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As Gas Prices Soar So Does City Biking
Hugh Pickens writes "As California's gas prices hit record highs, the millions of dollars spent in recent years on commuter bike lanes and public transportation projects in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other major cities are being seen in a new light by many drivers. Jason Dearen reports that San Francisco is seeing a 71-percent increase in cyclists in the past five years, and Los Angeles is reporting a 32 percent increase from 2009-2011. Both findings gibe with the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which found a 63 percent increase in bicycle commuters from 2000 to 2010 in the nation's 70 largest cities. 'In some ways it's a perfect storm of events that is starting to take place,' says Claire Bowin, head of policy planning for Los Angeles' planning department. Getting people out of cars 'is a very daunting task, but on other hand we have largely benefited from a growing community here that is demanding these things.' Los Angeles is building almost 1,600 miles of bike infrastructure (PDF) over the next five years. Los Angeles County's Metrolink, which features open train cars for bike riders is seeing record ridership. Changing attitudes about cars — caused by climate change — are helping these efforts as people in their twenties and thirties have adopted biking in larger numbers than previous generations (PDF)."
I live in the Helsinki area in Finland, and while for the most part Bike access is OK it seems the winters are almost impossible to solve. I used to bike all year round, and while it's quite enjoyable with the right equipment I kept running into the problem that the roads were plowed first and the bike lanes much later in the day, or sometimes not at all.
Does anyone live in a city where the winter biking thing actually works? (One with snowfall, that is.) Just curious, really.
.: Max Romantschuk
Riding a recumbent fixes this
The problem with recumbent cyclists riding in traffic is they're invisible. A cyclist riding a traditional bicycle with a blinking light on his helmet is up high and very visible to me as a driver - I give him space. Often with recumbent cyclists people don't see them until they're on top of them. I think if your region has lots of cycling infrastructure that keeps you separate from cars (Vancouver / Amsterdam) then recumbents make sense, but not if you're in traffic.
Actually, China is going in the other direction. Car ownership in China has exploded in the last decade, and where once bicycles were everywhere, now traffic jams are prevalent. The level of pollution that comes from the cars is skyrocketing (on top of other forms as well) and the enormous numbers of novice drivers are causing major accidents. There are some people who are filing an insurance claim a month.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Part of the problem with biking culture in the US it is an evolution of racing/track/BMX bikes. These are designed for weight reduction and aerodynamics rather than comfort. Exposed chains are almost universal, necessitating having your leg cuff rolled up or rubber banded, if you try to wear normal clothes.
Meanwhile in places like The Netherlands and Denmark, bikes are built to be practical for normal people in normal clothes to ride in a comfortable position. Step-through bikes are the norm and are not considered "women's" bikes.
The first image on this page is a Dutch-style bike. The lower pics are the closest thing America has to offer. http://clevercycles.com/blog/2007/06/26/dutchness/
Notice on the Dutch bike:
1) UPRIGHT POSTURE -- for comfort rather than aerodynamics
2) FULL CHAIN CASE -- So you can wear *regular clothes* without getting grease all over them or having them get caught in the gears.
3) COAT GUARD OVER REAR WHEEL -- If you wear loose, long clothes like coats, jackets, or skirts (or a tux), it will not get caught in the rear spokes.
4) LARGE FENDERS -- Also to keep your clothes clean if the ground is wet or dirty!
These things add weight to the bike or add wind resistance. Sports bikes in the US shun all these things. Unfortunately, sports bike design has affected even "city" bikes in the US, which means that people barely remember what a full chain case or coat guard are anymore.
In the Netherlands, people go out clubbing on their bikes wearing their sexy outfits. Members of parliament bike to work wearing their suit and tie.
If we want people to switch to bikes in the US, we need features like these so people don't have the inconvenience of having to change clothes or roll up their pant leg (and still risk grease or nicks on their calves). These are all obvious solutions that are just not as obvious to American bicyclists because they never see them now.
Yup. I ride my bike to work downtown 3-4 days a week, but I drive a fancy shiny BMW on the weekends/road trips out of town. My 15 mile commute home takes the same 45 minutes by bike or car due to the lack of direct highways, school zones and traffic (also it's downhill all the way to my house) and only takes about 5-10 minutes longer to get to work than taking the car.
Besides what I save on gas, bike repairs are hundreds of dollars cheaper and you can't get speeding/school zone speeding/stop sign/red light tickets on a bike, and I've effectively doubled the lifespan of my car. I'm down from 10,000-12,000 miles to 4,400 miles so far this year, and that includes monthly roadtrips to houston for sailing. Rather than replacing my "gently used" car every 4-5 years, at this rate I'll be able to hang on to this one for ten.
Also I've lost 30 lbs and people have started asking me "what are you doing to stay in shape?" when I'm able to keep up with them at the lunch buffet yet keep losing weight.My company dropped my health insurance policy by $60 a month due to their "healthy habits" incentive program, I don't have to pay to park downtown ($5 a day). The $300 a year I put in to my bicycle more than pays for itself.
moox. for a new generation.