Matt O'Toole wrote:
> On Mon, 12 May 2008 18:53:12 -0700, Bob wrote:
>> 1- I don't think there's any evidence that Americans are any more lazy
>> than the citizens of any other country.
>
> If anything it's the opposite, with cultural pressure to always appear
to
> be productive, not "wasting time" on a bicycle. In the US, bicycles are
> seen as toys for children and immature adults.
That's a mighty wide brush you're painting with. I've ridden
seriously in various parts of the U.S. as an adult for something like
35 years now. While this is anecdotal evidence, I don't think I've
ever encountered the label of immature adult or toy user in that time.
I have encountered aggressive behavior from some people, but those are
not the common reactions.
>
> I think this is why there's so much emphasis on racing in bike
> marketing in the US. Americans feel they have to justify their interest
> in cycling by pretending it's a serious athletic pursuit.
Maybe, or perhaps the bicycle makers push the high priced bicycles
because the profit margin is much greater there. I will make one
observation about cycling that I have noticed in the U.S. but not
in Europe, where I have lived a couple of times. In the U.S. bicycle
advocates often live bicycling and pretty much not much else, to the
degree that some of them are boring and more than a little annoying.
IME, in Europe, people just ride bikes for trans****tation or for
exercise/entertainment and don't tend to claim any moral superiority
because of it.
> 3- I haven't noticed any increased bicycle usage.
>
> I have, but it's a trend that started before the latest runup in fuel
> prices.
I am seeing more adults riding in neighborhoods and on running/bike
paths...not so much on the roads where I ride. There is a fear factor
involved here, I believe. High speed auto traffic and bicycles are a mix
that's daunting for many folks, and in suburban areas, which is where a
significant part of the local population resides, there are a lot of
neighborhoods connected by highspeed arteries. Out here in the burbs,
there are no safely accessible places to shop by bicycle either.
>
> BTW, in the UK they've been paying $8/gallon for years. If anything,
it's
> the congestion pricing in central London that has put more people on
> bikes.
Actually, in the UK, gasoline is priced in English pounds.
Converting the prices to dollars right now simply indicates how
far the dollar has fallen against other currencies. FWIW, petrol
prices in the U.K. have been high for years due to high rates of
taxation. The same is generally true in the rest of Europe. One
more point. Places like London, Paris, Rome etc. have mass transit
that is effective for two reasons. First, the cities were built way
before the advent of automobiles so retrofitting an automobile culture
is difficult and second, they have population densities that make mass
transit more cost-effective. An alternative to vast daily migration to
places of work from homes would be to distribute work closer to peoples'
homes, or to implement more telecommuting options.
>
> Matt O.
--
They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for
one's country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in
your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.
-- Ernest Hemingway
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