Not long ago, I watched as a young woman tried to cross U.S. 41 with a baby in a stroller. 4 traffic lanes, 2 turn lanes and a median. No help from the traffic lights. No bus stops near by. Motorists were patient, and actually yielded to get her across safely.

Fix the price of gas at $3.50. Use the "profit" for something useful.

Gas guzzlers, SUVs in particular, and Tad's SUV especially, should be taxed off the road.

Timbo,

we got the same mentality in my country as well, if to a less extreme degree. "Roads are for cars so get out of my way". It is pretty ironic as most who ride bikes, tractors etc. also have cars with associated fees and taxes and have a right to be use the road as well. When I get into discussions about these things I simply point at the law and tell them that it is their selfishness speaking. That tends to piss them off and they go on about how bikers are a danger to themself, how they hold up traffic etc etc but after explaining and pointing them to a few juridical evaluations on the topic they grugdingly agree.
Cars need to be more expensive and more dangerous to drive. Put the driver in front of the front axle in a simple vinyl shelter so they can feel the pain when they hit something. Dont do maintenance on roads but pump the money into bicycle trails and things might change fast

The dutch are the kings of bike trails/roads! I wish we were as good here.. Perhaps in the future one day.

PS: I do have a car, a breadbox on wheels from Renault. A Kangoo It takes care of my needs of transportation where a bike will not do, is cheap and more of a utility than something I use for fun. Taking corners with it is NOT something you do with speed and ease

Yea but can it pull a F-18?

Who cares.. i want 1 (or 3)

Of course it can pull an F18, it is a proper batmobile!

It's not that we hate bikes in the US, it's just that the distances we travel are much further. In the Netherlands, I could take my bike and ride to most anyplace I need on a weekly basis (grocery store, dinner, whatever). Worst case, I could take the bike to the bus or train station and go anywhere from there.

In the US, we absolutely do not have that infrastructure, and won't have it anytime in the next 50 years, if ever. Taking my bike to work is not an option, as it's 20 miles for me. To boot, I'm in sales, so taking a bike trip to GA every other week isn't an option, nor is a bus or a train.

So what are my options?

I drive an SUV. I often travel long distances with my boat and do numerous regattas (more than most on here). Furthermore, I double-stack with various other boats as much as possible. Do you think your car will handle a double-stack N20 rig on I95? Keep dreaming.

At 23 years old, having multiple cars isn't too much of an option due to insurance costs and the other associated costs of vehicle ownership.

So, what do I do? Give it all up, move to a city, and never venture out? Almost every one of you is great at pointing out problems and symptoms, but never at offering a reasonable solution (which always included some sort of compromise).

It's always the same. Arguments always break out and then everything becomes polarized. Stupid comments are made by both sides (see recent argument between Tad and Pete-pgp), and then we move on to another thread and it's all repeated.

Why?

You ask why? That is pretty easy. Becouse we stray into anything else than sailing, often political laden stuff which creates resentments between posters.

I'm still horny over the T-rex

"Why?" I like to irritate Tad.

Seriously, a number of sedans or station wagons would do the job of your SUV and get better mileage. Please remember that the SUV is a fairly recent phenomenon. The use of a truck chasis was a market ploy to get around mileage standards, iirc.

I used to own a Toyota starlet and a peddle bike. I pulled everything from doublestacked beach cats to 5 landyachts in one go. I used the bike for the groceries and smaller stuff, like one to transport just myself, a jacket and sunglasses to visit my parents or whatever. Over the last 10 days I've averaged 50 km per day (31 miles) on my recumbent. And I've loaded up two large grocery bags into the side bags about 16 kg total.

The 1993 Toyota did 38 mpg and still did 150 km/h with a boat trailer and a Prindle 16 and Prindle 18 stacked on it. Even getting away at the traffic light was never an issue.

Investment taken up in both was 4000 + 450 Euro's (9 year old starlet and recumbent bike) = 4450 Euro's



Absolutely yes.


The only compromise that I take is that I won't be picking up 23 year old supermodel bimbo's. But then again I'm old enough to know the really hot ones require at least a Porsche or Ferrari (these gold diggers know their stuff about who has serious money and who is just prentending) and that there are other far more inexpensive ways to get the god stuff (which aren't necessarily 23 year old bimbo's with an attitude).

Of course a hummer will all this was more ease (except taking tight corners). And yes I'm lucky enough to life in a nation with such a good infrastructure for peddle bikes that I can win any race against a car through suburban area's (seriously, I can, even over 15 km/10 miles).

But the solutions are here and they are real. Several of us are actually doing it. I for one am riding my bike half the time to the place of daily toil which is 60 km one way. My record is 2 hours and 6 minutes to complete the trip and typically I take 2 hours and 20 minutes to do so. Mind you during that record I also carrier 18 kg of bagage in my (bulky) carrier bags. By car I typically used to cover this distance in just under 90 minutes during rush hour. The additional 55 minutes it takes by bike peddling through lush green nature parks is not too much of a hit when compared to the 60 km total one-way distance.

Of course, I too wou'dn't be doing it in a business suit but that is not the point. I enjoy doing this, have a shower at the place of arrival and have a time schedule that allows this. I'm actually doing it and therefor it is a reasonable solution for me and not some environmental treehugging fantasy.

Wouter

After a stupidass comment like that what little bit of credibility you had with me just went out the window.
Yeah, I know your a badass you go to the gym...blah,blah,blah
Tawd

Most places where I have lived, bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks. In the Keys, though we have a bike path that goes for many miles.

"It's always the same. Arguments always break out and then everything becomes polarized. Stupid comments are made by both sides (see recent argument between Tad and Pete-pgp), and then we move on to another thread and it's all repeated.

Why?"

Because it's important. We need a an energy policy that makes sense. To gain that policy the consumer has to be de-programed. The SUV is a fashion statement based in human psychology. http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_01_12_a_suv.html

http://www.rapailleinstitute.com/

As a salesman, you may find this informative.

Mary, I would prefer riding on the road, it's much smoother! In fact I own a nice Bianchi road bike but have not been on it in about 10 years, because I was nearly hit by a car while riding one day.

Now, 12 years ago, up in New Hampshire where I used to live and ride that nice Bianchi, I had some close calls due to narrow roads and two wide dump trucks but none of the yelling and bottle throwing and deliberate swerving at me, like I have had down here in Sebring. Southern Hospitality my butt! Rednecks hate bicyclists, pure and simple.

So I bought a mountain bike to ride down here after the near miss on the Bianchi, to soften the ride on the side walks and to jump over the curbs and go through the sand and grass if I need to get out of the way quickly. Because there are some roads I ride that have no sidewalks, I feel safer on the mountain bike when it comes to jumping the curb into the grass, and have not crashed...yet.

After one car came by last fall that swore and threw a bottle at me, I got his license plate number and when I got home I called the local police and gave them the info, never heard back. I also asked if I was right in riding on the road, or should I be on the sidewalk. He said I should ride on the road but realistically, I would get hurt or killed, so they don't enforce the -no bikes on the sidewalk- rule.

So there you go. We are supposed to ride on the road but the Police know we are safer on the sidewalks! I do prefer the road, but I also don't want to die or be hit by a bottle. I do ride on the road when I see dog-walkers or small kids on the sidewalk, or where there is no sidewalk. What we really need are Bike Lanes! But that costs money, so you know that's just not going to happen.

Move in with the Woutster. It sounds like road bike nirvana, for ya.

Here, I love how the road bikers say they won't ride on the bike path(after tax dollars built it for them) because of slower riders and pedestrians ,but its totally fine to back up traffic cuz they won't move over for cars. I don't know about elsewhere but here they've earned their scorn.

I want one of these Wouter. http://www.terratrike.com/

Doug

I know full well this isn't the case for every American, but when I actually worked normal hours, I was working usually at least 50 hrs a week, on the high end I worked 75 hrs a week with regularity. The closest comute I've had so far has been the one I have now and its 5 miles. The longest being 27 miles. Not a chance in hell even at 5 miles would I ride a bicycle to and from work. I bust my butt, I have a physical job, and the last thing I want to do is peddle for the next 25 minutes when I could spend that time eating or sleeping. When you work 12 hour days the thought of your commute taking at least three times as long isn't that appealing.

Pete, does your plan for banning all of the larger vehicle apply to those who use them for work too? Cause I may have to change jobs if I gotta buy a fleet of Smart Cars to haul my product and tools to a job site. What about semi trucks? Now with the new diesel emission laws a semi is lucky to get much over 4mpg when loaded.

Why are there pedestrians on the bike path? No sidewalks? I'd love to have just -one- bike path to ride and I think even I could figure out how to go around the slower riders and pedestrians.

They actually call it a multi-use path, but it's about 6' wide.

I've gotten so I can ride on that 4" wide white line on the edge of the road for miles at a time, because there is no paved shoulder, only soft sand to the right. A 6' wide path would be like a 4 lane highway! There can't be too many of those around, are there? I know in England I've seen wide "multi use paths" but they have a dividing line down the middle, with painted "Walk" on one side and "Ride" on the other. The bike riders get VERY pissy if you walk on the bike side of the line!

Don't ask me how I know... ;^)

My only gripe with people who ride bicycles on the road is that they don't obey traffic laws, like stopping at stop signs.

Anyway, here's a bike for ya. It's a Tall Bike.