More bikes sold than cars in Italy for first time since WW2

[ALS]

For the first time since the end of the Second World War the number of bicycles sold in Italy has overtaken the number of cars.

Nick Squires - TELEGRAPH - October 3, 2012

In a radical departure for the car-mad country, home to legendary marques such as Fiat, Ferrari and Lamborghini, 1,750,000 bikes were bought in 2011 compared to 1,748,000 motor vehicles.

As austerity cuts deepen and petrol prices hit a new high, the purchase of new cars has dropped to levels not seen since the 1970s.

Families are buying bikes, ditching their second cars and signing up to car pool schemes – a major shift for a nation which has one of the highest car ownership rates in the world, with around 60 cars for every 100 people.

Car ownership became a symbol of the Italian economic miracle in the 1960s and has steadily grown since, but as unemployment rises and living costs soar, it has become an unaffordable luxury for many Italian families.

Petrol recently hit two euros a litre, the highest in Europe, and it is estimated that the average car in Italy costs €7,000 a year to run. ... [Read More]

[WriConsult]

More Americans would be doing the same if they could figure out how to make bicycling work for them.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

^-- This. If I could find a way to largely avoid the possibility of severe compression via rapid acceleration I'd tackle the just under 30mi RT for work on my bike. As it is, there are way too many cellphone "drunk" drivers on the road to make even driving anything but marginally safe, and no bike lanes or paths from my house to anywhere close to my work.

[EdwinTheMagnificent]

Yay-men. I would gladly ride the 15 miles to work every day if I had a safe route. Sure it would take me about 75 minutes each way , but I would do it. When I lived in Aurora it was almost the same distance( 12 miles) , but there was a safe path. Safe - except for the time I was on the trail going thru Fermilab about 30 minutes before dawn and almost ran into some people walking on the trail. I'm glad they scampered out of the way cuz I could NOT see them.

[WriConsult]

Originally Posted by EdwinTheMagnificent

Safe - except for the time I was on the trail going thru Fermilab about 30 minutes before dawn and almost ran into some people walking on the trail. I'm glad they scampered out of the way cuz I could NOT see them.

Amazing what a little lighting can do. Fortunately, powerful LED bike lights are cheap and abundant now.

[EdwinTheMagnificent]

I know, I know. I put some on the boy's bike, but not on mine. And he rides his about 50 miles a year. Maybe I could steal his lights ? He might not ever notice.

[wick1ert]

There's bike paths/sidewalk/shoulders about half of my commute. Unfortunately, the half that doesn't have it, I would never ride a bike. It's a shame that my commute is roughly 4.5 miles each way, too.

The other down side, is I'd really prefer to take a light shower or something after that (I'd be soaked with sweat since I sweat easily), and that's not an option at this point. Nor is there anywhere for me to lock my bike up once I'd get here. Funny, because we talk about how "green" some of our office buildings are, yet we force people to basically drive to work by not offering a few small amenities.

[herm]

If they have a bathroom you can wash yourself and get a change of clothes, like people used to do before showers were invented.

[RedylC94]

Originally Posted by wick1ert

(I'd be soaked with sweat since I sweat easily)...

In my experience, that's true only in hot weather, if one dresses appropriately. When it's merely warm, starting in time not to have to rush helps a lot in that regard.

I commuted to work by bike for many years in (almost) all sorts of weather in four states, both north and south of Delaware.

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by RedylC94

In my experience, that's true only in hot weather, if one dresses appropriately.

Hot weather - and uphills.

That's one of the reasons I can't use my bicycle now for commuting: I'd dress up properly for the weather and get soaked in the first few kms, then get a nasty cold on the rest. Or wouldn't dress up normally (sorry, I would, but I'd change before the steep leg) so I'd be fine on the first incline, then would have to stop and get dressed (again) No, thanks, it already takes ~80 minutes (24km|15mi, hilly area) without changing clothes.

It was very fine in the summer for day shifts, though. I could pedal to work in the (relatively cold) morning, in shorts and without a T-shirt, change at my work place, then go back home in the hot afternoon - and I didn't care about sweating, a good shower was awaiting me at home. I could even swim in the lake nearby