What is Digg?89 Comments
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -4/+86I bet 'feet' have a decided edge over bicycles as well.
- Rhapsodys, on 10/11/2007, -2/+56pshhh, bikes are for people with places to go.
- AwesomeMonster, on 10/11/2007, -4/+50I rode my bike today! I'm part of the movement! hooray!
- wonderchemist, on 10/11/2007, -2/+40An average of 42,000 Americans are killed in auto accidents each year.
- tidu, on 10/11/2007, -4/+37I'm all for bikes, except for the fact that it could take you a few more hours to get to work...
- disconnec, on 10/11/2007, -8/+41whatever, drinking & riding is awesome.
- pogfreak, on 10/11/2007, -7/+39***** helmets - I'm a big boy and don't need you calling for my murder if I choose to not wear one!
- chingy1788, on 10/11/2007, -11/+41If you consider the benefits of riding a bicycle...
- its cheap
- its easy to ride
- you don't need a license
- keeps you in shape
Then Bikes are a great choice
Just remember
- Always wear a helmet (if you don't you are a complete idiot who should be shot)
- Follow Road Rules if you rid on the road
- Don't Drink and Ride - imikedaman, on 10/11/2007, -4/+33"Correct me if I'm wrong but 4,000,000 is a ***** of car."
I'll correct you, but not for the reason you're expecting: 400 million is 400,000,000. - Renton, on 10/11/2007, -7/+35Don't forget the cons
-slower than a car
-you get real hot in the summer
-many city streets don't have bike lanes
-don't have a trunk to put heavy objects/bags in
-no passenger seats
-can't access the highway
-the seat isn't too friendly - ninja458, on 10/11/2007, -3/+25"Don't Drink and Ride"
Well it depends on what you are drinking, because with out water on a long ride you can get pretty thirsty and dehydrated! so remember kids Do Drink and Ride! - wheezl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+18You'd also be very famous and wealthy.
- chrisbosh123, on 10/11/2007, -1/+19actully its 400,000,000 but anyhow, a billion of those bikes are in china (seirously) there are lanes for bikes on the road... everyone in china
- ButterBuddha, on 10/11/2007, -7/+23I'm too fat to ride a friggin bike..last time I did, it felt like my balls were about to die from the lack of circulation...
- arjie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14One more advantage! No fuel bills.
- betterth, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13400 Million is way to low.
That picture says there are 785 cars per 1000 people in America, meaning that of our 300,000,000 there are 235,500,000 million cars in the US alone. Japan would make another 60m, Germany 40m, meaning that these three countries are responsible for 330/400m of the worlds cars? I think not. That number is way to low and totally out of line with their own statistics.
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/MarinaStasenko.shtml This site says 600m in service. - Sneakernets, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11I can't ride a bike to where I go, because I live where bikes weren't needed, and all there was were small mining towns and railroads. so no bicycle-friendly roads. We won't ever get them, either. the county can't even fix a pothole in the road.
Car for me. :( - Misogyny, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10I used to work in a bike shop. One of the most common upgrades we did to new bikes was exchanging the factory seat for ones with three times the surface area and massive springs, and or shock absorbing seat-posts. A few times we actually went to the hardware store for lawn-tractor seats if you can believe it... Most if these people had three or four DWIs and simply couldn't legally (or afford to) drive anymore. Biking was a last resort.
- Mapeki, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10It would be horribly awkward and they probably wouldn't ever be able to steer it. I'm done imagining.
- ICSU, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11stop living like a pig
- DeFex, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10yes get sheeple to come in to your gym and charge them to make power for you.
- nymphetamine, on 10/11/2007, -2/+11Ride a Big Wheel instead.
- ATLien, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8I bike commute a good bit! I wish more people would. It makes the morning commute pretty peaceful, no traffic, and the wind in your face.
- isntreal, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8consider that one out of 15 (Necessary) trips you make is actually to the grocery store, and at that point you could spend just as much as you do on groceries on gas + insurance and speeding tickets.... as it turns out, you could be healthier while taking a cab while not being a fat ass. Plus exercise is a natural anti-depressant.
- Comatose51, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7@renton: For short trips bikes are great. I commute to work most days of the week. It only adds 10 minutes to my commute each way and I burn an extra 700 calories. During the summer it is hot but you have to remember that you sweat and riding a bike generates a steady breeze. I used to live in Dallas and riding a bike in the summer is fine. You only have a problem when you go the distance and it's not the heat but hydration that becomes a problem as your body sweats.
The Dutch have really taken this form of transportation to a new level. My friends and I visited nearly every major city in North Holland on bikes. The Dutch regularly travel around on bikes for short trips. - highlyirritable, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8I love the bicycle, though I have allowed myself to become quite pudgy in recent years. I remember an article in bicycling magazine several years ago that spoke of bicycling in economic terms:
The human body is more efficient than a cheetah or a salmon
If one converts calories to gallons of fuel the human body gets about 3000 miles to the gallon
The list went on, but the problem, as I have stated in other posts, is that most of the US is not bicycle friendly. Many of our roads are marked with "Motor Vehicle Only" signs and if not many are far too dangerous to ride.
It took me almost 2 weeks to figure out a way to get from my home to my place of work at the time I was riding heavily, about 21 miles by car, without attempting to ride the white line of death. I also recall at that time a Dallas radio DJ recommending throwing D cell batteries at cyclists. Even on back roads when riding for ***** and giggles I was run off the road, spit on, had things thrown at me, frightened to the point of ***** myself when some clown would creep up on my wheel and blast their horn.
Not to mention a rash of towns pulling funding for cycling lanes when people sued because they ran over a plywood hole cover and it broke, they don't want the liability. Even in cities like NY and Chicago which have a metric ton of cyclists, you have motorists starting fights with them. I'm not going to let the cyclists off the hook either...
The douche bags who sued over the plywood hole covering should be shot along with the bitch who decided her crotch was the perfect cup holder for a boiling hot beverage. Riding on the wrong side of the road (always with traffic) riding in the wrong direction on one way streets, blowing stop signs and red lights... the list of transgressions goes on and on. - crashflow, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6it would also sell poorly because cheetahs don't have disposable incomes. Plus the savannah doesn't have bike lanes. and trust me, you don't want to get behind a bull elephant in musk on the way to work. It'll stink for days.
- edebolt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I live in Thailand and visit China, Vietnam, Malaysia frequently and the bicycle is declining rapidly. If a person has no money then they ride a bicycle. If they have any money at all then they buy a motorbike and if they can afford a car then the buy it even if it means just sitting in traffic.
Owning a car has a lot of benefits for them.
1) Huge increase in their status. Appearances are far more important in Asia as western countries.
2) Protection from rain, sun, pollution, petty theft, minor accidents.
3) They are able to haul their family and all sorts of things at once.
I am a major bicycle proponent but cannot see them growing at all. I think its better to focus on something like electric scooters and efficient cars for growth. - Comatose51, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I feel your pain man. It's not so much the road but driver attitude that poses as a hazard to cyclists. I used to live in Dallas and it wasn't the most cyclist friendly place in the world (even though that's where Lance Armstrong was originally from -- Plano to be exact). I moved to Silicon Valley partly because of that. There are bike lanes every where.
Cycling in the Netherlands takes the cake for sure. That country is so bike friendly. Seeing blonde Dutch girl fly by on a bicycle with her hair flying back is a sight to behold. It's a little more difficult to make happen here in the US simply because, like in your situation, everything is so spread out. Density is needed for cycling to be appealing as a form of transportation. - SeaOverflowing, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Riding bicycle in summer weekends is fun...
- dmclone, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7Don't think for a minute that these people in places like China are riding bikes to save the planet, make a statement, stay healthy, etc
If they had cheap gas prices, 50K miles of Highways, disposable income, parking, etc....they would be driving cars too. If you notice, people that come to the U.S. from other countries tend to also drive cars. - dirtkahuna, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I get a a buzz riding my bike. Call it "runners high" or whatever, but you can't buy drugs that make you feel as good.
- OdinEye, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4The road would have to be pretty frakkin' rough not to be "bike friendly". When I was younger we rode everywhere - gravel and dirt roads included, on bikes that were not specifically designed for "off-road" use.
One of the beauty parts of traveling on a bike is that it's pretty easy to avoid potholes - you can see them coming and have the time and handling responsiveness to avoid them. - Comatose51, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Cycling will help you burn away those fats, if that's what you want. Professional cyclists have among the lowest percentage of fat of all athletes. IIRC, they average 6% body fat. It is also really good for your heart because it is highly aerobic and also non-impact.
Padded shorts and a better bike seat can help with the circulation problem. - swordphish, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5We should harness the power of the bicycle by using them to generate electricity somehow.
- tmyprod, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I'm proud to be one of the 1.4 billion. Go moderately bicycle friendly Seattle.
- OdinEye, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4@ Renton
I take most of your points, but there are multiple options for carrying things on a bike - backpacks, saddlebags, trailers. You won't be towing a boat, but you can certainly get a load of groceries home. - psychohistorian, on 10/11/2007, -0/+410 years ago I visited China (Shenzhen) and it was like how they described: everywhere full of bicycles. I revisited Shenzhen again last month and bicycles have been replaced by cars and trucks, and highway/flyovers are everywhere.
- upsilonh24, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4/////i think its stupid to think that the most popular vehicle is the bike just cause theres more of them out there. sure, quantity wise they may be ahead, but cars are built for more than 1 person./////
Karl Pilkington! Get out of this body! - PsychoticClown, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7The Ford F150 is more popular than the Bugatti Veyron.
"Popular" is just another word for "affordable". - chingy1788, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6hmmm
1 Billion people from China, 500M Riders
and there are 35K deaths
Then you look at America, (I'm not sure on the figures since I don't live in America) there are about 400Million people?
ehh, 400Million cars around anyways (world Wide)
and there are 42K deaths
seems to me that the Bicycle is a safer way to get around
though not the best for traveling long distances, its good for close areas, places with many small roads as well - 2Deluxe, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5*cough*. Retard alert.
- DeFex, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3probably the most efficient machine ever made.
imagine if they made a bicycle for cheetahs! - yokel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4A part of that statistic shows largest bus fleet owned is by Andhra Pradesh State Road corporation, India. I am proud to be from that place. When I first arrived in US, I was surprised by the lack of public transportation as I was quite used to riding a bus wherever I wanted to go--close or far!!
- betterth, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3@chingy1788
Wha?! I think you're on to something!
A method of transportation that goes significantly slower is safer than one that goes significantly faster?! What a notion!
The point is, I can't ride my bike to work. It's fifteen miles away. I don't have that kind of time to waste in my day riding a bike down the interstate. - Comatose51, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Yeah there're some cyclists who make the rest of us look bad. I don't think it's intentional because a lot of those people aren't serious cyclists but simply people who have bikes and know how to ride one. Most cyclists are very good about traffic laws because that's about the only thing that keeps us safe on the road. It would be nice if:
1. Training and education about bicycle safety was made more common.
2. Drivers are taught how to be more bike friendly.
It can be done but it will take determination and effort. Even in a city as bike friendly as Palo Alto, I end up in situations that are difficult for bikes to navigate simply because there's only one bike lane and more than one direction you can turn so I end up with disjoint bike lanes. To be fair, the drivers here are very accommodating and they are more cautious around cyclists than they would be around other cars. Simply having drivers with that kind of attitude makes a lot of difference in bicycle safety. - captainzerocool, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I live close to a highway that has minimum speed limits. If I could do 40mph up a mountain I would use a bicycle more often.
- vornan19, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4jklyon
Many people in the other countries than the US buy groceries daily. Like enough to put in one sack or backpack. This =fresh dinner! - antifolkhero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Really? In the whole wide word?
- dirtkahuna, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3@ Comatose51:
I work as an I.T. manager. I ride my bike over 100 miles each week from April to November. Your point is proven. -
Show 51 - 88 of 88 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is 