can do.

[Radio-Active]

20. ?

"I would simply get fired for taking too much commute time"

"I was one of the many recently laid off".

[shenmue]

22. Well both are true

I did have to take over an hour *by car* to commute, and I was recently fired as well. Easy to put together for me, if not for you. :eyes:

I knew I shouldn't have said it, here of all places. Probably.

You have no idea what by-bike vs. by-car commute times are like in practical terms, do you?

I do. I did, anyway.

Sorry you don't understand that on first reading.

Well, I know I'm going to be seen as the ******* of the post for not falling into line with the green sentiments around here, but that's it I guess.

We all know things are supposed to be easy, don't we?

:eyes:

[DrunkenMaster]

32. Live to Ride, Ride to Live, Baby

About five months ago I began renting a parking space for my car and left it there. I now commute the five miles to work as often as possible on my superslick Electra cruiser, (check it out, yo: http://www.electrabike.com/04/bikes/06bikes/streamride/06_str_11.html)riding in style all the way. I live in Denver, and we have more miles of trail in this city alone than exists in the entire state of Wyoming....

For those of you that claim you live too far away to ride to work, you have unintentionally hit the nail on the head: the current situation has arisen because of a desire for isolation in the suburbs, away from the scary scary "dangers" of urban life, and away from any kind of sustainable, community-based life. Do yourself a favor -- ditch the SUV, traffic jams and migraines, move into the community where you work, and get on your bike and RIDE.

Not only will you be contributing years to the life of the planet, you will improve air quality, your children's future, and your own health.

[devilgrrl]

33. Here's my bike :-)

I have to drive to work (17 mi.) :hide:

but when I'm at home I ride my bicicletta!

[DrunkenMaster]

34. Wow

I think that is the kewlest thing I have seen in quite awhile -- did you do that yourself???

Without ever having met you I feel quite comfortable in announcing on the strength of that photograph alone that you have more more style in your little toe than most people acquire their entire lives. The black cat, by the way, is the cherry on that sundae of slickitude.

[devilgrrl]

35. Yes, I did the fur myself :-)

I should have put the cat in the basket.

[earth mom]

36. Thanks for posting this topic...

loved all the pics of the cool looking bikes in your country! :)

For those who live close enough to be able to bike to work, I say go for it! When I had my first job (almost 30 years ago!), I rode my bike back and forth to work (about 3 or 4 miles) and loved doing so! Don't knock it till you've tried it!