I wish I was a data guy. The (present and) future belong to data people. Data doesn’t lie, except when it’s made to. Data paints a clear picture, very little shading. It makes decisions easier to make.
Me? I love an anecdote. I love a story. And I’m sucker for the things I can see with my own eyes. Call me romantic. I just love all the information between the zero and the one.
So here’s my report on the state of bikes, based solely on what I am observing where I live (which is Greater Boston).
- Man, there are a lot of younger people on road bikes. They are of a new generation. Their kit looks weird to me. Their bike choices are a little disappointing. But by golly, they’re out there, and what a screaming relief that is.
- Young parents are moving their kids around by cargo bike. I see them every day and everywhere. They’re committed. The other day I went by the playground in the park by my house and there were five cargo bikes parked just inside the fence, kids everywhere. It just goes to show that people my age don’t have the market cornered on idealism, quite the opposite.
- Mountain bikers are less terrible than they used to be. Twenty years ago there were internecine struggles between hikers and bikers in the woods near my house, but those are mostly over. The mountain bikers aren’t leaving garbage behind. By-and-large they have become good stewards of the trails they ride. It’s dog walkers and their million festering poop bags that have become the scourge of the local, great outdoors.
- Bike shops are surviving. I talk to a lot of shop owners who feel under attack from the internet and their own suppliers, but the four shops within a short drive of my house are all still open. Are they thriving? Hard to say. But they’re still there, and that’s something.
- Drivers have accepted the infrastructure. The main road through my town was two lanes in both directions. At some point and in some places we took a car lane and added two bike lanes. People complained. They don’t anymore though, and the result is that the bike lanes are busy.
I think, again because I’m a romantic, that I leave in fear of having my heart broken, of this all going sideways, and the bikes and riders and the shops all disappearing in a puff of digital smoke, but if I’m honest with myself, and if I trust my own eyes, things are going pretty well, better than I ever would have expected actually.
On the downside, I see a lot of kids on ebikes or electric scooters. Ugh.
Dan, that is so true. I was out for a ride today with a friend and we were commenting on kids on ebikes, and not pedal-assist bikes, either. These throttle bikes are like old mini-bikes from years ago. They go 25mph and more. And loads of young kids are riding them without helmets. Kind of crazy. Not much exercise to be had on a throttle ebike. I also see a lot of kids on escooters, terrorizing old people on sidewalks. No helmets. Even less safe than throttle ebikes.
I understand parents getting their 12-year-old kids these things. No more having to give them rides places. But sure seems dangerous to me, not to mention doing nothing for kids’ health.
Now I’m the old guy shaking my fist at the clouds…
I see your point, but at the same time I revel in the contradiction in how most people lament the lack of independence kids have compared to when they grew up, then shake their heads when they see kids being independent.
Kids in the 70s and 80s ripped around on mini cycles and bikes without helmets. Adults frequently disapproved. The only difference now is nothing, really.
And ripping hard on a throttle bike gets the heart rate up, so it is actually exercise.
I forgot to mention that I agree on the electric scooters thing though. Those are lame, but still better than sitting on a couch playing video games.