A Quiet Velorution is Taking Place
Covering Interbike 2007, the largest bicycle trade show in North America, Wired magazine notices an emerging trend:
Some people believe that, right now, a quiet revolution is taking place. In cities like London, San Francisco, Boston and New York, the ranks of bicycle riders are swelling with the rise of a new breed: the urban biker.
Traffic snarls, soaring gas prices and worries about global warming have prompted a big boost in cycling, affecting even places like Los Angeles -- America's freeway capital -- that have traditionally given bicycles the cold shoulder.
"What's really happened in the past year is a cultural shift," says Monica Howe, 31-year-old outreach coordinator for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
At Interbike 2007, the bicycle industry's giant annual trade show, the shift toward the urban rider is loudly evident. Fancy road and mountain bikes are clearly no longer king of the roost -- or road. It's the scads of fixed-gear, town, single-speed and other urban bicycles that are drawing the crowds.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog New York City
Monday’s Headlines: ‘What is Up With All These Flip-Flops, Mayor?’ Edition
It's the same old story with this mayor and his chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin. Plus other news.
Why Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk About Long COVID
Covid-19 transformed many U.S. cities' approach to sustainable transportation forever. But how did it transform the lives of sustainable transportation advocates who developed lasting symptoms from the disease?
Analysis: ‘Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program’ is a Failure By All Measures
The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.
School Bus Driver Kills Cyclist in Boro Park, 24th Bike Death of 2023
Luis Perez-Ramirez, 44, was biking south on Fort Hamilton Parkway just before 3:15 p.m. when he was struck a by school bus driver making a right turn.
‘Betrayal’: Adams Caves to Opposition, Abandons Bus Improvement Plan on Fordham Road
The capitulation on Fordham Road is the latest episode in which the mayor has delayed or watered down a transportation project in deference to powerful interests.
