KC Bike Week Day 3 and Still Few Bike Commuters
Posted 1 month, 21 days ago on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 under Cycling ยท
I’m chalking it up to the route, but I only saw three bike riders on the way home yesterday, and two this morning. I’m not going to an area of concentrated offices, like downtown, where there are a lot more people working in a smaller area, and fewer bicycle friendly routes to get there (assuming the latter… I’ve never been downtown by bike myself). The general area where I work has as many inroads as there are… well… roads, and while there are plenty of offices, they’re far more spread out. The chances of meeting up with someone going my way on the road I’m on are pretty slim. Those odds will change as more people begin using their bikes as transportation, but while it would be nice to have company on the ride, and safer too, I’m sure I’ll manage just fine.
As I approach my first fair weather bike commuting season, I’m curious to see how many people actually get out and ride. It’s a safe assumption that more people ride to work as the weather gets warmer, but without any bike commuting experience from previous warm seasons, I can’t make any observations regarding the relative number of us out there. This season is unique in that gas prices may force more people than normal out from behind the wheel, and onto a saddle. Throw in a heightening environmental awareness, and we have another factor that may increase our numbers. Frankly, I don’t think that many will start biking to work at current gas prices, much less any vague and distant environmental concerns. It won’t be until San Francisco is flooding and gas prices reach $10.00/gallon that people will really feel the crunch, and by then, it’ll be too late. They’ll wish they reduced their addiction to petroleum, but as they say… “coulda shoulda woulda.”
I predict only a very slight increase over previous years. More of us will ride, but not that many more. The *vast* majority of bike commuters will be returning to the road, rather than just entering it. Technically, I’m returning to the scene as well, having ridden to work and class for 6 years in the early 90’s.
Then again, I am new to the KC bike-to-work scene this year. That’s one, and where there’s one, there are likely more…
I was having the “how high does the gas price need to be” conversation with a buddy yesterday. Our conclusion was $7 per gallon before you see any significant increase in bike usage. By the way, the number of people will drop off again when it gets hot. Keep riding, just look for mis-aimed sprinklers that are watering the road… Surprising what a little spritz does to perk you up when it is 115 out.
$7 sounds about right. I think it’ll slowly ramp up (nationally speaking), and then there’s a magic number which will cause a significant jump in alternate modes of transit.
Until it gets too hot, as you say. I remember a ride a bud and I were on a couple years back. We were 15 miles from the finish line in a 70 miler, and it was 95°F, with a 100°F plus heat index. We were running low on water with no refill points between us and the cars. The stuck it out, but we nearly called it in. The shade beneath the wheat was looking appealing. ;)
When it gets really hot, I ride through sprinklers in the park. I also soak my hair before I leave the office. I’ve been known to wear part of the contents of one of my water bottles, too.
Awesome. Soaking the hair is something I’d forgotten about! I used to do that in college back in the day. Of course, I had crazy long hair then, and it wasn’t so much a matter of soaking it before I left, as much as just taking my normal shower and letting it air dry on the way. The same plan during the winter resulted in some comically frozen stiff hair by the time I got to work or class.
[...] at Dave’s Good Stuff didn’t see as many bike commuters as he’d [...]