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Does it seem like cycling is losing steam as a recreational activity in your area?


Road Runner

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Or is it on the rise?  

Up until a few days ago, for this year, I hardly saw any riders out on my usual route.  Based on past years and the number of riders I usually see, I was convinced that cycling was on a major downward trend, at least around here.  Then two days ago, I saw more riders than I have seen in several years.  Weird.  :dontknow:

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Not even close. Our Tuesday group ride has about 40 riders each week. I'll go Mt biking today and I'm sure the trails will be crowded. Group gravel ride Saturday should bring a good number of riders out. We have groomed trails in the winter. All season riding here.

We have maybe 10 bike shops in a county of 30k. I have two shops within a block of my place and another that sells used gear. One shop is all e-bikes. We have two bike parks with lift runs. Our bike paths are so busy. 

Annual club ride photo. The club will be hosting four races this year up from two in the past. 

20180428_190840.jpg

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My data is purely observational and is based on a rather small and suspect population of possible participants.  Cycling seems like the perfect activity for so many, no matter their condition, it is hard to understand why so few in my area take part.  I have been seeing a lot of joggers lately.  Maybe jogging appeals to more people because of the simplicity of running and the costs related to taking up cycling.  

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It definitely depends on the weather around me.  Not much riding during winter or even early spring, but on nice days late in spring the roads are crowded with riders.

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...a couple of my neighbor moms just met with a group of elementary school kids (now out of school for summer) across the street.

They were all on bikes, and after a few minutes took off on what I presume is a grand summer morning adventure ride either through the neighborhood or over on the river trail (close to me).

 

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16 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

My data is purely observational and is based on a rather small and suspect population of possible participants.  Cycling seems like the perfect activity for so many, no matter their condition, it is hard to understand why so few in my area take part.  I have been seeing a lot of joggers lately.  Maybe jogging appeals to more people because of the simplicity of running and the costs related to taking up cycling.  

Mine too. We did have a new bike shop open last year. Another expanded and easily tripled their space. The e-bike shop is new. All of this growth leads me to believe we have more riders. 

Last weekend I saw an older couple riding e-bikes in the park. This seems like a great solution to our congestion problem. They were not cyclists in the traditional sense. But on an e-bike they covered a lot of ground. Get more people riding the park instead of driving. It's a beautiful way to see the mountains and wildlife.

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I think that MTBing is definitely on the rise in my area.  Can't say I pay enough attention to the road scene to say.  Anecdotally, I and several riders I know have stopped riding on the road due to safety concerns (distracted drivers).

Most of the riders I see on the roads are of the inner-city, riding for transportation, on the wrong side of the street types.  They're likely not going anywhere.

 

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Here it looks like road cycling is on the decline, trail riding is increasing.  We only have one club locally and it focuses on racing, crits every Tuesday, hill climb nights, time trial nights.  Their no drop group rides are for beginners, and are 20-25 miles at a very slow pace.  I went to check them out but got nothing out of it, so went back to riding alone.  I think it is the same with a lot of roadies here

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About the same which is saying, a lot of people ride out here.  You have everything from pros, to serious roadies to casual roadies to tri geeks to XC mountain bikers in Lycra to schralpers in baggies to kids on BMX bikes to hot chicks on beach cruisers.  

A lot of freaking people ride out here.

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I see more riding by choice than out of necessity. Fewer DUI and near-homeless on bikes. More who like they are riding because they want to. 

Our Tuesday group ride is down a bit. Some riders seem to think if they can’t ride an A level pace, they don’t want to ride at all even though we have several B and C level riders. This is an open road cycling group  

On the other hand, our Thursday casual ride is growing. This is a trail oriented ride. Not only has our group grown, the number of other riders on the trail has increased as well. 

Commuting by bike is still limited. We have a busy highway that splits the city. Seems many that live on one side work on the other and vice versa. We have grown to metropolitan status so they are in the process of developing a mandated pedestrian/cycling transportation plan. I put a lot of effort into making them understand that Cyclists need to feel safe getting to and from the trails and to and from work and school. We’ll see if it’s being heard or not. 

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28 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

About the same which is saying, a lot of people ride out here.  You have everything from pros, to serious roadies to casual roadies to tri geeks to XC mountain bikers in Lycra to schralpers in baggies to kids on BMX bikes to hot chicks on beach cruisers.  

A lot of freaking people ride out here.

I forgot to add the Hispanic laborers who ride their Walmart mountain bikes to and from work at all hours of the day & night.  

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7 hours ago, Road Runner said:

Or is it on the rise?  

Up until a few days ago, for this year, I hardly saw any riders out on my usual route.  Based on past years and the number of riders I usually see, I was convinced that cycling was on a major downward trend, at least around here.  Then two days ago, I saw more riders than I have seen in several years.  Weird.  :dontknow:

If rained almost every day here, a lot of people won’t start a ride if it’s raining. When it finally stops raining and you have a nice day everyone comes out to ride.

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I think it's been pretty consistent.  Today, two cyclists stopped today on the BWI Airport Bike Trail to ask about and pet my brother's dog, Jake the Golden Doodle , as I walked him.

They were staying at a hotel at the airport and rented two bikes and rode around the 10.6 mile loop.  So many other cyclists were on the trail today that I walked Jake mostly on the grass on the side of the trail so we would be surprised by passing cyclists coming from behind.

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More cycling over the past 4 years. Ever since the city installed just a few cycle tracks downtown...with 1 in my neighbourhood, that has helped a lot. When I moved to Calgary in 2010, I rarely saw children cycling and very few women.  Now lots more. It's all good.  

Unfortunately now our city is entering into a phase of not doing much in more new cycling infrastructure while the cycling still continues.  

We have counters installed in the pavement where the city measures number of cyclists and in some areas, also pedestrians.  It's year-round counts.

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