OT:Finally seeing a difference

[Cdub]

On my way to work today here in the land of BIG pick up trucks i noticed a couple things.
1. a man, who i view as someone that would normally drive a pick up riding a moped. ( I thought I would never see that) Imagine a 6ft plus individual with a hard hat on, dusty wrangler jeans, buck knife on the belt, work boots and cut off/no sleeves t-shirt with blue blockers on. And yes, he had a mullet. Honest truth!

2. A similar individual a few miles down the road riding what appeared to be an off the shelf 10 speed.

I wish I could ride to work, but i would most certainly be hit. No route I could take that would be safe.

it is amazing even down here in truck land, folks are doing what they can! Times are changing.

What are others seeing on their commutes

[aLexis]

But did his moped have a gun rack??

[gt6267a]

a co worker drives 40 miles to work every day. used to drive a pick up to work. then he bought a honda prelude to commute. now he is considering a scooter. this is a guy who has lived in the south his entire life. times are changing.

[CMY]

Seeing a few more bikes around the office and have noticed a few more people on my commuting route since I started last year.

[Ahneida Ride]

I see in the future needing dump truck full of frn for my next fillup ....

I leave momentarily and return to find the frn there and my dump truck stolen.

[BoulderGeek]

Funny thing about this whole situation, to me, seems that no one remembers the 70s.

I was growing up in the 70s, and very much remember long lines for gas, muscle cars giving way to Honda Civics and school education pushing conservation (and the metric system).

I personally detested the massive SUV trend, and secretly wished for higher prices like these to laugh at the fools driving 12MPG behemoths (and aggressively harassing cyclists and motorcyclists). I hope those people do get a chance to commute on two wheels and see what it is like.

It's all cyclical, and it comes around adn around. This is just another pass on the wheel.

My motorcycle gets 45MPG, I have fine bicycles to ride, and I actively seek telecommuting jobs. It's not all bad that the price of gas is reaching parity with its costs.

I'd rather be a "freedom-hating Eurosnob" like Saab, truth be told.

[shanerpvt]

But did his moped have a gun rack??

only south and/or west of san antonio.

:beer:
shaner

[ti_boi]

I used to double up on my buddy's moped in high school...we lived in KY....once we went into a diner like that...and put Cocaine By Eric Clapton on the juke box....one of the old guys told us to turn off that hippie crap....we laughed at him....and of course we both looked ridiculous on that yellow Motobecane moped. :rolleyes:

[kgreene10]

I recently began commuting to work and it's a harrowing experience. I have multiple tension-filled moments each way -- and I live in Austin where there are bikes everywhere.

I haven't noticed an up-tick in the number of bicycle commuters or moped users, but I try to avoid rush hour for obvious reasons. The heat is a bit of an impediment too, but since there are no students around in the summer, I don't have to look presentable. We'll see how long I last.

[Frank]

I took my daughter over to her spend a week with her mom and grandparents Sunday. I went over and drove back Sunday (we have made that same trip almost every other weekend for the past 6 years she has lived with me, usually meet them on Friday after work and meet again on Sunday to bring her home) and was amazed at the lack of vehicle traffic, first attributing it to continually rising gas prices then thinking maybe it was just the "between travel days" on the Memorial Day weekend.

I spoke with my across the street neighbor Tuesday after they got back from a weekend trip to Dallas and he remarked on how little traffic there was going down there Saturday and especially on the return trip Memorial Day Monday.

I know folks still have to drive to work, but it does appear as if the discretionary travel may have tapered off. Then again, maybe this weekend was just an isolated instance.

[znfdl]

There is definitely an increase in bike traffic going into and out of Washington DC. At one traffic light, we were stacked up 8 deep to get across the road.

[Tom]

and put Cocaine By Eric Clapton ...

J.J. Cale

Hmmm... you think I could talk High Command into letting me get a moped? I couldn't buy my sister's Indian when whe was selling it cheap but maybe this could work.

[LesMiner]

I recently returned from a business trip to China. Both Shanghai and Xiamen had very few motorbikes or bikes on the streets. So many cars and trucks that the air was thick with smog. The change is world wide. While we look for cheaper and in some cases non-motorized measn to commute, the Chinese are going the other way. Use to be a sea of bikes in China, not any more.

I have seen on my commute one guy on a touring bike partly loaded going down a major divided highway on the shoulder going towards the Twin Cites. I saw him a number of times during the winter. That's winter in Minnesota mostly above zero but alway below freezing (32 degrees). Made me feel guilty and at the same time totally afraid to take a bike on that highway during heavy traffic moving at 75 to 80 miles an hour. So what is the threshold to commuting by bike versus the dangers of traffic?

[Tom]

Oh, yeah, the other morning I came in by a route I don't normally take... and there was a guy on a MTB with slicks, bags, a huge taillight, three giant headlights all apparently powered by the dinner plate sized generator that was his front hub - this guy was clearly a veteran rider and I just wonder what he'd do on a full-on speed bike because he was maintaining a good 20-25 miles an hour.

[TimB]

I've noticed a few more bikes on my commute - not nearly what I'd expect or hope for, of course. A few more mopeds and scooters too. It's all good.

A few years back, my younger brother was working at Andrews AFB just south of DC and living in Newark, DE. His commute was 124 miles each way. He did this for close to 3 years. Nuts.

I have no sympathy for people complaining about high gas prices if they've chosen to live far from work...

[rwsaunders]

One of my co-workers just bought one of these. He's around 6'-6", 275# so it should be interesting to see how things work out.

http://www.zenncars.com

[cadence231]

Oh, yeah, the other morning I came in by a route I don't normally take... and there was a guy on a MTB with slicks, bags, a huge taillight, three giant headlights all apparently powered by the dinner plate sized generator that was his front hub - this guy was clearly a veteran rider and I just wonder what he'd do on a full-on speed bike because he was maintaining a good 20-25 miles an hour.

I'm in SW MO and I think I saw the same guy!

Commuting is alive and well here. :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Kevan]

Funny thing about this whole situation, to me, seems that no one remembers the 70s.

I was growing up in the 70s, and very much remember long lines for gas...


I remember those days, or should I say those odd and even days.

I like seeing the big SUV's parked at the edge of people's property with "For Sale" signs stuck in the window. Good luck with that!

[quaintjh]

Oh, yeah, the other morning I came in by a route I don't normally take... and there was a guy on a MTB with slicks, bags, a huge taillight, three giant headlights all apparently powered by the dinner plate sized generator that was his front hub - this guy was clearly a veteran rider and I just wonder what he'd do on a full-on speed bike because he was maintaining a good 20-25 miles an hour.

I passed that guy going the other way in Niskayuna yesterday morning! He waved nicely to me as I was on a bike as well. Clearly a fit fast old dude. Where'd you see him? He was on Rt 7 and turned on St Davids Lane.

[Tom]

I passed that guy going the other way in Niskayuna yesterday morning! He waved nicely to me as I was on a bike as well. Clearly a fit fast old dude. Where'd you see him? He was on Rt 7 and turned on St Davids Lane.

I saw him going by the airport... and then he caught and passed me on Albany Shaker down at the Everett Road light.

[quaintjh]

I saw him going by the airport... and then he caught and passed me on Albany Shaker down at the Everett Road light.

Looks like a fairly long commute. Good on him. I'm lucky as it is only 3 miles or so each way. I can make it as quickly on a bike as in a car--more so often.

[PaulE]

On my way to work today here in the land of BIG pick up trucks i noticed a couple things.
1. a man, who i view as someone that would normally drive a pick up riding a moped. ( I thought I would never see that) Imagine a 6ft plus individual with a hard hat on, dusty wrangler jeans, buck knife on the belt, work boots and cut off/no sleeves t-shirt with blue blockers on. And yes, he had a mullet. Honest truth!

What are others seeing on their commutes

I haven't seen much change around here yet, although I am thinking I will soon walk to the local bus stop for my commute into NYC from NJ rather than drive 20 miles to a park and ride with a more convenient schedule and more reliable buses.

Around here the only people I ever see driving with blue blockers are the very senior citizens who should no longer be driving. My son is doing some volunteer work for the local police and I told him to tell the police that wearing blue blockers while driving should be grounds for immediate revocation of your driver's license. The cops laughed and agreed.

I remember those days, or should I say those odd and even days.

I like seeing the big SUV's parked at the edge of people's property with "For Sale" signs stuck in the window. Good luck with that!


The odd and even days were my first summer of driving. My bugeye Sprite went a long way on its 6.5 gallon gas tank - almost 7 if you filled up the neck as well.

If you want to buy that SUV with the for sale sign, here is how to calculate the price to offer:

Find the lowest kelly blue book wholesale or trade-in price or whatever and deduct the amount based on this formula:

Expected number of years of ownership X average miles driven per year divided by (MPG of the car you should be driving minus MPG of the SUV you're trying to buy) X average price per gallon of gas you expect to pay over your period of ownership.

The formula doesn't account for the cost of stares you will get from drivers of more fuel efficient cars, or the extra expense for bigger tires and other maintenance items.

[gone]

While taking a 15 minute break at a local coffee shop I counted 22 suburbans go by with 1 person inside.
My neighbors (dentists) still drive separately to their practice 3/4 miles away.
Haven't noticed any less traffic on the roads.
Still seeing lots of Tankosaurus class (Hummer, Suburban, Yukon XL, Escalade, etc) vehicles with new vehicle plates on them. Now that's optimism!
Had a flat by the local middle school just before school was about to get out. I was so struck by the number of Tankosauri that I counted. Out of a total of 132 vehicles, 103 were Tankosaurus class.
The local drag strip (high school) parking lot is still jam packed with $50k pickups.
My neighbor that "needed" the biggest truck Dodge sells so he could go fishing (doesn't own a boat) still hasn't gone once 3 years after buying it.

So as near as I can tell, no change at all.

[thejen12]

ghsmith54,

Just curious, where is "here"?

In my office, one person started taking the bus, one started doing the bike/train thing, two people have come and asked me about buying a new bike to commute on, and one is on the waiting list for a Tesla electric car. People who drive report that the freeway drivers have slowed down, one friend even reports that she, herself, now drives more slowly on the freeway to save gas (not below the speed limit, though).

Jenn

[gone]

ghsmith54,

Just curious, where is "here"?

Jenn

The Texas hill country. In a triangle between San Antonio, Austin and Fredericksburg.

[Louis]

Just wondering, in a typical week how many gallons of gas do you use commuting? I drive almost exactly 35 miles each way and my Integra gets a bit above 35 mpg. (No commuting by bike) So for me it works out to be

5 days / week x 2 times/day x 35 mi / 35 mpg = 10 gallons of gas / week

Louis