Where are the bicycle riders?

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So I was a boy through the 50s and we rode our bikes frequently.. Now as I drive through the old neighborhoods there are no kids riding .But ---Wally world sells bikes, so who is buying them, much less riding where?????????????
It came to mind --cellphones and computers --have these 2 items caused the kids to stay indoors??s

I guessing the answer is Yes, so sad...rant over...I'm glad I rediscovered the bicycle, what freedom once again.

73 and holding
 
They're all sitting somewhere with their face stuck in a computer.. Or they're shuffling down the street with their head down playing some stupid game on a device waiting to get run over. 🙄
 
Originally Posted by CR94
Increased traffic, magnified by parental paranoia fed by media.

great comment,,true most likely..
 
Originally Posted by JC1
Funny you say that. I use a service called Bikeshare Toronto.

I also own a bike, but I live in the suburbs and usually don't ride my bike on weekends.

Bikeshare Link


On weekends we ride on a local community college campus, lots of riding area and no cars usually..lots of fun, take a lunch....
 
Originally Posted by Driz
They're all sitting somewhere with their face stuck in a computer.. Or they're shuffling down the street with their head down playing some stupid game on a device waiting to get run over. 🙄

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Plenty of riders in my area. Even though the have dedicated bicycle lanes they ride three abreast and block the traffic they think they own the road. I think it is time for bicycle licensing.
 
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Not much of the younger generation riding around here. The club I belong to with over 100 members are all 40's on up to their 70's.

My fear is getting hit. I see more and more driving while looking at their phone and it just makes me mad. Seems nobody cares anymore and distracted driving is going to be the number one cause of vehicle deaths if something isn't done to stop it.

Case in point, my wife was in a dirt parking lot, getting ready to leave and as she started out a txt came in and she looked down to see it and ran off into a small ditch. So now I have a loose front bumper cover I have to fix all because of a txt. Crazy!
 
I was a kid in the 1970s and we rode our bikes all over the place. We were always outside. The only time we were inside is when we were grounded.
 
Cycling is an old man's sport, like golf. They are the only ones who can afford $2k+ bikes + accoutrements (and maybe the only ones who think those accoutrements are cool).

Back in my day I rode my fixed gear to work, uphill both ways!
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Cycling is an old man's sport, like golf.


Your age prejudice is showing. Again. Fact is you get more (good) bike for less money today than ever before and there's a bike to meet any riding interest. No need to spend $2k on a bike unless you want to. Try again.

Too easy to blame kids for playing games or whatever on devices. Parents are allowing it and giving kids the devices, and who invented these devices to begin with? I remember spending hours playing Pong and Breakout at a friend's house. It seems like for lots of kids there's not much time or opportunity to ride bikes and like it or not things are different now and many parents aren't going to let their kids ride across town or to the swimming hole or whatever.
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Cycling is an old man's sport, like golf.


Your age prejudice is showing. Again. Fact is you get more (good) bike for less money today than ever before and there's a bike to meet any riding interest. No need to spend $2k on a bike unless you want to. Try again.
I live and work in the suburbs man, I see costumed cyclists all the time and 75% of them are over 40. A quality road bike with brand name parts is going to be $1500 CAD new here, easily. Bikes are insanely expensive.

I'm speaking of the cyclists who are doing 40-60 km/h when it is kinda cold outside on Oct 29. Not beach bike riding goofs or kids. They can get their bikes at Walmart.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Cycling is an old man's sport, like golf.


Your age prejudice is showing. Again. Fact is you get more (good) bike for less money today than ever before and there's a bike to meet any riding interest. No need to spend $2k on a bike unless you want to. Try again.
I live and work in the suburbs man, I see costumed cyclists all the time and 75% of them are over 40. A quality road bike with brand name parts is going to be $1500 CAD new here, easily. Bikes are insanely expensive.

I'm speaking of the cyclists who are doing 40-60 km/h when it is kinda cold outside on Oct 29. Not beach bike riding goofs or kids. They can get their bikes at Walmart.



So now over 40 is an old man? What do kitted out road riders have to do with kids riding in the neighborhoods, to the store, pool, etc... the subject of this thread? Oh yeah, another opportunity for you to whine about old people. Yeah, high performance road bikes aren't inexpensive, nothing high performance is relatively speaking.

FWIW you can buy a perfectly usable Specialized flat bar disc brake "active" bike for just over $500 that would be more than enough bike for anyone not road riding hardcore. I was one of those guys, no longer hardcore road but still enjoy riding a couple of different bikes mostly offroad.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Cycling is an old man's sport, like golf. They are the only ones who can afford $2k+ bikes + accoutrements (and maybe the only ones who think those accoutrements are cool).

Back in my day I rode my fixed gear to work, uphill both ways!


got an old used bike for 40 bucks, rides great, 7speed street.
 
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Up until the late 60s, families typically had only one car. The cars were not available during the day because husbands took them to work.

Therefore, if we needed to get somewhere as a kid, we hopped on our bikes.
 
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Originally Posted by CourierDriver
So I was a boy through the 50s and we rode our bikes frequently.. Now as I drive through the old neighborhoods there are no kids riding .But ---Wally world sells bikes, so who is buying them, much less riding where?????????????
It came to mind --cellphones and computers --have these 2 items caused the kids to stay indoors??s

I guessing the answer is Yes, so sad...rant over...I'm glad I rediscovered the bicycle, what freedom once again.

73 and holding



I see more adults riding bikes than kids around me. I guess the kids are inside gaming, texting and getting obese. That is sad to see.
 
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