Bicycling to beat the high cost of gas

I'd like to see Juliet Dragus ride a bike.

bikerchick wrote:

It sounds like there are a lot of excuses not to ride a bike. How about driving half way and then riding in the other half?? There are always options.

Holy cow! What a good idea! I never even thought of that. I have really been contemplating riding my bike to work since I can jump on the bike trail all the way to work. But it is 25 miles one way and I really don't know if I am physically fit enough at this moment to ride that far. BUT, my in-laws do live between home and work and I could drive to their house and then get on the bike and ride the rest of the way to work and vice versa. What a great idea, thank you!!

Alfred wrote:

I love riding my Jeep bike, but I'm afraid that if we get to may bikers our governor will tax us in some way. Maybe bike plates.

GOOD ONE! The sad thing is, you're probably right.

George5478 wrote:

I'd rather drive anyday...

Good for you. Don't complain about gas prices.

I would like to ride a bike to work but then I would have to rely on wzzm's weather people when it is going to rain. I guess since they are never right, I will just give my money to the oil junkies.

I bike to work when the weather is nice. My ride from home is 24 miles one way, but I usually park in Rockford to ride 13 miles. Grand Rapids is not a bike friendly city! The roads are terrible for riding a bike (even before this last winter), and good luck trying to find a bike rack to secure your steed. Maybe if the Mayor and City Manager would ride bikes to work instead of wasting gas in their city owned cars they might get it.

Now listen up, I am busy on the cell phone, eating my mcmuffin, sipping hot coffee, shaving and reading the news on my daily trip into town so you bikes keep off the road!!!!! Get on the sidewalk or shoulder. I pay $200.00 for my license to be on the road (and that's not even counting gas taxes for roads), how much does a bike pay? I'd run over you in my SUV and not even feel it. So just stay out of my way. You have been warned.

turdface,
Lol. Thanks for the warning. Don't spill your coffee.

turdface wrote:

Now listen up, I am busy on the cell phone, eating my mcmuffin, sipping hot coffee, shaving and reading the news on my daily trip into town so you bikes keep off the road!!!!! Get on the sidewalk or shoulder. I pay $200.00 for my license to be on the road (and that's not even counting gas taxes for roads), how much does a bike pay? I'd run over you in my SUV and not even feel it. So just stay out of my way. You have been warned.

lol

turdface wrote:

Get on the sidewalk or shoulder. I pay $200.00 for my license to be on the road (and that's not even counting gas taxes for roads), how much does a bike pay?

A very funny post. But on the serious side, that argument is often used against bicyclists. But the fact is that most bicyclists have cars and pay taxes, too. And just about every state vehicle code provides that bicyclists have the same right be on the streets as cars.

I exercise on a regular basis and ride my bike on a regular basis but seems I am a home hospice nurse and travel between 500-650 miles a week it's impossible for me to bike to work :(

In the Netherlands there is more bikes than cars and they do great there... BUT they also have a better terrain (it's FLAT there), more respect for bikers and high fines if you hit a biker. Unfortunately, no one around here cares.... I have seen people swerve and try to hit bikers ON PURPOSE!

I love my bike and do ride it elsewhere, but I often drive 6 other people to work, so biking is not an option for me.

boy this makes sense wrote:

In the Netherlands there is more bikes than cars and they do great there... BUT they also have a better terrain (it's FLAT there), more respect for bikers and high fines if you hit a biker. Unfortunately, no one around here cares.... I have seen people swerve and try to hit bikers ON PURPOSE!
I love my bike and do ride it elsewhere, but I often drive 6 other people to work, so biking is not an option for me.

Yrah I'm sure people swerve to hit bikers everyday, your a idiot,get a clue. Actually if you were on a bike I would probably try and hit you for being so dumb

I'm writing my state rep tomorrow.
it needs to be illegal for bikes to be on roads.
just because you put some silly spandex suit and a weird Helmut on doesn't mean you belong on the road.
then their are the real die hard bikers, even though their is a bike path right next to the road, they still ride two abreast on the road and ignore traffic signs, hold up traffic and are dangerous
and if they cause an accident they keep right on peddling away.
they ride on the road like it makes them some kind of man or something, a real man, i don't know but they all that attitudes like they are better.
and then they sue you if they get hurt.
if the anti smokers can do it and pass a law just because they don't like something than so can i

what wrote:

<quoted text>
Yrah I'm sure people swerve to hit bikers everyday, your a idiot,get a clue. Actually if you were on a bike I would probably try and hit you for being so dumb

yeah, I'm an idiot. At least I'm an idiot who can spell and use proper grammar.
Try a little harder. Get a life.
Ride your bike down Alpine Friday night, and try staying alive. Have fun with that. You are probably the one who was swerving to hit people because you seem to have some sort of problem stuck up your ***.

landrew wrote:

I'm writing my state rep tomorrow.
it needs to be illegal for bikes to be on roads.
just because you put some silly spandex suit and a weird Helmut on doesn't mean you belong on the road.
then their are the real die hard bikers, even though their is a bike path right next to the road, they still ride two abreast on the road and ignore traffic signs, hold up traffic and are dangerous
and if they cause an accident they keep right on peddling away.
they ride on the road like it makes them some kind of man or something, a real man, i don't know but they all that attitudes like they are better.
and then they sue you if they get hurt.
if the anti smokers can do it and pass a law just because they don't like something than so can i

Bikers have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicles on the road. If they are breaking traffic laws, they should be fined. The only exception I'd make is riding through a red light (after a complete stop) that only changes when triggered by the metal of a vehicle. Bikes are too small to trigger it.

In any case, it's too bad some bikers have to be morons, but I guess it happens. Some drivers are morons too. Please don't be one of those.

The weather isn't really conducive to bike-riding-maybe three or four months a year. It's going to really stink this winter when everyone's warming up their cars, or can't ride a bike.

mama knows wrote:

The weather isn't really conducive to bike-riding-maybe three or four months a year. It's going to really stink this winter when everyone's warming up their cars, or can't ride a bike.

Yeah, it is true that we can only ride our bikes a few months of the year. But at least it is the months that we spend the most money on summer-time fun. So the money I am saving by riding my bike will help pay for some of the fun summer stuff instead of going into the gas tank. Not to mention that my boys birthdays are back to back in July, August, and September.(Yes, poor planning on my part......or actually a lack of planning!!!LOL) So even if it is saving money for just a few months it is definitely better than nothing. And I am really lucky to have the Hart-Montague Bike Trail so that I don't have to ride on the road at all. Sounds like I might be a target for some people if I'm on the road!

-LMS- wrote:

<quoted text>
Yeah, it is true that we can only ride our bikes a few months of the year. But at least it is the months that we spend the most money on summer-time fun. So the money I am saving by riding my bike will help pay for some of the fun summer stuff instead of going into the gas tank. Not to mention that my boys birthdays are back to back in July, August, and September.(Yes, poor planning on my part......or actually a lack of planning!!!LOL) So even if it is saving money for just a few months it is definitely better than nothing. And I am really lucky to have the Hart-Montague Bike Trail so that I don't have to ride on the road at all. Sounds like I might be a target for some people if I'm on the road!

I know for a fact that people in cars are a danger to people on bikes. They act like they don't care if they run them off the road. Be careful out there(the mom in me has to say that!) I give you lots of credit for riding a bike!

boy this makes sense wrote:

In the Netherlands there is more bikes than cars and they do great there... BUT they also have a better terrain (it's FLAT there), more respect for bikers and high fines if you hit a biker. Unfortunately, no one around here cares.... I have seen people swerve and try to hit bikers ON PURPOSE!
I love my bike and do ride it elsewhere, but I often drive 6 other people to work, so biking is not an option for me.

Bikers in the Netherlands also obey the traffic laws, which helps create a certain amount of respect for the biker. Most of the bikes there are also not the multi-speed high performance bikes, but rather more rugged machines meant for transportation. I see far too many bikers here who demand that drivers respect them and then run stop signs and red lights. The highly visible minority of bikers that do that ruin the image of the law abiding bikers.