Comments on: Is America Turning into Europe Right Before Our Eyes?

By: tommy

tommy — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:05:05 +0000

I dont’t know where to start. Presently I am at home recuperating after a motorcycle accident I had 13 week’s ago. Part of my PT was the bike, so I figured I’d dust off my mountain bike that I only rode twice a month and start going to pt on it. That was a month ago. Now I ride my bike most places. I live in Eureka ,ca. and about 3 miles from town. Lot’s of big hill’s that I cant do yet, but getting their. I found this site and I love it. I was in the US COAST GUARD for 20 years mostly on ships and I took a bike with me on every deployment and got to ride in 13 countries. Alot of us did this. Anyway im not new to biking just new to the idea of making those trips to the store and wherever else on my bike instead of my truck. The motorcycle is for sale. I’ve chosen to take my chances on the bicycle instead of it. Been of work since may 14th 08. anyway I’ve been doing some surfing on the internet mostly all bicycle sites. I’ve Put street tires on my bike,added a pannier on the rear rack, and put a cool little bell on the bars. It’s funny people dont get pissed when I give them a jingle to alert them of my presents they either smile and move or just look at me and move. No hard feeling’s yet. I’m riding 6-15 miles per day so far. not bad since I fractured my right tibia, and now have a large piece of stainless steel and six ugly screw’s in my leg.
up to that point I was riding the motorcycle everywhere to save gas and I was noticing more motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles up here. When I go to the bike store I see 15 or so old bikes in the shop with repair tags on them and the mechanic say’s there’s about a one month wait to get a bike tune up if you needed one. Anyway cool site .

By: henry

henry — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:25:36 +0000

Its a great but strange feeling for the long-time cyclist to become just one of the many. I first experienced this 8 years ago when I moved from Palo Alto, CA to Groningen, the northernmost city in the Netherlands. Groningen has a couple universities and the highest density of cyclists in the western world.

The very first thing I did in my first morning there was to buy a Dutch bike and join the traffic. Despite being a very experiences cyclist (more than 15 years of commuting by bike and 15 years of competitive cycling) it was actually scary at first. At “rush hour” there are so many cyclists that riding your own pace can be impossible and the roads will back up for quite a ways at traffic signals. Unlike in Amsterdam people actually stop for a red light there.

But once the novelty wore off, the realization set in that the fear, stress and frustration of competing with automobilists had disappeared. What a wonderful feeling, to be surrounded by other cyclists, equally unprotected, getting just as wet and cold as yourself, with just the noises of student bikes: than the clacking of cranks against hanging kickstands, tires against bent fenders stays etc.

It’d be very strange for me to ride in the US again, but now amongst other cyclists. What an improvement!

Groeten,
Henry

By: beth h

beth h — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:07:49 +0000

Of course I’ve noticed. In Portland, it’s hard not to.

Thirty years ago I was a lonely bicycle commuter, riding 3 miles each way to and from my high school in Gresham, Oregon. In 1978. no self-respecting teenager of driving CHOSE to ride a bicycle everywhere — except me. I flunked my driving test at 17 partly on purpose so my dad would leave me alone about driving.

Fast-foward to 2008, and on my morning commute (now 5 miles each way from home to work and back) I am almost surrounded by other bike riders. It’s nice not to feel so alone anymore.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:55:58 +0000

I live in a small, post-logging town – Hoquiam which along with Aberdeen has a population about 25,000 together. I see way more bikes than I did even a year ago. I’m the only X (with kids or otherwise) I see on the streets, but I’ve had a lot of favorable responses and questions and given out some flyers.

We still don’t have bike lanes and many cyclists here ride all sorts of different ways (facing traffic, on the sidewalk). But I see a lot more people out and even car traffic is friendlier than it used to be.

By: Marge

Marge — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:59:00 +0000

I’m on vacation, so today we decided to bike around Bainbridge Island. We counted 83 bicyclists getting off the 7:40 run into Seattle.
Twice last week I was stopped on the West Seattle swing bridge for an opening I counted 30 riders one day, 27 the next. I would say a heck of a lot more people are biking.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:33:52 +0000

I have a co-worker who has a Ford truck, Ford Mustang, a newly purchased used Honda Civic, 5th wheel camper and pontoon boat who is selling everything except for the Civic. Granted, most of this is based on him going through a divorce and needing to sell off things for lawyers fees, etc. and not all about rising gas prices. But, he just moved closer to work, asked me about bike commuting and also places where he could go tent camping and how to haul camping gear on his bike. This is the part that relates with gas prices. Talk about a 180 turn. This was the same guy who was making fun of me for biking everywhere just a year or two ago. Times, they are a changin’

By: Debi S.

Debi S. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:19:45 +0000

I see so many more bicyclists now. It’s fun to wave or give a head nod to the ones going the other way, like we have our own secret code. If only the drivers whizzing past us could feel our joy!

PS: I’m loving my Xtracycle. Thanks for your input.

By: Bruce A. Wilson

Bruce A. Wilson — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:28:18 +0000

Part of the problem is that there are people who are starting to cycle who haven’t been on a bicycle since they were kids. They may remember how to RIDE a bicycle, but they don’t remember–if they ever knew–how to DRIVE one.

By: Tadashi

Tadashi — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:17:49 +0000

I’ve noticed down here in Portland. More people riding, more people being stupid. I saw a guy riding today, we were on a one way street, I was in traffic as I can go as fast as the cars in this section. He rolls on the left hand side almost through the light but instead noticed the bus heading towards him so he slows and then almost falls because he couldn’t get out of his clipless pedals. I had just passed this guy on a hill where he was struggling to hold a line and that was creating a bunch of unsure car drivers. People who regularly run lights and stop signs promote other new riders to do the same. It’s a shame that it is so uncool to be safe and sane these days. I love the site. I’m so happy when there are new posts. Keep riding.
Tadashi in Portland.

By: derek

derek — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:42:23 +0000

I’ve been lately addicted to night riding and its been almost surreal to see kids all hanging out on bikes instead of grouped around a bunch of cars. Its also fun to see the amount of girls riding electras around our hood these days. My sweet sweet wife is trendsetting