Bicycle Renaissance

| 01 December 2009

Twenty years ago if you walked into a typical bicycle shop you would be presented with only two choices. Did you want a road bike with drop bars and skinny tires or a mountain bike with straight bars and fat tires? Today you would be presented by a fascinating and somewhat bewildering array of two wheeled transportation ranging from single speed "fixies" with fixed gears and no brakes to extended frame bikes designed to haul everything from kids to lumber. This renaissance of bicycle design has been driven by a variety of factors, among them the cost of gasoline, the availability of safe bicycle lanes and bike paths, the recognition of cycling as a healthy recreational pursuit, and a certain cool factor, a cache that has attached itself to arriving by bike.

If you look carefully at cyclists as they pedal by you will even see that there is a uniform of sorts, depending what kind of bike they ride. Fixed gear riders, those with single speed road bikes with both flat and drop bars often favor rolled up jeans (both sides), a "messenger bag", and T-shirt.

Transportation riders are less interested in looks or style and are more often identified by looking slightly out of place, as if they had stepped out of their houses and mistakenly put on a helmet and ridden away on a bike rather than gotten in a car. Here in San Luis Obispo you are likely to see them riding in one of the many bike lanes on our city streets, or even on a street designated as an official bikeway (Morro Street). Bicycling's many advocates at the Local, State, and Federal level have kept money flowing into bicycling related transportation projects, such as the Railroad Bicycle Trail, downtown bicycle parking, adding bike lanes when road work is planned, and making access to bike paths and bike routes well signed and safe.

The availability of more and safer routes to ride has allowed a greater number of people to ride and generated interest in bicycles that do more than just get you from point A to B. Kona Bikes took a leap of faith when it introduced the Kona Ute, a true beast of burden, with a stretched frame, disc brakes, fenders, and available waterproof panniers. The Specialized Globe, a fendered cruiser with chain guard and internal gearing, makes it more maintenance free and cleaner to ride. Lesser-known brands, Raliegh, Jamis, and Fugi all make sturdy and entertaining touring and commuter bikes that are user friendly, comfortable, and low maintenance. If your last bicycle was a ten speed with a seat like a block of wood and shifters that required a rocket scientist to adjust, you will be fascinated and amazed at the variety and quality of the bikes available today!

National and local resources:
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/
http://www.slobikelane.org/cm/Home.html