We don’t need electric cars. We don’t need self-driving cars. We don’t need a nationwide energy grid. We need bike lanes. Will it take change? Yes. Both attitude and infrastructure. I have no hope that this will happen, but hear me out. This is Plan B. It’s not Plan A. It should be Plan A, but again, I’m a realist. When I mention bike lanes here in America most of what I hear is excuses, anger, rage, ignorance and impossibility. We seem to much prefer the promises of tech billionaires. And we are lazy, overweight and spoiled by things like subsidized gasoline. (Yes, America, we have subsidized gas.) We love sprawl. We love the commute. We love traffic and smog. And we love high parking rates. I say “we love it,” because we are not only accepting of these things, we are doubling down on them. At least some of us.
But maybe there is a middle ground. Just maybe. Again, I’ve felt from childhood that our species was destined to destroy ourselves, and nothing I see today has me thinking otherwise, but we might be able to postpone our demise. Is this a “deck chairs on the Titanic” moment, sure, but it is fun to ponder the possibility. Think two wheels, but go ahead and add in a motor. Yes, a motor. I know what you green types are thinking. Don’t get your biodegradable panties in a wad quite yet. Yes, I’m talking motorcycles, gas powered to be specific.
I just bought a three thousand dollar motorcycle that gets 100mpg.
Okay, just to play it safe, I’ll say 75mpg. I know it’s higher but I know some of you are professional skeptics. That’s okay. Think about that. Three grand and seventy five miles to the gallon. Some folks are getting even higher MPG, but I live at 7,000 feet, so the bike is working a bit harder here. The vast majority of vehicle trips in the United States are less than five miles. According to the National Household Travel Survey, about 40% of car trips are two miles or less. This, along with the fact that nearly 30% of trips are one mile or less and 50% are three miles or less, shows how much daily travel can be easily walked or biked, or moto’d. No massive battery for the landfill, no rare Earth metals. No scams at the dealership. Not needed. Just 1983 technology, thank you.
I know some of you hate bicycles. I know some of you are afraid of riding bicycles on city streets, and rightly so. I know some of you are country dwellers. I know some of you have never ridden a motorcycle. But this little idea would have legs in a semi-sane world. Just give it a chance. Imagine never having to ride above 30mph. Imagine the road filled with scooters, small motos and cargo trikes. Heck, just think of any other region of the world and you can begin to see the opportunity. (Most other countries have been doing this forever because many folks can’t afford a car.)
Riding motorcycles is dangerous. It is. But for many of us, there are ways of doing it that reduce the risk. Driving your car is dangerous too, and statistically speaking, a great way to die. Tens of thousands of us prove this very fact every single year. What we are doing now isn’t working or getting better. Electric cars and self-driving cars are NOT the answer. Bicycles should be but most likely aren’t. So maybe, just maybe, there is a mechanical middle ground we need to contemplate. Oil and gas and the auto lobby, two of the most powerful lobbying groups in world history, will not like this idea one bit. They will fight tooth and nail to own your mind and body while keeping you in the largest vehicle possible. They will claim shortages to drive up your fuel cost. They will spin misinformation campaigns to keep you thinking there is no other way.
One last thing. Riding motorcycles is FUN. Far more so than driving a car. And the parking is simple and easy no matter where you are going. You can easily hold enough to hit the grocery, the library or the mall, and they seat at least two. Okay, one last, last thing. I have a friend here in town who saw me on the motorcycle and said “No way I would ever ride a motorcycle, too dangerous.” This person has a $13,000 E-bike that is far quicker than my motorcycle. Two days ago, I saw this same person run a red light on his E-bike doing at least thirty miles per hour with no helmet.(His bike does 37mph.) Tell me how this makes sense. But tell me this doesn’t scream modern America.
PS: Electric motorcycles are on their way, but unless you live in the city they aren’t much use. And, you are still purchasing much of your electricity from coal powered plants. Not to mention, these bikes are often two to three times the price, come with dodgy warranties and are almost immediately out of date. And they are far too fast for the vast majority of people who think they are a good idea.
Comments 36
Maybe if motorcycles could actually feature mufflers I might be able to get behind this proposition. Until then, the fewer of these noise-polluting devices on the road, the better.
Author
You need to learn more about motorcycles. You are speaking about ONE kind of motorcycle. I just had to purchase a new pipe for mine because it was TOO quiet. People kept walking out in front of me, like they used to do with my Prius. This Honda is far quieter than your car.
e-bikes are becoming very popular here. The law is that you have to wear a helmet when biking, but many don’t. Many of the bike lanes are not well designed, but it is a work in progress. e-bike battery fires are becoming a thing, and they are also frequently stolen. The city where I live also has an e-bike bike-share program, which seems to be working, but I see many helmet-less riders, as helmets are not part of the program. Our city is built on a mountain side, so you can also attach your bike to the front of the bus for part of your ride. Several of the young people where I work have e-bikes with a trailer for their little kids, and they ride the kids to daycare, and then ride to work. I am lucky to live walking distance from work. Most of my driving is to take my elderly mother places, or Costco. One of the big problems I see with bicycle riders is that many have never driven a car, and have no idea of the limits of a car’s brakes. They are unaware of the rules of the road, as no license or insurance is required, and many have no awareness of pedestrians, or that pedestrians have the right of way. I worked briefly as a school crossing guard, and my giant red stop sign waving at them meant nothing as they sped through the school zone, unaware of children in the crosswalk, or the danger of me bludgeoning them with my sign. (Plenty of bad drivers, too.) We have to get a boating license here to operate a boat. I think a bicycle license, where they are required to take the same written test that a new driver or motorcyclist is required to take to get a Learner’s License would be a good thing for everyone’s safety. Also, mandatory yearly testing of drivers over 80, including a basic dementia test.
Author
I see people take crazy chances on E-bikes on a daily basis. On the street and on the dirt. I see people with little bike handling skill doing 30 on gravel trails with no helmet. A small test, hypothetically, would be great, but that alone is enough to keep so many fragile people off of bikes.
I have learned a lot about reconfiguring cities to instal more bike lanes. Oddly enough the site I go to most ofter is a YouTube channel called Shifter_Cycling, a Canadian guy that explains how it benefits local businesses. Also the whole Blue Zones thing that is right up this alley. Also it would make people healthier.
Author
Every city that installs real lanes benefits financially, but you need politicians who aren’t bought and paid for, and in the US, that is hard to find.
My dream is a Honda Hunter CT 125… Dan, I will not write a long story here but hopefully one day we can meet. Enjoy.
Author
Cool name…
Here’s a funny story about my motorcycle training…I went to a class because i was dead set on getting a Triumph Bonneville Bobber. Well, two hours into the class and the motorcycle took off flying, fell over, and landed on top of me. My knees are still screwed up from it. It’s hilarious to me now, though. Now I’m scared to death to get back on the saddle.
Author
Ah, get back on. We all crash at some point. Same for cars, bikes, skateboards, etc.
Bicycles are in the way. GET OUTTA My way!!
Author
Yes, and remember, cyclists are responsible for ALL traffic.
Rode my bike for 37 years to school and work. Totalling approx. 185000km for now. I will not save the planet with it. 8 billion people will never resist car ownership when they have free choice. It’s all to exceptionally engineered and makes us the laziest species on earth. Dan adds self-destruction. I second that. We are self-destructive. Because we always choose the path of low resistance yielding in the outmost wreckage you can ever imagine. On top of that we chose the most self-destructive economic and social system: capitalism. It’s eat or be eaten. Ever imagine saving the world from climate change disaster with that.
Author
Man, that is quite the “body count.” 185k. Astounding. But knowing you, to be expected. We prefer Christianity and Capitalism here. Both assuring us of continued bad decisions.
Amusingly I have come to this realisation not long ago, and am starting the process of getting a bike licence in my 40s.
Author
There you go!
I rode a Raleigh Lenton when I was a kid. That was during the 50s, and it made sense.
Today, there are infinitely more things called cars, buses and trucks. Cycles no longer make sense; Mallorca has sold its soul to bikes and those mad people who ignore all the norms of traffic control and are blind to cycle lanes. They think they own the island because they can strut in lycra. Instead, they look absurd. The men are bad enough, but some of their women… cover your child’s eyes. I blame Elvis and his rolled up sock(s). (Incidentally, does anyone know why so many cyclists are colour blind to red?)
They can, to an extent, be forgiven their arrogance because the local politicians bend over backwards to close roads for them whenever they feel like it, so that these guys can make like Tour de France heroes as they fly ahead, eyes focussed on the bum in front, imaginary glittering prizes in their brains. Iron Man. Every year. That’s obviously worth making any old driver miss his hospital appointment, airport-bound holiday maker his homeward flight; close the road, a convoy of bikes is coming soon to a quiet town near you and you know, you just know, that God is on their side.
Worse, you are now obliged to give them a metre-and-a-half of room when – or if – you pass. On the tight rural roads they love, this forces you across the white line into oncoming traffic or, should you prefer to play legal, their pace from here to eternity. I lied, that’s not the worst: the worst is that they pay zilch towards the upkeep of the roads. Salt in the friggin’ wound.
There is, of course, a perfectly fine solution: build them a circuit long enough and bendy enough to be interesting, and have them pay to use it, whilst banning all riders in lycra from public roads. Clad like clowns, they are obviously not using said roads for normal transportation purposes, which would be reasonable. The space for such a circuit exists; they bring enough money to the tourism businesses on the island to finance such a venture. Imagine: a Nürburgring for cyclists!
But, just as illegal villa and apartment renting goes on right under the noses of the various police and Guardia Civil officers, why would cycling be treated any more strictly? Money rules, as it has always done, and especially so when the bulk of it, and we are talking billions, goes into a relatively small number of pockets. So much so, that the lowly-paid seasonal staff upon whom so much of the hospitality business depends, can no longer afford to rent in the very towns where they once found their seasonal work. No wonder bars and restaurants find themselves short-staffed and old concepts such as communism are resurfacing…
Author
Again, this is such a silly argument. Your distaste of lycra. Cycles does make sense. Not always and not everywhere but there is far too much data to say otherwise.
FYI, Rob, bike lanes are not required to be used by cyclists. It’s their choice whether or not they use them. Cyclists have all the road privileges of any other road vehicle except for using controlled access freeways. Bicycle lanes are there to help casual cyclists feel safe from automobiles, NOT to get them out of the way of drivers.
If a cyclist is “in the way” had you considered slowing down? Lorries also use those roads slowly….where’s your complaint about them? Cyclists are encouraged to use ALL of the road when there is not room for a cyclist + 1.5m + vehicle.
You don’t like Lycra….but i’ve noticed your clothing choices lately, and I have to say I object. Please rethink your wardrobe.
Cyclists contribute to roads and infrastructure just like anyone that pays income tax or sales tax. If you think your local roads are 100% paid for by your fuel tax, I dare you to find anywhere in the world this is true, and try to drive those roads. Your fuel tax doesn’t even offset the environmental costs, and to those cycling adds nothing.
And it’s rich that you’re also pointing out the ownership/rental of vacation properties by foreigners using up the housing stock. You’re a foreigner there too, aren’t you? Did that door close just after you got there?
But maybe a dedicated bicycle track would be a good idea. Some houses will of course have to be torn down. I thing the start/finish line where your home sits looks great. And maybe some of those races could be held on Raleigh Lentons… those were the bikes that really made sense
Author
Based on what I’ve seen elsewhere, dedicated lanes work well. Once people feel safe they are more likely to give it a go.
I’m often curious how far the average person walks to their actual destination once they exit the transit in a metro area that has what is considered “good” mass transit. If the average is a block or 2, why can’t every 2nd or third street be transit only? I know many cities have a stretch of a few blocks where this is the case on a single street, I also wonder how valid the idea behind the articulated busses is vs. the slightly smaller footprint (wheelbase and width) double-deckers in parts of Europe. The articulated busses are always hanging their butts out into the intersections. I think the basic idea is more riders with the same emissions.
You can lump me in with those who are generally “afraid” to ride in traffic. Up until my mid-twenties I didn’t give a S—, but age/wisdom/fear of injury have won over. I would need to load up one of my cars and drive about 30 minutes to have an enjoyable (to me) bike ride.
Author
And that’s not good. Anytime you have to use a car to use a bike you realize just how far your community has to go.
Hello everybody , I live in Geneva Switzerland, bicycles are my main vehicles for 25 years now.I ride an average of 5550 Km (3400 miles) a year.I use en E bike to commute from home to my job (20 km every working day ) and for the shopping (I have two bike bags). And I have a gravel bike for the leisure. Here we have a lot of bike lanes in the city as in the surroundings.
I think that one of the main problem actually in our “developed countries” , is that we don’t think on the REAL ENERGY costs.
Author
Throw in healthcare cost due to vehicles, energy costs, infrastructure, and the number is STAGGERING. But we swat all this away here in America because our educational level is astoundingly bad.
Danielsan
I love it…Everything said above, can be true. Few people will ever understand the capabilities (or limitations) of their motorcycle. Fewer yet, will acquire the skill needed to handle situations requiring the “reactive-response” necessary for differing levels of control. Riding also forces a “situational awareness” not always shared with driving. Probably because, one has a roll-cage – one doesn’t…And that’s a thought…but not a guarantee.
Author
I think the same applies to bikes. You feel more and certainly are part of the landscape more when you have no cage. It’s a blast, and scary at times.
I recently visited Vietnam (HCM City to be specific) and there you will find almost 7 million people on motor scooters going about their business. It puzzled me for a while how it all worked without there being mass casualties on a daily basis. Someone told me it’s because everyone takes it easy. Sure, there are places were they really hoon, but in the city they all seem to know that giving each other space is the way. It just seems to work.
Author
Imagine that with cars and you have Bangkok. Arguably the worst traffic in the world.
Just returned from a trip through Switzerland and Paris.The number of people riding bikes was astounding! I even saw a man in a suit riding, I’m assuming, to work. We could learn a thing or two from that mindset!
Author
In Amsterdam, people are dressed to the nine’s and just ripping along. The women look like paintings.
In Amsterdam, nobody considers themselves to be a cyclist. It’s basic transport. It’s the family car.
I’d like to stash my wheels on the edge of town, only to be pulled out when I need to go further out of town.
Today I went to the dentist via regional rail and subway. 100 mile roundtrip. No car involved. Felt great….even caught a nice nap on the train. Nice 10 minute walk from the train station. We should all be so lucky.
Author
Better be careful. Talk that way here in Merica and get deported for being a communist.
Too late. Ive already self-deported
Author
You are ahead of the curve.
Neat trick in the Netherlands: the bike lanes are wide for TWO reasons — for bikes, sure. But also so that emergency vehicles can bypass the rest of the motor traffic. The one case, for America, where I support the usually-rock-brained strategy of adding more lanes to roads.
Author
We love sprawl.