Bike Culture On The Upswing

There used to be a driver's education video called "I like Bikes, But..." It was the 50's-style guide to sharing the road with bicyclists. The "but" was because bikes were so hard to see. But that was then. As of 2007, some polls show US ridership up as much as 40%.

If environmental consciousness doesn't have something to do with it, perhaps rising oil prices do. Still, the US isn't tops in bike promotion and production -- that's China's claim to fame, with Taiwan, Italy, and Germany following close behind.

And European cities are setting the standard for bicycle commuting. In Copenhagen, where $200 million will be spent on bike facilities by 2024, 36 percent of workers pedal to the office. In Amsterdam, biking accounts for 55 percent of commutes under 4.7 miles.

So, after a sharp fall-off between 1989 and 2001, bike culture has again blossomed and spread for the last seven years. Some of the credit goes to electric bikes, having doubled in production since 2004, but most people are motivated by the almighty dollar, yen, euro, etc. Truth is, a lot of us would rather pedal than fill up that hunk of metal!

We're hoping someone will make a new driver's education video entitled, "I Like Bikes, And..More Money In My Pocket."