BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I read this yesterday. Prettey good issue all around. Who knew Minneapolis was such a bike mecca?

im glad they take into account the "alleycat factor"

well, they could have reported on percentage of cyclists with ham radios.

Or.. group rides.. bike shops.. bike coops... bike

related economy (messengers, deliverers, pedicabs),

shop growth (rei, that thing on carson, thick's full inventory..)....

Just seems like a weird indicator. Alleycats dont require anything. I could go to morgantown and throw two alleycats a weekend for me and my 5 friends, and could possibly then have 104 alleycats a year!

Things that require overhead and planning or even something that just has history and following (group rides/polo..) seem to be a lot better of an indicator.

forgot iron city bikes too in shop growth.

If i were reading an article and saw

"9 alleycats per year"

vs

"4 new bike shops in past 3 years"

I think I would weigh one more heavily.

Without alleycats it's just people commuting, biking for fun or doing sanctioned races. That's, like, totally boring.

what about average critical mass size? That seems like a strange stat too. It must be a summertime average because there is no way we will be getting 100 people on a critical mass from november to march unless it is a freak heatwave.

bike polo was on csi last night.

"Things that require overhead and planning or even something that just has history and following (group rides/polo..) seem to be a lot better of an indicator."

While I'm hardly arguing for alleycats being a be-all end-all indicator of a scene, they are part of the puzzle. They require overhead and planning, and have a long history in the urban cycling world... certainly longer than hardcourt polo.

I can't tell you how many hours Erok and I have spent planning and organizing the alleycats we've done or how much money I've spent up front on supplies. People who think they're terribly easy to organize typically put on pretty shitty events... I've been to a few both here and out of town that suffered that fate.

As someone who has put on alleycats and owned a bike shop, I'm siding with steevo on this one.

How about size of membership in local advocacy groups? Local clubs/race teams?

I think that this just feeds into the stereotype of urban riding as only things that are part of the scene, completely leaving out the practical aspect of it.

Good to see Pgh getting some props. Screw Portland.

Also, at steevo, what thing on Carson?

NO IDEA!

there is a thing at like 21stish and carson that is

a sign attatched to a house that says "tims bike repair" or soemething.

How about size of membership in local advocacy groups?

in the article's defense, it did mention that for us, but in general i do agree with your statement.

with that said, if your not a member of bike pittsburgh, DO IT!!! http://bike-pgh.org/get_involved/become-a-member

as far as number of riding clubs, it seems they were trying to assess that scene based on the area between the spandex and the government. whether that's an indicator of the scene or culture is definitely up for debate.

i've definitely seen cities that have a strong and historic "riding club" culture, but during the rest of the week, you don't see too many people on the roads using bikes for practical transportation needs.

I'd be interested in seeing some stats on the percentage of city buses, here and elsewhere, which have bike racks. While I don't have official numbers, it's something like 6 or 7 in 10 here.

minneapolis burgeoning? i think it's pretty in place there. hell, qbp and surley are there