Bikes Help L.A. Commuters Get Around Gas Prices

High gasoline prices are fueling bicycle sales, and on some days Michael Hall's blood pressure.

At least three times a week, Hall pedals to his job in Hollywood from his home in northern Glendale, a 25-mile round-trip commute that is faster on two wheels than four.

"It's definitely saving me money, but may be taking years off my life due to the fact that it's a terrifying experience," said Hall, a 46-year-old television editor. The problems, he said, include the cellphone-using, "coffee-drinking, shaving, makeup-putting-on person who's not paying attention" and the furious motorists who swear at him if he slows them down "for a nanosecond."

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Comments

[Wilburrr]

It is 2 miles to Home Depot, where I need to get an item for $1.50. The corner Ace sells the same item for $2.10. With a 4 mile round trip, and a car that gets 20 mpg, it would cost me 82 cents to make the round trip to Home Depot, so I save $ and greenhouse gases by going to the 'more expensive' corner Ace hardware.

[Wilburrr]

The Ventura Freeway should be closed to motorized traffic one day a week....

[MajorKong]

I've starting using my bike for small errands where I don't really need the car. Plus I needed to get out and ride anyway.

[rivrgrrl]

Interesting. Our local paper did a story today on the same thing here in Mpls; bike sales are up, people are riding to work and to run errands more and outfitting their bikes with carriers, fenders, etc.

And earlier today I was speaking to someone who just returned from a vacation in Denmark and she was talking about all the bikes and riders. She said they have large bike paths that go everywhere and have stoplights on them, smaller versions of the regular auto stoplights. As with all roses, the thorn is that there are so many bike riders that there are even bike rush hours; one in the morning before work and one in the afternoon after work.

Then again, even their cars average 42 miles per gallon.......anyone else get the feeling the rest of the world is passing us by?

[leduck]

the beauty of Peak Oil
if there is any
is that people will be forced to walk
and ride bikes more
leading to healthier bodies

if we can only ditch processed foods
then we'd really be talking

there's a reason why Okinawa have the highest percentage of centenarians
even the Swiss who eat a lot of sausage and cheese are better off
but they have to walk up hill a lot

yep
here's to a more healthy future
if we survive the depletion wars

[KillTheMessenger]

Trying to save money is the worst imaginable reason to ride a bike. I doubt that after factoring in the real costs bike riding can even compete with a hybrid vehicle. But riding in L.A. smog seems just a ridiculous trade-off. I sometimes ride next to traffic and I can literally feel my health deteriorate because of the CO, NO and hydrocarbons I inhale. Especially CO emissions knock the punch out of you really quickly and the effect lasts for hours. Of course, there should be no CO emissions from modern cars, but that is wishful thinking because there are so many vehicles our there which are not even close to satisfying our zero emissions standards.

[wadenelson1]

A car with a working catalytic converter system puts out negligible CO. It's the klunkers on the road that are responsible for 99.9% of urban CO -- along with lawnmowers, motorcycles, and other unregulated small engines.

A ULEV vehicle, with very advanced cat converter(s) puts out air cleaner than what goes into it if you live in a smoggy place like LA. You'd have a hard time killing yourself even breathing directly from the tailpipe.

We have the technology....

[leduck]

in time they'll be fewer drivers and more riders
cleaner air at some point
and in the long run healthier people

[KillTheMessenger]

We have 150 million cars in this country. I doubt there are nearly as many bikes in working condition. Not to mention that the worst polluters are diesel trucks and there are no catalytic converters for those in use... as of yet. It does not matter that you put them on all cars. When a single diesel truck drives by, you get enough CO into your system to wipe out a sizable part of your blood's oxygen transport capacity. You take a hundred deep breaths next to the exhaust of a truck and you won't ride for the next day or two. You might actually need oxygen.

Last time I was climbing stairs in the station next to the diesel locomotive of the train I am taking when the engineer pushed the accelerator really hard. I was inside the plume for a few seconds and I took one deep breadth. Big mistake. I could feel the CO in my system for the next four hours. I didn't know CO poisoning was that bad. Now I do know and I avoid breathing in that diesel exhaust as much as I can.

We will clean up the air of this planet. But it won't happen until approx. 2050 at the pace we are going. And bikes, as sad as I am about that, will not make any appreciable difference.

[gramos]

I just hope that if gas prices goes down, which i doubt. the bikes won't be another museum item in their garage.

[Chicago48]

Good for LA. Bike riding & sales have taken off in Chicago. I was at the bike shop over the weekend and it was packed. Great! we're getting exercise. Maybe those motorists should join him.