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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters bike once a week (to the store, to work, to the bar...one way), in a year we'll save enough gas to drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina 92 times roundtrip.
COCKTAIL FACT
BUI? In February, a TN woman was arrested for biking under the influence - on a stationary bike at her gym.
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home › tip library › Bikes
If our old tip on granola could drive, what would be its vehicle of choice?
The Bite
A bike. When we started The Bite, we said there were certain tips that, while good for the earth, were just too crunchy for us "light greenies." But your tip submissions prove some of you've got a taste for Lance Armstrong. (We mean his mode of transport, not just his legs.)The Benefits
- Saves the earth. Biking's pollution-free, but every gallon of gasoline burned creates about 20 lbs of climate change-causing CO2.
- Saves cash. A typical US family spends nearly $8,000 per year operating a car, while a bike might cost $50 for an annual tuneup.
- Shapes you up. Casual biking burns about 173 calories per hour.
- Score some hippier-than-thou points.
Personally Speaking
Jen once told the Sierra Club in an interview that she'd never tell anyone to bike to work, but she maintains that she has NO objections whatsoever to the great calves on the Bozeman boy bikers.Wanna Try?
Check out second-hand sporting goods shops - they are usually replete with oldies-but-goodies.- Jorg & Olif - for the cuteness factor, these Dutch-inspired bikes outshine the competition. Also: baskets, hats and messenger bags ($50-$1,295).
- Xtracycle - "sport utility" bikes with space for lugging a briefcase or groceries ($599-$1,249).
- Community Bike Programs - more and more cities are introducing bike-sharing programs. Check this map of current ones in the US.
Apr 06,2007
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
My First Ten-Speed Was Called “The Bee”
My brother even wrote the name on it in permanent marker. A birthday present for my first double-digit birthday (which I remember thinking was so momentous), it was yellow and black and perfect.
Years later, my next bike was a Gary Fisher bright green mountain bike that never saw much of the mountains but was a killer ride to race up the beach from Santa Monica to Malibu, chasing the setting sun. Let me tell you - THAT bike has seen the world, traveling with me from LA to London, from London to San Jose, from San Jose to NYC, from NYC to SF. When I say that it has seen the world, I should clarify - it's seen my apartments and storage spaces - because in each of those places, it sat, collecting dust and rusting.
But all you Bikers here in SF are inspiring me, and I'm thinking that my trusty ol' Gary Fisher needs not only a name, but also a new chain and some tires. Just watch me dust it off and start to fly.
And if any of you are looking for a great city bike, check out Jorg and Olif - gorgeous bikes made in the Netherlands (and those people know their bikes). Just enter or say BITER during checkout and recieve a 5% discount during April.
-Heather... off to look up bicycle repair shops...
Biter Comments...
The Better World Club (www.betterworldclub.com) offers a roadside assistance program for bicycles. If you get a flat, bust a spoke, or lose the chain, they'll come out to help!
More and more buildings being built these days have shower facilities and safe bike storage for biking commuters. There are points in LEED qualifications too for adding those facilities. (studying for accredidation now)
What it all boils down to, is we can all be a little greener, one small step at a time, and doing what we love! All it takes is people expressing what they want, such as a simple place to lock up that bike, and a willingness to be devoted to it!
I look forward to my Bit of Bite every morning!
It's unfortunate, but the biggest concern most people have with biking in a urban area is safty. There are so many aggressive drivers and distracted drivers, it's hard to share the road. If you can find a route to work that follows a bike path or back streets you're golden, but that pretty rare in most areas.
One question I had (and continue to have) about the comments related to the # of pounds of CO2/gallon of gas...
You mention 20 pounds of CO2 per gallon of gas, yet a gallon of gas weighs between 5.8 and 6.5 pounds (http://www.santacruzpl.org/readyref/files/g-l/gasoline.shtml)
How can it produce more (3x) CO2 then it originally weighs?
I think I've heard the 20 pounds stat before but don't understand it.......
I have the same comment about the 20 lb. statistic. First of all, it would be violating the laws of physics because gasoline would actually be creating mass. Einstein would be interested in this. Second, if every car were producing as much as 20 pounds of CO2 per gallon of gas, we would already be living in a hothouse atmosphere vastly worse than the one we do (more like the plant Venus). I support biking, and I support public transit, and using cars as little as possible. But using figures such as these so carelessly gives environmentalsts a bad name, and that is something we don't need.
Joe Breeze makes town bikes and folding bikes - Breezers - here in the US.
Decided to take the math into my own hands. Figure this out scientifically. I could easily be wrong in my assumptions.... Dig back into College Chem :)
Gasoline is likely C8H18 (hydrocarbon chain) (assumption - it's actually something like 500 different components, but C8H18 is a good starting point). Carbon is atomic weight 6, and Hydrogen is 1. Therefore C8H18=66, C8=48, so Gasoline is 72% carbon (48/66), and 28% Hydrogen.
72% of roughly 6 pounds/gallon of gasoline is carbon, or about 4.32 pounds. The rest is Hydrogen, which is converted to water (vapor) during combustion.
C02 gets Oxygen from the atmosphere during combustion, so some of that CO2 weight comes from the air. C is atomic weight 6, O is atomic weight 8, therefore CO2=22, and Carbon is 27% of the weight of CO2. Oxygen makes up 73% of the weight, which is taken from air.
So my math...
(4.32 pounds of carbon/gallon of gas)/(27% of CO2 is carbon) = 16 pounds of CO2
Still less than the 20 pounds, but much greater than the actual input of 5-6 pounds per gallon of gas. My initial assumption was incorrect in the effect that I wasn’t including air in the combustion process…
Does my math make sense? Still doesn’t equal up to 20, but you could possibly get closer to that if you use the higher end of the numbers and round up…
It’s good to find out that there is some reality to that number…
Sounds like I am making excuses, but ... biking would work for me if: a) I were 20 years younger, b) didn't live in the ghetto where the new-age girl gangs hang out. I am going to stick to my enclosed capsule for now ... just too dangerous around here for an old lady to go bike riding.
To Biters wondering about the weight of CO2 vs. gas - sounds impossible, right? Check out this explanation from the Fed's Dept of Energy/EPA website: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/co2.shtml
Mark - you were really, really close!
While I was glad to finally see biking mentioned, I found the tone of the tip to be strange--biking as a hippie, crunchy activity? as a long-term bike commuter I see bikers of all kinds out every day--in every kind of weather here in portland oregon--and they are hardly all "crunchy"--not that that would be a bad thing. how biking rates as more hippie than soy clothes and hemp shower curtains is beyond me--so next time, please leave out the unnecessary rationalizations and present biking as what it is--one of the easiest and most beneficial choices you can make to reduce your impact on the planet.
I agree wholeheartedly with Diana R. Bikers come in every shape, size, and way of life, from uber-spandex racer to homeless to just plain ol' khakis and button-down types, and everything in between. By apologizing for mentioning biking in the tip of the day and calling bikers crunchy, you're further stereotyping a community that already deals with some pretty serious marginalization. As Diana mentioned it's a very cheap way to make a huge difference and simultaneously get healthy. Driving to work and then driving to the gym to get a workout and then talking about sustainability is laughably hypocritical.
I love your daily tips on being green, but I found your attitude on biking a bit disappointing. Why would you label biking to work "granola?" People in lower income brackets and people in other cultures rely on biking and walking as their main form of transportation. And why identify as "light greenies?" What does that mean? You are only green if it is designer?
If you want to bike, but need a challenge or good cause to get you out there pedalling then check out the American Diabetes Association website for the TOUR DE CURE www.diabetes.org/tour.
They organise rides all over the country for beginners and experienced cyclists in May and June. Have fun, & get fit for a good cause and it's environmentally friendly too!
I bike to work in Los Angeles - 7 miles one way. I love it. I feel energized and elated when I get to work, it takes the same time as driving (although when traffic is really bad the car is slower), and I spend hardly any money on gas. There are bike communities and bike orgs that help people to learn to bike safely, be visible to traffic, and know your rights on the road.
I'd encourage anyone who likes the idea but is intimidated because they just don't know anyone else who does it to see if they can find the bike community in their city. Bikes could change the world. Thanks for this Bite!
Biking in major metropolitan areas like Lost Angeles (CA) can be quite hazardous to your health!! You are litterally taking your life in your hands by doing it.
The majority of vehicles simply ignore bike lanes or do not even see the cyclist in the first place. We all know what happens in any bike VS car accident; 2 tons of car is always going to win against 200LBS of unprotected human.
Agree with the tip whole-heartedly, but like others, am annoyed by the tone.
What's the point of apologising for this? As has already been mentioned, cycling hardly seems hippy-ish compared to some of the other (also great) tips that come from the Bite.
Biking is awesome in so many ways. in the past month I have had two different people crash into my car, which has come to a cost of more than $2000 (fortunately covered by the other drivers, not me). I also went to pick up my bike one morning after catching a taxi home (green or not, cycling drunk is a dumb idea), only to find the vandals had been at it. It was a 2nd hand bike, a relic of the early 80s acquired by me when my Mum stopped using it, so worth nothing other than the fact that it was my transportation, but now it's not even that. I had to carry it home, as neither of the wheels were in working order. The thing is, I could get the bike fixed for much less than the cost of repairing the car. I could buy a whole new bike, and all the fancy gear to go with it.
biking is fun, sociable, cheap and good for the environment. Only in America would anyone be embarassed to extol the virtues of cycling. Ad thank you to those Americans who are proving that not all Americans are in love with their cars and/or too lazy to use other means of transport.
I didn't realize that as a biker I am part of a community that "already deals with some pretty serious marginalization." When I am alert enough in the morning to take on the traffic and bike to work, all I get are smiles and encouraging comments from people in my building. How dare they!
Thanks for the tip! I don't mind the tone at all and I must say that biking is far more mainstream than being pulled around town by a dog, as suggested last month!
I tried biking to work last year, even though it is pretty unsafe on the roads. The only margin the cars will give you is full of potholes, and the so-called 'bike lanes' are full of parked cars with their flashers, apologetically, on.
This isn't my main problem. In two years I've had three bikes stolen - two from work, and one from my backyard. The ones at work were locked, in my yard the thieves found the one hour my bike wasn't locked and took it. So, my capital outlay for bikes is coming close to $1000 per year. I'm not buying wildly expensive gear, but I do want to have fenders, a carrier, a bell and lights, plus NEW LOCKS every time, and these things seem to add up to the price of the bike. Probably they make it more attractive to theives also, but I want to be safe and reasonably dry when I ride, as well as carry my laptop and purse, so a stripped down junker won't really do the job. I also tried rollerblading, but crashed and had to go to physio for three months - another $1000.
Sometimes I think the ideal bite crew gets a little out of touch. (Ride a Horse tip) Maybe it is scrambling to find a new tip everyday or it is living in two of the best cities in the U.S. (San Fran and Bozeman).
Most non-cities--er towns in the U.S. are still relatively in the dark about bikes lanes. The "bike lane" in my town is half a block long. We barely have sidewalks so that you can walk to the grocery store. It blows my mind.
Maybe the tips should have mentioned ways to encourage your town to add bike lanes.
And of course, my personal pet peeve. Why didn't you mention anything about safety? Put a light on the front and back of your bike, because you never know if you will get caught in the dark and no one can see you. Don't forget the reflective tape on your bag, shoes, something. No one wants to hit a biker and no one wants to be hit. It ruins your day.
Susan--
Check out this link:
http://bikeportland.org/2007/01/19/attack-on-cyclists-not-an-aberration/
http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/14/local-radio-show-promotes-hatred-toward-cyclists/
There are far more stories about this kind of thing. Before his fame, Lance Armstrong was run off the road by a pickup and then assaulted after he flipped the driver off. Put in enough miles on your bike on public roads and you will get yelled at, honked at, threatened, and possibly even attacked. I don't mean to complain or compare cyclists to other marginalized groups, but violent acts towards us are not uncommon.
Two points.
I live in Davis CA, the best biking town in the US. (Our city symbol is a high wheel bike -- it appears on everything, even the plice cars!) We chose to move here largely because is is easily bikeable, with bike lanes on the majoity of the roads, and many bike paths through out. Last year I finally went and got a driver's license, a chore I'd sucessfully avoided for 21 years.
Point 1
After four years biking around, pulling my kids in a bike trailer I caved and got behind the wheel. I imediately started to put on some pounds. Biking is great excercise, it's practical and useful. And if you are not the mom taxi can work with your schedule.
Point 2
Davis is one of the most desirable locations in the central valley which means higher home prices and property taxes. Having the bike lanes contributes to that desirabilty. Speak up and encourage your city leaders to add real bike lanes, everbody wins -- and you might look better in your jeans!
By design I live 1.5 miles from work, allowing me to walk or bike anytime of year. I also bought a trailer for the grandkids. It gives me a better work-out from pulling the extra weight. As a footnote, I am "heavy green". I found this site with Stumble Upon.
I just wanted to chime in on a few things. I don't consider myself a "cyclist" or an "environmentalist", but I hop on my old squeaky cruiser bike almost every morning and head to the office. It clears my head, saves me $ and keeps me active. I live in a fabulous cycling community, (Missoula, Montana)where you see people of all ages riding bikes. We have a great trail system, but we also have a community that continues to work hard to make safe bike travel a priority.
Also, I work for America's largest bicycle organization, Adventure Cycling Association (www.adventurecycling.org) (not because I am a cyclist, but because I am a marketer;-)). I just wanted to point out the possibility of taking your next vacation by bike. I am still working up the guts to try it myself, but I talk to people everyday, who love the opportunity they have to see America in a different way, from the seat of a bike.
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Tom Harrison | April 06, 2007 at 06:35 AM