Thursday, May 11, 2006

Chic cycling

One of the Editors' Picks in today's WSJ is "The Cycling Commute Gets Chic" by Kevin Helliker (paid subscription required). The article focuses on what cities are doing to encourage bicycle commuters.

I was interested in this analysis of the "trend":
In a trend reminiscent of previous public-health fashions, affluent professionals seem to be leading the charge of commuters on bikes, just as they were among the first groups to embrace organic food, to stop smoking and to return to feeding babies healthier breast milk rather than formula. "So far, it's a white-collar movement," says Dave Growacz, a Chicago biking official and author of the book "The Urban Bikers' Tricks & Tips."
On my commute, which is not to a major urban center, I see more "blue-collar" riders, for example, construction workers or food service employees. Also, I see quite a few older folk who ride bikes to get around town and do their shopping or other errands, perhaps because of the large Asian immigrant population in the area.

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