I noticed a lot more commuter bikers!

JTE83

I visited Chicago this week, after being in Houston more than a year. The Village thrift store I go to - tons more bikes parked outside. Also noticed a lot more commuter bikers - because gas prices are so high in Chicago! 6-30-08 87 is $4.39 / gal! That's more expensive than premium in Houston!

Have you noticed a lot more commuter bikers in your city because of high gas prices?

cdat

I am seeing a lot more bikes around the Buffalo area. I am glad too, it is nice to see.

kdelong

I am seeing more too, however it is not necessarily a good thing. There are at least two new riders that will probably not make it to retirement age if they keep riding the way that they do in morning rush hour traffic. The biggest problem for me is that they get the motorists good and angry so that I am pretty much a target when the motorists get to me !

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cdat

That is true too, but the I am trying to be positive- if cars see a lot more newbies they willhopefully become more careful and give us all a lot more room. I know there are a few bad apples that give us all a bad name.

threaded

Where I am, Denmark, there's been a sudden drop in both bikes and cars on my daily commute.

Probably because it's the holidays.

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Powerful Pete

LOL, same here in Rome, unless you decide to ride on the coastal road. Then you realise where everyone who left Rome has gone...

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sportsmed

We're noticing that more people are attempt to cycle to work but most do not think it's a viable thing. 20 yrs ago more people cycle. Now, our population is fatter and more pampered. http://cyclingprofessionals.blogspot.com

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alienator

That's likely the case more often than people would like to admit. Sadly, folks will go to all sorts of lengths to find excuses for not expending a bit o' effort and for maintaining their sad status quo.

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Powerful Pete

True. Although it must be said most people have no idea what riding entails or what potential their body has - my coworkers consider me an epic rider since they learned I have a 20 minute ride to work...

Have to say, I have been commuting for what, three weeks? I love it. Granted, I have a short distance to work (about 7.5 km one way). But I get into work with a sick grin.

And I consider the commute home as my warm-up before the afternoon ride.

And the man at the gas station has forgotten my name.

And I sold my second car. I equate that to approximately 1200 Euro savings a year, considering insurance, maintenance and gas.

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alienator

I'm hip to what you're saying. Humanz is resistant to change. After all, why do something different, if you can continue to do the thing that you've done the last 5,000 days in a row? No creativity or new, potentially fun experiences involved.

We be a one car family, too. We do not miss the second car and haven't had a second car for four years.

Three years ago I calculated my money saved, in terms of gas, was $600/yr. With the fuel prices now, that savings is in excess of $1200/yr and doesn't include maintenance, insurance, and etc.

My commute, 17 miles each way, warms my brain up and has me ready for action when I get to work/school in the AM, and helps destress me and gives me time to think through physics/optics problems theory on the way home.

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Chavez

My afternoon commute has two parts - I ride about 4 miles to my daughter's daycare, take a little under 10 minutes to set up the carrier and get her stuff and get back on the road, and ride a little more than 4 miles home.

Anyway, the people at work think that an 8 mile ride is mind boggling. The people at daycare assume we live about 2 blocks away and when they find out it's 4 miles carrying a 20-pound kid in a bike trailer....well, I think some of them consider me virtually super-human for such exertions (not that I'm personally going to disabuse them of their notion that I'm stud athlete-guy, but geez, exercise once a week or something).

Powerful Pete

This is what I find most surprising - the clear fact that most people do not exercise at all, if they are impressed by the kind of commutes we are talking about. That I find to be a major concern...

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threaded

I spend around 2.5 hours in the saddle for my commute at the moment ∼ 70km/43.5miles

Public transport is way cheaper, (considering the replacement cost as parts wear out on the bikes,) but is generally not as fast.

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Powerful Pete

LOL. I think that may have to do with the quality of the bike parts that you want to ride with.

BTW, did you commute year-round, even in the Danish winter?

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