Bicycling Around the World: An Eco-Context for America
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 06.17.06
The Earth Policy Institute informs us that: “U.S. bicycle promotion initiatives and ridership lag far behind those of Europe. The number of children biking or walking to school has dropped 75 percent within a generation, while obesity rates have tripled, and only 1 percent of all trips are taken by bicycle. Estimates for the number of Americans who regularly bike to work range from 500,000 to 5 million. In contrast, 97 million Americans drive to work alone. Yet more than 100 million Americans own bicycles. With so many bicycle owners but so little bike riding in the United States, there is great potential to increase the role that bicycles play in daily commutes and other frequent trips”.
Americans have sent the work of making most of their bikes to China. “Production [of bicycles] continues to be dominated by China, where output jumped from 34 million bicycles in 1998 to a record 73 million in 2003. Some 51 million of these bikes were exported; more than a third went to the United States, the world’s largest import market".
So, more than “100 million Americans own bicycles,” the majority of which were made in China, and which apparently are used mainly as “garage fill.” Hmmm. China builds our bike; we shove it to the back of the “stuff” pile, and then hop into the SUV to go 5 blocks for groceries. What gives?
A quick look at sporting goods section of any major retail outlet provides a clue. What sells in the mass market is the cheap mountain bike, even in areas that have no hills at all. Many have heavy steel frames, gaudy paint jobs, pop culture decals, and extra heavy shock absorbers. This segment of bicycle marketing in America, in essence, is the two-wheeled version of the way-too much-horsepower with “spoiler” idiom that dominates the auto industry. Perhaps this is because parents, who themselves never ride, buy the cheap-hot looking ones for their kids, imagining that the racing look is what they’d prefer.
Go to a dedicated bicycle store and you’ll likely see an entirely different scene; a balance of road bikes, “hybrids”, “commuter bikes” (like you’d see in a European city), and high performance mountain bikes.
It would be interesting to segment the marketing and usage stats into the numbers bought by serious riders who buy from dedicated bicycle stores versus those who purchase them from mass market retailers. That, we suspect, would show a very different picture. Another stat that would be even more revealing, we think, would be to compare per-capita sales of bicycle racks by nation, differentiating the importance of recreational versus everyday use.
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You want to see this happen? Why not have a company offer it's employees a daily bonus for every day they ride their bikes to work instead of take a car? Why not have a secure covered area where employees can keep their bikes while at work? I'd love to see these things happen, and one of the best ways to make it happen is to entice them through the pocketbook.
Also, it may benefit companies to offer discounts in purchasing add-ons to bikes like safety lights, and those side cargo things, and backpacks for bringing home groceries. By providing these incentives they are promoting healthier employees, who one would think, would be less likely to be sick and be less productive.
The underlying issue is that our communities are designed in ways that make it very difficult to ride (or walk) anywhere. Cul-de-sac communities force cyclists and pedestrians to take significantly longer routes on very dangerous major roads to get to school or work - not a big deal if driving. Often, freeways and other major barriers are impossible to cross.
If we want to encourage cycling, we have to rethink the way we design our communities, using narrower streets in more grid-like patterns.
To see how it works for yourself, trace how you'd get from one place to another on each of these street networks:
http://www.pps.org/graphics/upo-pages/street_diagram_large
^^^
Not only that but parents are unwilling to let their kids walk or ride to school in the city for safety reasons. And the city is where we need de-congestion the most.
People just don't understand cycling. There really is a lot to know. What bike to buy, how to adjust it to fit you properly, how to maintain it, what to wear while riding, how to ride in traffic, etc.
Mostly, people are just plain old cheap when it comes to cycling equipment. They'll spend $50,000 on a BMW but are not willing to spend $1000 on a decent bike and the related accoutrements.
I just started riding a bicycle this spring. I have a $129.99 bike from Fred Meyers. I am the perfect newbie, never having done it before.
What daunted me, is the lack of bike lanes. I am so new, and slow that I can't keep up with traffic well. This worries me a lot. I try to take trails, and side roads to make up for it. If there was more bike friendly routes, I would have done this years ago.
I agree, that there is a lot more to riding than a cheap mass produced bike. I didn't know that before I bought mine. By riding for a few months, I have been in contact with others, and am learning more bit by bit. I am waiting on a couple books from Amazon.com to help fight my ignorance on the subject. I never knew there were better bikes on the market, and the super heavy one I have will get traded on next Spring. I just didn't know any better to get something else. (Plus the bike shops were scary, at first for such a newbie!)
I think what would increase biking would be the basics. More bike lanes, and more exposure. How often do you see anyone riding a bike in popular media? If they do, it's by kids, or portrayed as a means of last resort.
My friends regard my new choice in transportation as an oddity. At first they kept trying to give me rides, but through exposure, some are now trying it, too.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Heresy. Very interesting. The bike lanes are definitely getting crowded around here since the price of gas went up (in Canada it's around CAN$1.08/liter, which is close to US$4/gallon), and all of these newbies will be faced with the same learned curve.
There definitely should be more information out there, and more infrastructure to make it easier to cycle.
H.O.T. (did you plan that?),
When you get that new bike, go to a serious bike shop, and if they don't have quite what you want, have them build you one. It's not hard, and compared to cars, it's dirt-cheap.
I bought a used mountain bike, took it to a shop, had them put on a sweet internal hub, made myself a custom cargo rack, and had some fenders and hi-tech tires put on.
Grand total? Under $600.
That said, I got by just fine for years with a 30 year-old Schwinn from the thrift store.
I love that someone put together all of these facts! It has always driven me crazy that every student here in the city seems to be riding around a monstrous mountain bike from WalMart. They buy these bikes, get annoyed with them because they're crappy, and then the bikes end up locked to a bike rack abandoned until the city cuts the lock and takes them away.
Unfortunately, the people who seem to be in the know can be a little condescending to us newbies sometimes, forgetting that they too were newbies once! For those who are interested in learning who don't have a mentor, the bike forums online can be a very helpful resource it you're willing to dig through them...
The best thing to do is to get an experienced cyclist to take you under their wing.
This is my experience with "newbies". They somehow think that they can beat the system, that there's a cheaper way. They use the same approach as buying kitchen appliances at the big box store. They end up in a red herring situation. If they persist in cycling they ultimately end up doing things the right way, their initial purchases a waste of money. My roommate is the perfect example. He bought a used dual suspension mountain bike and then spent hundreds fixing it up. The result, a piece of shit that he doesn't ride.
Thanks for the advice, Carl. (I didn't realize it became HOT when abbrievated. Oops!)
I have to agree with Heidi. Some of us newbies either had no one to turn to for advice, or we had some less than fun run in's with the more hardcore riders. It made me wish some (not all) bike enthusiasts were more like Mac users that way. My best resources these days are other newbies. We share books, websites, and information. I am still ecstatic to listen to anyone with more experience willing to talk to me, though.
I think the #1 problem with biking is the lack of education with drivers. A lot of people don't know what to do when there is a biker in the road. And some just don't care and see a biker as a nuisance.
From my experience, there are just too many people distacted by cell phones and other things in the car. This makes the road an extremely dangerous place. I end up riding on the side walks much of the time even though it's illegal (and the bike cops do it too). I'd rather get a ticket than get killed.
Problem: Sweat.
It's finally starting to get into the time of year when breathing causes you to break a sweat outside, at least in my neck of the woods. 85 degrees and 70% humidity are not conducive to enjoyment of outdoor actviviites. Particularly cycling.
The issue I have with cycling to work, or to anywhere I'm going to stay for a while, is that, by the time I get there, I'll be soaked with sweat. Not only will I be uncomfortable, but I'll start to smell, and it's just not polite to be around other people when you're like that.
I'll have pit stains and crotch stains and a huge sweat spot running down my back. I'll be dripping. Or I'll have to wear those ludicrous bicycle outfits. I don't want to run errands looking like I just got off of the Tour de France.
Eight months out of the year in my neck of the woods, bicycling works. But from Mid-june to mid-September, there's no way anyone could walk anywhere without looking like they just got out of the pool. A sweaty, greasy pool.
Some places now offer bicycle escorts (no, not THOSE kind), who will arrive at your door, and show you how to prepare before you ride, and then ride with you on your commute, showing you how to deal with traffic.
Just what the newbie needs!
In Chicago: bike.escorts@gmail.com
Sounds like you're not in Iceland anymore.
During warm months, I keep a little stash at work - washcloth, towel, deodorant. I wear a t-shirt for the ride, and then pop into the bathroom as soon as I get there, and change shirts.
It also helps to not 'race' to work. If I pace myself, I can get to work without breaking a bead of sweat.
When our newspaper does its annual "best of" contest, under the category of "bike shop" I always put NONE - because they are all rude and snobby. This is the single biggest deterrent to buying a decent bicycle. If you aren't already in the club, the clerks at these stores are too full of themselves to help you. And if you don't know the right language to ask the right questions in order to get the right bike, they are utterly unwilling to help you. No wonder people go to the big box stores to buy their cheap bikes.
Perhaps instead of a bike escort to help you get to your destination, an escort to go with you to the bike store!!
Finally: I rode for years on a $10 Schwinn I got at a yard sale. Did me fine in all seasons. It is absolutely NOT necessary to spend $1000 on a bike!!
And Icelander - I hear you about the sweat issue. The building adjacent to us (same landlord) has a shower in the bathroom, as did my former employer. While we agitate for employers to offer incentives for employees who bike to work, lets also agitate for offering showers at work too!
For commuting, if you can keep spare clothes or even shower at work. Pacing yourself is an option if you're not perpetually late, like myself.
But imagine riding a couple miles to the store. You'd get there dripping with sweat and probably not smelling too fresh. And then you'd be walking around the store in wet underclothes, which is never comfortable.
What needs to change is the obsession with personal hygene and sweatiness. That's probably the second biggest deterrent to people cycling on a regular basis, behind the added travel time.
Kpod,
You're perpetuating the myth that you can get something for nothing.
This is harmful to the cause. While I can appreciate a vintage Schwinn, it is the equivalent of the Flintstone mobile. Don't tell people that it's NOT necessary to spend $1000 on a bicycle. By your own admission, you're not qualified to do so. If everyone had your attitude no one would ride bicycles, it would be far too miserable.
KPod,
As for those snobby bike store people, just look around more. They're not all like that. I've found some great bike shops in my area with really cool helpful people. The one I bought my bike from was a family owned one that's been open since the 1920s. They're all great people there.
I'm a relative newbie. I just bought a Trek Nasvigator 50. ( http://wheelandsprocket.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=2506 ) Before accessories, it was $250. The people in the Durham bicycle shop ( http://thebicyclechain.com/index.cfm )where I purchased it were quite helpful, and not snobby at all. I told the salesperson that I wanted a comfort bicycle for short trips in the area, and this is what he recommended. Before going to the store, I did a little bit of research online and determined that I wanted a comfort bike as opposed to a road, mountain, or hybrid bike. After necessary accessories, it will total a little over $300--not to bad. I am one of those people who doesn't sweat all that much, though, and I'll mostly be riding in the early morning and evening when it is a bit cooler.
I'm from a city where I don't have to drive, and am spending the summer and eventually relocating to an area where there is little public transportation. I was concerned about gaining weight from always driving and/or riding in my boyfriend's car, and the stress of the two of us sharing a single a car. I also don't really enjoy driving, and felt guilty about using a car for short trips that a bike would be perfect for.
No matter where you live, if you poke around on the web, there always seems to be someone or some organization that provides city-specific bicycle information that can be helpful for other newbies.
Hope this is helpful!
I've been a bike commuter/errand runner for 20 years. I've helped other people get into commuting and have had Effective Cycling training.
From my viewpoint there are several reasons the US has much less cycling than parts of Europe:
1. Distance - our newer cities span huge distances that can take too long for most people to navigate by bike. In most areas, bike and cars are competitive time-wise until distances start approaching 5/6 miles. After that, the time savings by car starts becoming significant. Most Dutch bike trips, for instance, are on the order of 1.5 miles. Many suburbs don't have anything reachable in that distance.
2. Sweat - as mentioned before, most areas of the country have a climate that gets very hot and humid in the summer, the very time that many people would consider biking due to the large amounts of daylight and lack of need for special clothing. Most countries with heavy bicycling have very mild climates that seldom get hot and seldom get too frigid in the winter. While there are ways to cope with sweat when commuting, it does make it hard to do errands in our hygiene obsessed culture.
3. Education (lack there of)- we have totally lost our "bicycle culture" in this country. Few people know how to safely bike anymore. They don't know how to go through an intersection or how to interact with other traffic, so think they need special biccyle facilities to bike. Many of these facilities actually make bicycling less safe and/or slower. The proper way to bike is essentially to follow the same rules you use when driving a car, with the one restriction that, when slower than traffic and not getting ready to make a turn, to stay to the right ( when safe and "practicable" to do so). Otherwise, take the lane. Effective Cycling is a training course that teaches safe bicycling.
4. Fear - people in our society have taken to cloistering ourselves against all threats. To deal with our worries about traffic safety, we get the biggest SUV we can aford,so we are the biggest vehicle on the road. We are unwilling to let our children have any unsupervised activities, preferring to shuttle them around in our cars from organized activity to organized activity. There are very few "free range" children anymore who are allowed to bicycle to school and friends.
George: How did I admit I am not qualified? I rode the Schwinn all through graduate school, when I was car-less, and it worked out fine. Even better - it was so butt-ugly that noone was tempted to steal it!
I don't know anyone who commutes by bike who has spent $1000 to do so. Most of them are riding bikes they bought a decade or more ago for less than $200. And they seem very happy as they ride, not miserable.
I recently started riding a bike after 20 years. I bike to work, from work to the post office and then home again. Not far (about 5 miles) but it's toasty (100 degrees). I got a work bike, not racing bike with a basket etc on which I could load packages.
I took the bike on vacation; it was *very* useful considering we went to Taos NM which is still a small village and the traffic (for the solar music festival) was horrendous. Biking through town was the best part of the trip and I plan to do it more frequently in the future.
Amputee Cyclist to Trek Around the World to Raise Awareness and Funds for Landmine Survivors
01 Feb 2007 16:10:00 GMT
Source: Clear Path International - USA
Imbert Matthee
Website: http://cpi.org
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
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Previous | Next Endurance cyclist and amputee Daniel Sheret Plans to ride around the world to raise funds and awareness for Clear Path International's work with landmine and bomb survivors.
Veteran amputee endurance cyclist Dan Sheret of Wilmington, North Carolina, plans to trek around the world (www.abilitytrek.org) starting in the United States this summer to raise awareness and funds for the work of Clear Path International (www.cpi.org).
Clear Path will be one of two charities to receive contributions from sponsors of Sheret's ambitious world tour that will take him by several projects assisting landmine accident survivors. He plans to stop and visit Clear Path beneficiaries in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border.
The other charity receiving funds from his trek is the Rotary Club of Montgomery Village, Maryland, for its Basra Prosthetics Project in Amman, Jordan, in collaboration with Physicians for Peace.
In 2003, Sheret made a 3,800-mile trek across the United States from San Francisco to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to raise money for the Barr Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping amputees worldwide.
This year, Dan's trek will start in San Francisco and end in Washington, D.C, before moving on to Europe, the Middle East, Russia, China and Southeast Asia. His trek will cover 16,000 miles and four continents.
"My goal is twofold: to bring hope and awareness to amputees in need throughout developing world and to bring to light to the & prosthetics industry the great work that is being done to aid landmine victims and other amputees," Sheret said, noting landmine survivor assistance now goes largely unreported.
Sheret will become the first amputee to cycle twice across the continent. He hopes to include other riders in the trek.
While in Salt Lake City, Sheret's AbilityTrek 2007 will be hosting a First Ride Clinic in conjunction with the Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund, Inc. (OPAF). Slated for June 21, the First Ride Clinic is a free adaptive cycling clinic for the disabled to learn or re-learn the pleasures of cycling. Registration is required. In addition, AbilityTrek 2007 is inviting interested bicyclists to support Sheret by cycling with him on his ride across America. They can now register.
The U.S. portion of the trek has been broken down into five segments lasting from 7 to 15 days. Both able-bodied and disabled cyclists are encouraged to ride with Sheret.
For more information about joining the adventure or about AbilityTrek 2007, please visit www.abilitytrek.org.
Based in the Unites States, Clear Path International assists landmine accident survivors in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. It also sends shipments of medical equipment, orthopedic devices and surgical supplies to hospitals in mine-affected countries around the world. Learn more about Clear Path International at www.cpi.org.