Bikes outselling cars in most of the European Union

pdf27 said:

The modern mid-life crisis is more likely to involve a carbon fibre bike and some lycra than it is a red convertible and a younger woman. .

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I will take the younger women over a carbon fiber bike (have one) any day of the week.

oldspark said:

I will take the younger women over a carbon fiber bike (have one) any day of the week.

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Have a younger woman?

Might have to pay for one.

oldspark said:

I will take the younger women over a carbon fiber bike (have one) any day of the week.

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Well, since some scrote stole my carbon-fibre bike I'll just have to stick with the younger woman I'm married to

45 years ago a bicycle was my only transportation in Minneapolis, other than city bus, and I rode all winter too. As the temps hit -29F Friday night, and sit at -24F right now, a little hard to imagine doing the same now.

pdf27 said:

Well, since some scrote stole my carbon-fibre bike I'll just have to stick with the younger woman I'm married to

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Bike thieves are scrotes, indeed.

jebatty said:

45 years ago a bicycle was my only transportation in Minneapolis, other than city bus, and I rode all winter too. As the temps hit -29F Friday night, and sit at -24F right now, a little hard to imagine doing the same now.

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I used to live in an apt on Grand Ave just off the River Road. I would see an occasional person ride by when it was -30F, drafting off the snowplows. A better man than I.

Even running in that weather was a recipe for disaster. Death by penga fria.

Part of the increase in Bike usage in the UK might be due to the "Tour de France" factor. Having 2 winners on the trot has certainly increased the number of serious Lycra riders

I thought the invention of the car was progress, looks like some like to digress. If you like to ride a bike to work or for fun great. Your choice. But if you are doing it to try to save the earth and a buck, then it will be hard to convince you other wise.

begreen said:

It helps to have a totally flat country.

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If memory serves me correctly (dicey any more) its windy as all get out (wind mills) there so not as easy as one might think, many danes were great climbers in the TDF.

Pruning@trunk said:

I thought the invention of the car was progress, looks like some like to digress. If you like to ride a bike to work or for fun great. Your choice. But if you are doing it to try to save the earth and a buck, then it will be hard to convince you other wise.

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I've certainly saved a serious amount of money commuting to work by bike - it's about 5 miles, the bus service is awful, and for a while my wife needed the car to get to her work. I would either have had to buy a second car, or commute by bike for the 18 months or so she was in that job. Between the cost of a second car and savings in gym membership to get to the same level of fitness, I think I probably saved about $20,000, mostly from the car. Fuel savings will be rather smaller - I probably cycled about 2,000 miles in that time so roughly 50 gallons.

oldspark said:

If memory serves me correctly (dicey any more) its windy as all get out (wind mills) there so not as easy as one might think, many danes were great climbers in the TDF.

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The wind turbines in Denmark are as much because they don't have any other non-imported source of fuel as anything else. Same reason the French have so many nuclear reactors - energy independence. The windmills in Holland were even simpler - they didn't have any other way to pump water and keep the country above sea level until the invention of the steam engine, which many of them predate.

" As Denmark is very flat, no real hills, there is nothing to stop or protect the country from the wind. so when it blows, you really feel it."
gert jan theunisse was one of the great climbers coming from the Netherlands, there are more but like I said my memory is dicey.

Sadly and unfortunately the bulk of this increased bike sales is driven by the current recession and speaks volumes for the loss of car sales in that industry.

People in denmark go time to ride there bikes.
They only work 7 hours day. Monday to friday

Where2 said:

Can't blame them there. People used to ask why I bought a 40+ year old house in a 40+ year old neighborhood when I could afford to buy a brand new house in a brand new neighborhood? The answer was simple: I'm two blocks from the grocery store, Ace Hardware, Blockbuster & two pharmacies. I'm within walking distance of a city park, a dozen restaurants, two banks, two gas stations, four churches and a gym. On top of all that, I have a dock in my backyard with access to the Atlantic Ocean. You didn't get those features with a new house in a new neighborhood.

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My house is now the oldest house on my road (the only one older burned down a year ago and could have taken my house with it... NEVER trust heat tape on a water pipe). I'm 2 miles from the center of town... 3 miles from the beach, both easily bikeable, but I prefer my 50mpg motorcycle in the warmer months... and my 38 mpg car in the winter.. my 4wd 'burb sits in the driveway 99% of the time and rarely leaves town, but it did take the 6 of us in comfort to Orlando last summer... My farm reg'd pickup goes to the dump once a week... and that's about it.

I'll take my old ass (150 years) house and it's it's problems and history over a brand new OSB or ZIP clad house...

oldspark said:

I will take the younger women over a carbon fiber bike (have one) any day of the week.

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lol, I've got a red crotch rocket and am married to a woman 4 years my junior....