Bikes

Just a quick note about an article on Bike and Car sales in the US.  While both are suffering compared to 2008, bike sales outnumber car sales in the first quarter of 2009. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't look at numbers like this and hope for more consumption by car or bike purchases.  I do hope this is a shift of proportions that will continue as people ride bicycles rather than cars. 

http://www.energyboom.com/us-bike-sales-higher-car-sales-2009

In the last week I have found out about two new national bike trails in the US.  This is big news for us, and these kind of endeavors span multiple states and require a lot of collaboration. 

Both of these trails remind me of the Sverigeleden - a bike trail through Sweden.  In 1994, my brother Martin and I followed parts of this route on a bike trip through Sweden.  There were also other regional bike trails in Sweden, all well marked with signs. Maybe we are just 15 years behind Scandinavia?

Old school baskets on Stevo's Raliegh 3-speed.

Organizers of this year's Ride of Silence here in Minneapolis got a BIG jolt as yet another rider was killed the morning of the ride.  Dennis Dumm died after being run over by a semi-truck. 

By the time the ride started, the route was changed to allow a visit to the site if the accident at 14th and Portland Aves in Minneapolis.  About 120 riders participated in a ride that also visited the sites of two other riders that were killed in traffic deaths last fall.