Gas prices push U.S. bike sales to near-historic peak

[Tim Campbell]

We Like Bike


Glory be: More bicycles than cars have been sold in the U.S. in the
past 12 months. That's about 19 million bicycles -- nearing the 20
million sales peak during the early 1970s oil embargo -- and roughly $5
billion to $6 billion in business, according to the trade organization
Bikes Belong. Though concern for the environment may factor into the
two-wheeler surge, one bike-shop owner pins the new jones for cycling
primarily on spiking gas prices. Sales of some auto brands, however,
are holding high despite rising fuel costs: Hummers are on track for a
year of record sales, thanks in part to the introduction of the H3,
barely more mileage-conscious than the H2. The military-inspired
vehicles project power, freedom, "and being able to go where I damn
please," says auto industry researcher Wes Brown. "It's not just 'Let
me by.' It's 'Get out of my way!'" If you're on one of those new bikes,
watch out for Hummer-driving halfwits with a baseless sense of
entitlement.


straight to the source: TerraDaily, Agence France-Presse, 02 Oct 2005


straight to the source: Houston Chronicle, David Kaplan, 01 Oct 2005

 

[amakyonin]

Tim Campbell wrote:
> If you're on one of those new bikes,
> watch out for Hummer-driving halfwits with a baseless sense of
> entitlement.

What about the Hummer that passed me a few months ago with a mountain
bike hanging off the back? He was surely on his way to the rugged
inaccessable backcountry of Western New York to ride some sweet
singletrack.

 

[The Wogster]

amakyonin wrote:
> Tim Campbell wrote:
>
>>If you're on one of those new bikes,
>>watch out for Hummer-driving halfwits with a baseless sense of
>>entitlement.
>
>
> What about the Hummer that passed me a few months ago with a mountain
> bike hanging off the back? He was surely on his way to the rugged
> inaccessable backcountry of Western New York to ride some sweet
> singletrack.


There is a house near here, I noticed going by a couple of weeks ago,
the guy had a big Jeep, and a bigger Escalade. Going by this week, the
Eascalade is gone, and a little Smart car is in it's place... Not sure
if you could add a bike rack to one of those, without it falling over
backwards when you add a 30lb bike )

I think you would need to cover the bike, as the wheels would stick out
on both sides......

W

 

[[email protected]]

That's his hippie girlfriend.

 

[max]

In article <[email protected]>,
The Wogster <[email protected]> wrote:

> There is a house near here, I noticed going by a couple of weeks ago,
> the guy had a big Jeep, and a bigger Escalade. Going by this week, the
> Eascalade is gone, and a little Smart car is in it's place...

Smart car? In the US? Where?!

..max

 

[Dave Vandervies]

In article <[email protected]>,
The Wogster <[email protected]> wrote:

> and a little Smart car is in it's place... Not sure
>if you could add a bike rack to one of those, without it falling over
>backwards when you add a 30lb bike )
>
>I think you would need to cover the bike, as the wheels would stick out
>on both sides......

I've seen wall-mount bike racks where the bike goes in vertically,
wheels to the wall. You could probably adapt one of those to put two
bikes on the back of a Smart car - having the bike stick over the top
would be a lot easier to deal with than out the sides. (It might take
some extra bracing to keep them stable on a moving platform.)

Just make sure you have somebody sitting in the car before you put the
second bike on.


dave

--
Dave Vandervies [email protected]
> I've been in a foul mood lately.
So it *is* really you.
--Ben Pfaff and Richard Heathfield in comp.lang.c

 

[Dave Vandervies]

In article <[email protected]>,
max <[email protected]> wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
> The Wogster <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> There is a house near here, I noticed going by a couple of weeks ago,
>> the guy had a big Jeep, and a bigger Escalade. Going by this week, the
>> Eascalade is gone, and a little Smart car is in it's place...
>
>Smart car? In the US? Where?!

I think he's in Canada. I'm in waterloo.on.ca and I've seen at least
two different ones floating around here. (One of them I often see in
the parking lot of the building across the street from the one I work in.)


dave

--
Dave Vandervies [email protected]
> I've been in a foul mood lately.
So it *is* really you.
--Ben Pfaff and Richard Heathfield in comp.lang.c

 

[The Wogster]

max wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> The Wogster <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>There is a house near here, I noticed going by a couple of weeks ago,
>>the guy had a big Jeep, and a bigger Escalade. Going by this week, the
>>Eascalade is gone, and a little Smart car is in it's place...
>
>
> Smart car? In the US? Where?!
>

Nowhere, I am in Canada, they are legal here, and I guess selling quite
well. Canadians have always liked small cars, look at the cars I have
had as an example -- 1994 Hyundai Pony (1.4L 4cyl), 1997 Pontiac Firefly
(1.0L 3cyl), 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier (2.2L 4cyl), 2000 Kia Sephia (1.6L
4cyl), right now I have a 1995 Chrysler Intrepid (3.3L 6cyl) -- cost me
nothing, which is the only reason I have it, will retire it soon, as I
can't afford to drive it anymore.

W

 

[xzzy]

please post the article's URL,

thanks

"Tim Campbell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> We Like Bike
>
>
> Glory be: More bicycles than cars have been sold in the U.S. in the
> past 12 months. That's about 19 million bicycles -- nearing the 20
> million sales peak during the early 1970s oil embargo -- and roughly $5
> billion to $6 billion in business, according to the trade organization
> Bikes Belong. Though concern for the environment may factor into the
> two-wheeler surge, one bike-shop owner pins the new jones for cycling
> primarily on spiking gas prices. Sales of some auto brands, however,
> are holding high despite rising fuel costs: Hummers are on track for a
> year of record sales, thanks in part to the introduction of the H3,
> barely more mileage-conscious than the H2. The military-inspired
> vehicles project power, freedom, "and being able to go where I damn
> please," says auto industry researcher Wes Brown. "It's not just 'Let
> me by.' It's 'Get out of my way!'" If you're on one of those new bikes,
> watch out for Hummer-driving halfwits with a baseless sense of
> entitlement.
>
>
> straight to the source: TerraDaily, Agence France-Presse, 02 Oct 2005
>
>
> straight to the source: Houston Chronicle, David Kaplan, 01 Oct 2005
>

 

[Bob Schwartz]

The Wogster wrote:

[off topic drivel]

I swear, every time some asswipe cross posts something to
the rafters I see The Wogster's hand in it. What a retard.

If you simply must respond to this asshole, please take the
time to edit the headers (something The Wogster has proven
repeatedly that he's too damn stoopid to do) and limit
your distribution to appropriate newsgroups ie rec.bicycles.soc.
If you are using a brain dead newsreader that doesn't let
you do that, please consider using a news reader that isn't
brain dead.

Also consider just letting it go. This guy has a history
of getting into pointless discussions with other retards.

Bob "Don't be a retard" Schwartz

 

[Bill Sornson]

Bob Schwartz wrote:
> The Wogster wrote:
>
> [off topic drivel]
>
> I swear, every time some asswipe cross posts something to
> the rafters I see The Wogster's hand in it. What a retard.

He posted one reply in this thread so far -- same as you.

> If you simply must respond to this asshole, please take the
> time to edit the headers (something The Wogster has proven
> repeatedly that he's too damn stoopid to do) and limit
> your distribution to appropriate newsgroups ie rec.bicycles.soc.

You left all the groups listed, too. (Your little "null" trick
notwithstanding.)

> If you are using a brain dead newsreader that doesn't let
> you do that, please consider using a news reader that isn't
> brain dead.
>
> Also consider just letting it go. This guy has a history
> of getting into pointless discussions with other retards.

Yet you couldn't (let it go, that is).

> Bob "Don't be a retard" Schwartz

Good advice. Follow it.

 

[The Wogster]

Bob Schwartz wrote:

> I swear, every time some asswipe cross posts something to
> the rafters I see The Wogster's hand in it. What a retard.
>
> If you simply must respond to this asshole, please take the
> time to edit the headers (something The Wogster has proven
> repeatedly that he's too damn stoopid to do) and limit
> your distribution to appropriate newsgroups ie rec.bicycles.soc.
> If you are using a brain dead newsreader that doesn't let
> you do that, please consider using a news reader that isn't
> brain dead.
>
> Also consider just letting it go. This guy has a history
> of getting into pointless discussions with other retards.

Gee, Bob who dropped a hairball in your cornflakes this morning????

Hmmm, poor spelling, use of unjustified "naughty" language, trying to
pull the alt.null trick, hoping your opponent will be trapped into not
replying, making the assumption the person your replying about, is
mentally the same age you are.... Hmmm, those are traits typical of
maybe a 10 year old.

Gee, Bob if your not 10, then grow up, and if you don't like the way
threads work on open usenet, then maybe you should go elsewhere......

> Bob "Don't be a retard" Schwartz

Maybe you should take your own advice, you just earned a berth in my
killfile.

W

 

[bill]

max wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> The Wogster <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > There is a house near here, I noticed going by a couple of weeks ago,
> > the guy had a big Jeep, and a bigger Escalade. Going by this week, the
> > Eascalade is gone, and a little Smart car is in it's place...
>
> Smart car? In the US? Where?!
>
> .max

I saw one in Philadelphia months ago--maybe June 2005. Parked the
"smart" way (head-in) at the corner of Willow Grove Avenue and Winston
road. I did not notice the license plate.

 

[John Forrest Tomlinson]

amakyonin wrote:
> Tim Campbell wrote:
>
>>If you're on one of those new bikes,
>>watch out for Hummer-driving halfwits with a baseless sense of
>>entitlement.
>
>
> What about the Hummer that passed me a few months ago with a mountain
> bike hanging off the back? He was surely on his way to the rugged
> inaccessable backcountry of Western New York to ride some sweet
> singletrack.

I drive so much to bike races it's quite absurd.

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

 

[Curtis L. Russell]

On Tue, 04 Oct 2005 21:32:42 -0400, John Forrest Tomlinson
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>I drive so much to bike races it's quite absurd.
>
>JT

Reminds me of a guy that showed up at a bike race (riding his bike)
and proceeded to rant about how he was almost killed by a motorist (he
was, BTW - I was in the car behind the car that almost hit him) and
how clueless about bicycles motorists were.

I decided it wasn't worth pointing out to him that the person that
almost hit him was a guy riding to bike race to race. Didn't need
someone looking for a fight.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

 

[Jim Flom]

"amakyonin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Tim Campbell wrote:
>> If you're on one of those new bikes,
>> watch out for Hummer-driving halfwits with a baseless sense of
>> entitlement.
>
> What about the Hummer that passed me a few months ago with a mountain
> bike hanging off the back? He was surely on his way to the rugged
> inaccessable backcountry of Western New York to ride some sweet
> singletrack.

And don't forget, he recycles his cans and bottles so he must be
environmentally aware.

Take the online test at
http://www.sierraclub.org/footprint/footprint.asp
and find out how big _your_ eco footprint is.

JF

--
http://spaces.msn.com/members/flomblog/

 

[Jim Flom]

"max" <[email protected]> wrote ...
>
> I use 1/3 the electricity, 3/5ths the natural gas, drive 1/12 the miles
> and get 35th percentile mileage when i do, 60% ride sharing, cook basic
> food from scratch, grain heavy, and have a small house, and ride a bike
> for almost all of my travel and it says i'm at the 140% footprint level
> for the US. I track this stuff, i keep tabs -- these are close-enuf for
> the purposes of this discussion numbers, not something i pulled out of
> my ass.
>
> Should i live in a mud hut with no plumbing, electricity or heat and eat
> grass?

Yes you probably should. You actually did a whole lot better than a bunch
of us would. The test does isolate just a few things -- good exercise
though.

JF

--
http://spaces.msn.com/members/flomblog/

 

[[email protected]]

Actually here in Europe they have bike racks for them... They are the
shape of a "A", and are pretty funny looking.
\
Travis

 

[Bill C]

Jim Flom wrote:
> "amakyonin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Tim Campbell wrote:
> >> If you're on one of those new bikes,
> >> watch out for Hummer-driving halfwits with a baseless sense of
> >> entitlement.
> >
> > What about the Hummer that passed me a few months ago with a mountain
> > bike hanging off the back? He was surely on his way to the rugged
> > inaccessable backcountry of Western New York to ride some sweet
> > singletrack.
>
> And don't forget, he recycles his cans and bottles so he must be
> environmentally aware.
>
> Take the online test at
> http://www.sierraclub.org/footprint/footprint.asp
> and find out how big _your_ eco footprint is.
>
> JF
>
> --
> http://spaces.msn.com/members/flomblog/
Don't know how they weight things, but I come up at 12acres, half the
US average without fudging. Riding a motorcycle IS a good thing;-)
Bill C