well, we can thank the rising cost of gas for one thing — more bikes. this may be a blessing or it may be a curse, as drivers no doubt will have one more thing to keep their eyes on, with novice cyclists taking to the streets. but the rest of the impact is nothing but positive. healthier people, less pollution, and, according to number 12 on the list of 17 REASONS WHY BICYCLES ARE THE MOST POPULAR VEHICLE IN THE WORLD TODAY, more money in your pocket!

bike shops are reporting record numbers of sales, as well as people bringing in old, neglected beaters for a tune up. in san francisco, this past thursday, the traffic counter at market and van ness tracked 52% bikes, 41% cars. (this leaves a mysterious 3%, which is probably ninjas.) that’s down from bike-to-work day, which boasted 64% bikes and 32% cars, but up from the average.

and other US cities are promoting the bike as transit, now, too. bloomberg’s shutting down 5 miles of manhattan to cars for saturdays in august. chicago, washington, and portland have promoted their bike lanes for years, with a renewed push to get people on two wheels, self-powered.

it’s never going to be like europe or asia, where the bike is the number one form of transit, overall, but anything to lessen our dependency on foreign oil and give ourselves a little health boost seems like a good thing to me.

plus, more bikes to pilfer for customization ideas!

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