Originally Posted by
jon c.
I don't think kids today are all that bad, but I would agree that the fact that many of us older folks rode bicycles a lot for basic transportation did leave us with more respect for cyclists.
I agree on both points.
I recently drove by my old grade school and had to do a double-take. Where were the bike racks? There used to be two huge areas for that. I remember one clearly because I walked past it all the time going to school (we were just a few houses away.) I did finally find a spot for bicycles, but there were only a few bike racks and a few bicycles there. One baseball diamond and the old bike rack area have been replaced by a parking lot. And we wonder why we have an obesity problem with kids. Hmmmm ...
Apparently there has been a huge shift. In 1969, nearly half of kids aged 5-14 rode their bikes to school. By 2009, that was down to 13 percent. Oddly, younger people are also getting their drivers licenses later and somewhat fewer numbers aren't even ever getting a license. I guess many of them got used to being driven by their parents and continue to opt for alternatives where other people do the driving.
But back on topic. Where I live it seems that drivers are generally amicable toward cyclists. In neighboring cities, that can vary quite a bit. And the state as a whole isn't very good. I'm happy to see more and more people adopting e-bikes in my town though. We have significant hills and the ebikes make cycling much more accessible to the many residents who just want to bike around town and have no desire to don lycra and become a "cyclist." On the last climb home today I was passed by a couple pedaling easily by on their mid-drive ebikes. I'm happy to see it.