Where I live , we have twice the snow in winter than in Regina.
I just finished my 25th winter on bike.
It's not for everybody , I agree , but lots and lots of winter cyclists here.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I just finished my 25th winter on bike.
It's not for everybody , I agree , but lots and lots of winter cyclists here.
Driving my car, I pay about 2 cents per mile in gas taxes, state plus federal. I pay for car registration, even when I'm not driving my car. My bike does negligible damage to the roads, compared to cars and especially trucks, so I'm lowering the maintenance budget. And the roads that I typically ride on are actually funded by my property taxes, which are higher because cycling has made my neighborhood desirable to live in.
There's a house for sale up the street from me. The broker's for-sale sign has emblazoned across the bottom in big letters:
BIKE! BIKE! BIKE!
By the way, I agree wholeheartedly that there are places where it's impractical to use a bike for transportation, and lifestyle issues that make it impractical as well. I expect progress towards greater use of bikes to be slow, and geographically scattered. One thing I think is slowly happening is that young people are becoming more attracted to urban centers, are ambivalent about cars, and are demanding amenities such as pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. For some things that once required a car, such as shopping at big-box stores, they're now buying things online. Malls are being abandoned. I know this doesn't help folks who live in more spread out areas, and I don't know how to help them.
Incidentally, "saving the planet" is of course a common figure of speech. Nobody expects the planet to disappear tomorrow.
BIKE! BIKE! BIKE!
By the way, I agree wholeheartedly that there are places where it's impractical to use a bike for transportation, and lifestyle issues that make it impractical as well. I expect progress towards greater use of bikes to be slow, and geographically scattered. One thing I think is slowly happening is that young people are becoming more attracted to urban centers, are ambivalent about cars, and are demanding amenities such as pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. For some things that once required a car, such as shopping at big-box stores, they're now buying things online. Malls are being abandoned. I know this doesn't help folks who live in more spread out areas, and I don't know how to help them.
Incidentally, "saving the planet" is of course a common figure of speech. Nobody expects the planet to disappear tomorrow.
Man, I am surprised about the amount of hatred for bicyclists. You all must be the same people who race your car against a lone motorcyclist, like it's some sort of competition. You have a CAGE in your car. Bicyclists do not. Deal with the "nuisance" while you continue to leave a carbon footprint.
I have 3 bikes, but... I don't think they're trying very hard to save the planet...Seriously, though, I really do understand your point. And, I also agree with you - up to a point. What you have to understand is that, for a host of reasons, some of us simply can't ride a bicycle - any kind of a bicycle. I used to ride the snot out of bicycles, but worn out joints, injuries up the kazoo, and simple old age have made it impossible to ride one anymore. It broke my heart to sell my Nishiki Cresta GT touring bike; but, I just couldn't ride it any longer. I've looked at (and tried) recumbents, and tadpoles; no go there, either. And, honestly, it's frickin' dangerous to ride here in the summertime when it 115 degrees - which it is when I have to go to work. And it's just dangerous - really dangerous - to ride a bicycle here at all. The crazy drunks that clutter Vegas roads seem to kill at least one cyclist a week. And no one seems to care... I really do wish I had my Nishiki back, and I could still ride it; but I can't... Wish I was 40 years younger, too - but that ain't gonna happen, either...
I don't know the cities outside the US. I was more making the point that the entire US grew by car, is built to serve cars, and sprawls so far that cars are needed to get around.
It's true that LA, like any major city (although I don't live there) is a series of neighborhoods. Many people do business (groceries, restaurants) in their neighborhood but work miles away. It's not unusual for someone's commute to take an hour each way by car.
Get outside a major metro area and the series of neighborhoods thing falls apart because there isn't the population density to support multiple business neighborhoods. I have lived in towns of 150,000 for years and the entire town is one business district. It's a neighborhood 10 miles long and 5 miles wide.
That's a difficult environment for biking, especially on roads built for cars 30 years ago with no room for bike lanes. There are roads here with 40 MPH speed limits and 18-inch bike lanes. I wouldn't ride a bike on one for any price.
OTOH, Denver just took one of their major thoroughfares (Broadway Ave.) and blocked off one entire traffic lane to make a big bike lane. They even have flexible posts to separate it from vehicular traffic. THAT'S a bike lane! But man, is this causing grief by taking away 50% of the traffic lanes! There are many places you can't do that - especially Colorado Springs, which is to the right of Genghis Khan and believes that every home needs two full size pickups.
Narrow bicycle lanes and insufficient space are pretty common in the UK too, and a bit hairy to drive on. What scope there is to encourage more cycling for neighbourhood stuff in the USA is, but I suppose there is scope for new ones. There is talk of new garden cities here and I hope cycle routes will be considered, although it's likely that packing in houses for mAximum profit will be the thing (UK new houses don't seem to have doubled in size over the past fifty years like in the USA - if anything they seem to be smaller aka 'deceptively spacious')
View attachment 1113433 I have 3 bikes, but... I don't think they're trying very hard to save the planet...
Seriously, though, I really do understand your point. And, I also agree with you - up to a point. What you have to understand is that, for a host of reasons, some of us simply can't ride a bicycle - any kind of a bicycle. I used to ride the snot out of bicycles, but worn out joints, injuries up the kazoo, and simple old age have made it impossible to ride one anymore. It broke my heart to sell my Nishiki Cresta GT touring bike; but, I just couldn't ride it any longer. I've looked at (and tried) recumbents, and tadpoles; no go there, either. And, honestly, it's frickin' dangerous to ride here in the summertime when it 115 degrees - which it is when I have to go to work. And it's just dangerous - really dangerous - to ride a bicycle here at all. The crazy drunks that clutter Vegas roads seem to kill at least one cyclist a week. And no one seems to care... I really do wish I had my Nishiki back, and I could still ride it; but I can't... Wish I was 40 years younger, too - but that ain't gonna happen, either...
Apart from some large, enclosed bicycle with air con. And some sort of motor given the extra weight...
Maybe if you sprayed water from the handlebars and cycled naked?
I have seen cooling suits, but cycling lycra shorts are bad enough.
I didn't have a car until my 30s. Gigs meant taxis or walking, or pooled transport. I lived near enough to one habitual venue to be able to carry bass, pedals and pull a combo on a trolley. When coming back once after having imbibed I arrived back without the combo having forgotten about it halfway home, and left it in the street. Luckily it was still there.
Now, having miscalculated the size of my new car I'm considering a trailer for gigs. I might start a thread on that...
There are some car threads on the dark side (DB forums). Surely any car that can carry an upright, can carry an electric. I've fit my upright, amp, and guitarist with guitar and amp, in a Scion XA. Of course if you've got PA gear and stuff like that, it's another issue. Downsizing your gear may be cheaper than upsizing your car.
There is a very significant portion of the electorate in the US that don't ever want to vote for any tax, especially for something viewed as optional as bike lanes. If that came about, the money would probably be taken away from higher education, K-12 schools and social services, all of which are not "mandadory expenses."
Colorado is trying to add a .5% (1/2 percent) tax for road improvements and maintenance this year and it's probably not even going to get out of committee due to the sentiment mentioned above.
I have asthma, so more bicycle lanes and fewer car fumes sounds good, as do electric cars. If it's well spent and not excessive I'm prepared to pay a bit collectively towards that. I'm lucky enough to live on the edge of a town with low levels of pollution, though, and my main issue is pollen, which can make cycling less attractive some days, but I should still pull my finger out. With panniers, and under a mile to the supermarket along quiet roads I have no excuse. I should count my blessings in terms of the relatively quiet roads to work too, although there is a up hill part on the way home from work...
I agree with you. The US had the cojones to build the Interstate system in the 50's and 60's, and now can't afford to fix bridges from the 30's.
We're gonna have to pay for the roads we want - including bike lanes.
We're gonna have to pay for the roads we want - including bike lanes.
I only have issues with bicyclists who disobey a stop sign, t-bone into my car and have the gall to say it wasn't their fault. The rest of them are OK in my book.
This nonsense is basically because of how the laws and regulations are written. If a state or municipality wants to build a new road or bridge - whatever, the Feds are usually pretty generous with the $$$. However... if that 50 year old bridge that was built with federal highway funds needs repair? Sorry; that word "repair" isn't in their vocabulary."Repair" comes out of your pocket. But, how about a new bridge a mile or so downstream? And a new section of road to go with it? Yes? Why, just have a seat, and fill out these forms...
This refusal to spend highway funds for repairs - unless there's a major disaster -, is why there's so much money in it, and why the transportation infrastructure in America is falling apart...
This nonsense is basically because of how the laws and regulations are written. If a state or municipality wants to build a new road or bridge - whatever, the Feds are usually pretty generous with the $$$. However... if that 50 year old bridge that was built with federal highway funds needs repair? Sorry; that word "repair" isn't in their vocabulary."Repair" comes out of your pocket. But, how about a new bridge a mile or so downstream? And a new section of road to go with it? Yes? Why, just have a seat, and fill out these forms...
Some of my software in my old job nearly got used to monitor bridges for upcoming failure. I am sure my old employers would welcome the business. Not that it solves the funding issue, which baffles me. It would be nice to have evidence-based policies sometimes.
