USAZorro

Weird bug. Moderators would only be able to report it to someone in technical.

NPR loops Morning Edition in 2 hour chunks.

I've only crashed twice (not counting 0 mph unclipping incidents while I was adjusting to that). Once when 9, and once when 49 (gravel while taking a turn). If I stay off my bike when I'm 89, I may never crash again. ;-)

nlerner

How many of those cyclists were on C&V bikes?

noglider 

You're not riding fast enough.

smontanaro 

> ... looking at the phone...

I doubt that sort of problem would discriminate by age.

jgedwa

He was right the first time. Ask my white, middle-aged male self how I know.

jim

seedsbelize 

I can't stand to listen to NPR, except the Schweddy balls bit.

Blue Belly

Just testing different markets. Of course they are on the rise. Armstrong made cycling the new "vogue" for middle aged men of prominence.

poprad

It's a C&V story, but the riders are the topic.

Since I started working in a shop on weekends I've been both heartened and surprised how many older adults are getting into cycling again (I'd say 35+). On the one hand it's a great thing for cycling in general, and the shop in particular, but there is a real void of knowledge about riding etiquette and the difference between "right of way" and "physics always wins" for a lot of folks. Even basics like proper helmet wear is something I routinely explain (very non-patronizingly I think). Quite a few riders come back in thinking they're picking up where they left off with green bones and quiet streets of their youth.

All that said, I think it's awesome. I feel like I started temping at just the right time and in the right shop. It's great helping newer riders avoid the over-the-top sales pitches and tactics employed by some competitors, and bringing them into the sport at their own speed...literally and figuratively.

Oh, and we sold a gorgeous early 70's Fuji the other week with that gorgeous headset they used (with the knurled steel top adjuster cone). Just to make this C&V!

Chombi

Teenagers just know how to totally tune you out when they are wrong, so they will never be wrong........just like when we were teenagers.
College kids are actually even worse as they unconsciously (I think) use their "in-college and learning the latest things with the kewhlest and smartest professors" qualification to feel that they are infallible........just like when we were in college.....

lasauge 

How funny is this thread, I just heard the same blurb air during the afternoon program and likewise, as soon as I heard "cycling" all my attention was locked in. My first thought was to hope that there will be no victim blaming in the story, but given that it's coming from NPR I think odds are good the coverage will be reasonable.

uncle uncle

When I worked in a bicycle shop in the mid 1980's, I can't remember anyone over 35 coming in to buy a bicycle, or to have their bicycle repaired (though my ability to guess peoples ages has never been put to a test, so, yeah). I think the reason that more 45+ year old people are getting hurt, compared to the 1990's stats, is that older riders make up a greater percent of overall bicycle riders today. The study doesn't seem to cover that aspect, or at least it isn't presented in the article.

eschlwc

better to stop counting those when they exceed twenty.

bluegoatwoods

It might be interesting. But don't forget that you'll be listening to propaganda being spewed by the lackeys of the bloated Prius-mongers!




(Just kidding I actually have a fairly high opinion of NPR)

USAZorro

I've made it this far through life without any broken bones. Not looking to change that happy bit of trivia.

qcpmsame 

Just listened to the piece on NPR, it was fairly well done. Nothing ground breaking or shaking in the content, but it was not anti bike, nor was it a cream puff piece, either. You can go to the NPR website and read/listen ti it there if you missed it when it was aired.

I am a regular NPR listener, been a station member since the late 80s, WUWF, Pensacola, Florida. It this matters to someone, its good news content.

Bill

USAZorro

Listened trough a whole cycle of their morning stories. Apparently my local affiliate thought their news was more important, so I need to hear it online. :-(

qcpmsame 

Here is the link to the NPR site, and this piece:As More Adults Pedal, Their Biking Injuries And Deaths Spike, Too : Shots - Health News : NPR Hope this ehlps out those that want to read or listen.

Bill

TimmyT 

NPR Media Player

Needles

NPR is still the least biased among the news broadcasts. A lot of folks cycle in the Albuquerque area. There seem to be a LOT of bike accidents involving cars. There was one a couple of years ago where the impaired driver left the roadway on a freeway, climbed a 15' embankment, went through a fence, and killed a cyclist on a trail that paralleled the highway! He was at least 45' off the road! (They DID put up concrete barriers along that stretch, after that.) There are "ghost bikes" all over the city. Commonly, a drunk jumps a curb, runs through a stop, or just pulls over on top of a cyclist. Maybe 1 out of 50 are the cyclist's fault, by my guess. You can look at the barriers on I40 & I25--- there is not a 20' stretch without marks where the idiots have bounced off the barriers! I don't blame cyclists for much of these studies.

USAZorro

and here I though I was a cyclist. Guess I'm a "biker" for a day.

Thanks for the link, TimmyT.

SJX426 

450% growth in bicyclists in DC in that last 10 years. 26 police deparments in the city.
Capitol Bike Accident Reveals Bikers' Challenges in D.C.=

wrk101

Robbie, it will be interesting to track North Carolina stats. This year they passed a law requiring license plates on mopeds and scooters. Next July insurance will be required.

IMO, this is going to be 'devastating" for the liquor cycle business and I would expect to see more adult bicyclists.

"Scooters with a motor size of 49cc, or less, with no external shifting device or have the capability of exceeding 30 miles per hour on a level surface do not require a drivers license, be inspected, or covered by liability insurance. Effective July 1, 2015 they do have to be registered and have a license plate.
Effective July 1, 2016 all scooters and moped of any size will be require to have liability insurance."

Amazingly, you can lose your driving privileges but still be able to license/register your vehicle.

Will the insurance companies require a driver's license? That would cinch it (the end of the liquor cycle).

top506

I think we should consider ourselves blessed they didn't interview Grant like they did their last bike story. We'd be on page 17 by now.......

Top

noglider 

I think the piece might reinforce the notion that cycling is dangerous, i.e. more dangerous than other activities or more dangerous than people can tolerate to take it up for themselves. I may be annoyed enough to write in a protesting email.

Kobe 

I think with that pattern you are better staying off your bike at 58.