"BISMARCK, N.D. - Four-dollar-a-gallon gas is good for business — if you run a bike shop.
Commuters around the country are dusting off their old two-wheelers — or buying new ones — to cope with rising fuel prices, bicycle dealers say.
"Everyone that comes in the shop is talking about the gas prices," said Barry Dahl, who opened Barry's Bikes in Bismarck in April. He sold more than 50 bicycles in the first month, double the projections in his business plan.
...The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week this week and Bike-to-Work Day on May 16. Nesper said he expects a record number of people will be pedaling this year.
There's almost nowhere for the numbers to go but up: The group says less than one-half of 1 percent of Americans ride a bike to work."
Portland leads the nation with 3.5% of the workforce riding a bike to work. The highest number on earth, according to the current Bicycling Magazine (no links yet), is in Groningen, Holland where fully 64%* of all workers ride a bike to work. When asked how to get more workers to ride to work in the US, Groningen's mayor replied, "Charge for parking, charge A LOT."
Gordon, it may or may not be related to this Spring's accelerated rise in the cost of gas, but so-far this Spring in my weekly circuit of the thrift stores I am not finding _any_ adult bikes being sold.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible of course that the thrifts may still be getting bikes and they're being bought as quickly as they reach the sales floor, and my visits just happen to be between bikes. Or perhaps people are having second thoughts about donating that old bike hanging up out in the garage?
In either case or for whatever reason, the lack of available used bicycles at seven different thrift shops does coincidentally occur at a time of public angst over the cost of daily transportation.
alf
A promising sign, for sure, Alf, although I do hope you can find those clunkers to work your magic.
ReplyDeleteA while ago, I went down to the Prius dealer and the salesman demanded "List Price + $1,500," explaining that "THEY make us collect an extra $1,500 on the Prius." So of course I answered, "THEY won't let me pay an extra $1,500"--and walked out.
I kept the gas guzzling Chevy truck, but hardly drive it. I can bike to most things around here. And when I do need to drive, a truck often comes in handy.
I remember there was a huge stink when Toyota dealers were doing that very same thing back in the late seventies with a sporty model called the SR-5. It was bullshit then and probably is now, that THEY make the dealers do it(and I take it to mean that THEY is some entity higher in the distribution chain than the dealer).
ReplyDeletealf
Or "THEY" are the dealer's wife and kids.
ReplyDeleteThe Prius is a Faustian proposition: save gas and save the earth today and eight years later when your batteries die, let somebody else figure out what to do with your garbage. And garbage isn't too strong a word for an Prius with dead batteries, that will cost $8,000 to replace. Who in their right mind is going to spend 8K on an eight year old Prius?