Where are the bicycle riders?

[SeaJay]

Adults often ride by me (just barely suburbs) for exercise. A fair amount of riders on the city roads in Manhattan to either commute or deliver things (mostly food for the office workers).

But the kids rarely ride either in the suburbs or in town, parents do not allow them out on the roads. Not that I blame them, the traffic is crazy with some drivers doing all sorts of reckless moves to shave 5 or 10 seconds of driving time whenever the smallest of openings appears.

 

[quint]

I think the answer is pretty simple. If you are in your 40's or 50's or older, when you were a kid if you wanted to see or talk to your friends, you walked to their house, or if it was too far you hopped on your bike and road there. Not too many other options. Yes you could go into the kitchen or the family room and call them from the phone on the wall but there was no privacy and tying up the phone line usually got you yelled at from others who may be expecting a call.

Now, they pick up their phone, send a text, hop onto Facebook to see what they are up to, or skype them and talk to them on video. No need to go anywhere, who needs a bike. When my son was younger he would set up two computer screens on top of the tv downstairs in the basement and talk to multiple friends, see their faces, and play against them in video games over the internet. A Friday night with the guys, without any of them even leaving their own house. It sounded like a party going on down there, but he was the only person physically in the room. Its a different world now.

 

[aquariuscsm]

We always headed to the nearby woods and cut our own BMX trails going all through them. We had a total blast doing that!!

 

[supton]

As someone over 40... 40 is old. I'd like to be on the other side of 40 again.

The internet does replace human contact in the flesh, it seems. We had telephones before then but I guess you could only talk to one person at a time (I've heard of party lines but never seen one used). I wonder if some aspect is that we are busier than ever? After school activities have always existed but I wonder if kids are not more busy-that's just a wild guess, but I know my daughter is too busy to goof off during the week. Anyhow, I know I used to like riding my bike as it meant freedom--but it was really a precursor to my drivers license. I've yet to get my kids to be interested in driving, I keep offering to take them but something about it is not appealing to them. Sheltered lives? Not something mystical? Something happened and now driving is a chore for everyone.

Lastly, while I wouldn't claim to be a bike snob I would be first to admit that I won't look at a bike under a grand. Just not good enough. But my last bike purchase was a $1,500 bike that I got for... $275. Used of course and I tossed tires & chain at it. Just like everything else, if you're into a hobby, truly into it, then you know how it could be done on a budget.

 

[Kestas]

I'll admit, most of my riding is with bike clubs where people are 40-70 years old.

I certainly don't relish sharing the road with cars. Good thing we have bike paths here and there.

 

[camryrolla]

Who wants to ride a bike sharing the same roadway with auto drivers who are distracted by their cellular phone. That little bicycle helmet won't do you any good.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted by supton
As someone over 40... 40 is old. I'd like to be on the other side of 40 again.

The internet does replace human contact in the flesh, it seems. We had telephones before then but I guess you could only talk to one person at a time (I've heard of party lines but never seen one used). I wonder if some aspect is that we are busier than ever? After school activities have always existed but I wonder if kids are not more busy-that's just a wild guess, but I know my daughter is too busy to goof off during the week. Anyhow, I know I used to like riding my bike as it meant freedom--but it was really a precursor to my drivers license. I've yet to get my kids to be interested in driving, I keep offering to take them but something about it is not appealing to them. Sheltered lives? Not something mystical? Something happened and now driving is a chore for everyone.

Lastly, while I wouldn't claim to be a bike snob I would be first to admit that I won't look at a bike under a grand. Just not good enough. But my last bike purchase was a $1,500 bike that I got for... $275. Used of course and I tossed tires & chain at it. Just like everything else, if you're into a hobby, truly into it, then you know how it could be done on a budget.


That was a totally new level of freedom,the car keys!!

 

[IronMaidenRules]

Malls, arcades, skating rinks, bowling alleys, etc. are all just dying off too because kids would rather be fearfully quivering in their bedrooms with their faces in a screen instead of doing something social and active.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by camryrolla
Who wants to ride a bike sharing the same roadway with auto drivers who are distracted by their cellular phone. That little bicycle helmet won't do you any good.

I haven't been on a bike forum in a bit but I recall many on there not liking bike paths. Not against them mind you, but they didn't have an automatic love for them. Pedestrians can be wildly unpredictable whereas automobiles are (generally) all moving in the same direction and rather predictable. Myself, I suspect I'd avoid the paths if they got any amount of use, any time I've been around walkers and other bikers I'm generally going too fast, and riding in the road is more safe.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by AZjeff
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.
You are projecting. I never said anything bad about old people other than they think hardcore cyclist attire is cool.

I know you can get cheap bikes. My 60 year old dad has one that he rides when he travels to Florida. I wouldn't want to bomb a hill or ride it everyday, though.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
We always headed to the nearby woods and cut our own BMX trails going all through them. We had a total blast doing that!!

Me too! Bad thing is those woods we enjoyed are housing developments now.

 

[Kestas]

I can't see spending four digit figures on a bicycle. I still ride my 1978 10-speed Raleigh, I bought a 12-speed Fuji for $125 to keep in Florida. The Fuji just happened to be a 1978 model with only 100 miles on it. After checking it out I believe it truly has only 100 miles on it.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
We always headed to the nearby woods and cut our own BMX trails going all through them. We had a total blast doing that!!

Me too! Bad thing is those woods we enjoyed are housing developments now.


Yeah same here. The woods we all rode through are all gone now sadly.

 

[CourierDriver]

Originally Posted by Lubener
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.