Troubled German Cyclists

A love sick 16-year-old girl was stopped by police in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg Lower Pomerania after cycling more than 10 kilometres (six miles) on a motorway. The girl claimed to on her way to visit her boyfriend in hospital and she did not know that it was illegal to cycle on the motorway.

In a separate incident in Munich, police intervened when a 32-year-old was seen cycling around the city with her naked 18-month-old baby in the child seat in temperatures of just 11 degrees Celsius. The woman, a lawyer, told police officers the child had refused to let itself be dressed and that she was only respecting the child's wishes.

It's always advisable that you should follow the highway code in your country, always be sensible, use bike lights, a safety helmet and wear warm clothing especially as winter is upon us. I am such a hypocrite, but it's good advice, and I will learn to my consequence some day. (I don't wear a safety helmet as posted in previous posts).

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Picture: Bikes on an SUV

My friend has been out in California taking pictures, and so I thought I would show a few of the environmental looking ones here over the next few days. First up some bikes on an SUV.

Carrying items like bikes (roof racks, roof boxes) on your vehicle, decreases your aerodynamics, increases drag, and increases your fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions. Only carry them when absolutely necessary.

Bikes on the Train or Bus

I was recently on the train and was surprised to see a few people making use of the bike space available on most trains. You can carry your bike on Northern Ireland Railways with the following conditions;

• All bicycles will be carried FREE of charge on trains including the cross-border Enterprise service
• Bicycles will not be permitted on trains prior to 09:30 hours Monday to Friday
• Up to 4 full sized bicycles can be carried at any one time within the designated bicycle area. Space will be allocated on a first come first served basis, in the designated area, and at the discretion of the conductor. There will be NO bicycle reservation system.
• There are NO travel restrictions nor limit to the number of folding bicycles we can carry, provided these are completely folded down.
• Tandems, tricycles, motorcycles, mopeds, motorized cycles and scooters are not permitted on any train.
• Bicycles will not be carried during periods of bus substitution for rail services.
• Bicycle parking shelters are available at any main stations throughout the train network

Bikes can also be carried on Northern Ireland Translink operated bus services subject to the following conditions;

• All bicycles will be carried FREE of charge on buses.
• A maximum of 2 full sized bicycles can be carried at any one time in the luggage boot of Goldline Express Coaches. Space will be allocated on a first come first served basis, and at the discretion of the driver. There will be NO bicycle reservation system.
• Bicycles will not be permitted on buses prior to 09:30 hours Monday to Friday
• There are NO travel restrictions nor limit to the number of folding bicycles we can carry, provided these are completely folded down.
• Tandems, tricycles, motorcycles, mopeds, motorized cycles and scooters are not permitted on any bus.
• Bicycle parking shelters are available at any main stations throughout the bus network.
  
• Bicycles cannot be carried on non-Goldliner coaches and seasonal rambler.

Get on your bike and go further with Translink. It's unfortunate that they can not offer the service during peak hours but some stations offer covered bike shelters, these can be found at;

• Antrim Bus and Rail Station
• Armagh Buscentre
• Bangor Bus and Rail Centre
• Carrickfergus Rail Station
• Central Rail Station
• Coleraine Rail Station
• Europa Buscentre / Great Victoria Street Rail Station
• Holywood Rail Station
• Lisburn Rail Station
• Lurgan Rail Station
• Moira Rail Station
• Newcastle Bus Station

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Halfords Confident Thanks to Strong Bike Sales

Leading car parts and cycle retailer Halford has announced that they are confident of achieving a full-year profit of £94m, despite the sales slow-down. Like for like sales have dropped 1.1% a for the quarter to September. Halfords said it was benefiting as commuters bought more bikes to avoid soaring petrol prices. Their car parts business was also profiting from drivers choosing to save money by maintaining their existing vehicles, rather than buy new ones.

"At times like this when there is pressure on consumers, it is good that a healthy proportion of our sales are needs-driven. If people are not changing their cars for new models they tend to spend more not just on maintenance but on enhancements like satnav or better audio systems. Even the fact that more people are taking holidays in the UK rather than abroad helps because we are the biggest seller of roof boxes in the country."

Nick Wharton, Acting Managing Director, Halfords

Halfords is the UKs leading cycle retailer and sells one in every three bikes in the UK. Based in Redditch in Worcestershire, employing more than 10,500 staff in 455 stores. It specialises in selling car parts, cycles, and outdoor leisure and camping equipment.

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Police on Bikes Net Drugs Haul

If there was ever reason for ensuring more bobbies on bikes, Irish police on a routine bike patrol have netted a drugs haul worth in excess of €200k, about £160k. As a result two individuals are being questioned by Garda in relation to the haul which included 1kg of heroin and a quantity of cannabis resin.

With results like this biking certainly will be a tool for the police for the foreseeable future.

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What the Elle'?

Elle MacPherson was spotted cycling her five year-old son to school on the handlebars of her bike. "Double riding" can be punished by a fine of up to £2,500 in exceptionally dangerous cases. Accordingly (some would agree), she been hammered by most newspapers this week, "What the Elle are you Doing?" from the Daily Mirror.

Jo Stagg, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, was aghast. "It is both illegal and dangerous, a child on the front handlebars could affect the cyclist's ability to see, steer and balance, and we would not advise parents to carry children in this way - ever."

However, Simon Jenkins of the Guardian believes "Elle Macpherson deserves a medal for defying the health and safety gods". A really interesting read, and I am somewhere on the fence, I cycle without a helmet, but mainly in urban areas where I often travel faster than the vehicles, my biggest menace is pedestrians, which often find the need to park illegally, open doors, cross the road or generally be somewhere they shouldn't yet still are. I find that the majority of road users coexist without problem.

I have had two dismounts about 5 years ago when I cycled 4-5 miles a day, both whilst wearing no helmet, but not on the road, a car driver stopped to ask if I was ok on one occassion, they are not all bad you know, I was not injured, but I could have been, there was no pedestrian or car at fault, just me.

For that reason, if an accident is going to happen, it probably inevitably will, thus a helmet will reduce your chances of serious or fatal injury. Without a helmet there is evidence to suggest we ride more carefully, we are more alert and less willing to take risks that we otherwise would, cars may give us a wider berth when overtaking, but the person in the parked car will still open the door without looking, and in the real world you come off worse than the door, or at best, the same as the door. I'd like to think I could come off better (as my bike is chunky), but I can only hope. But is Elle irresponsible? I don't think so, maybe a little naive like myself. Would I do it? No, I wouldn't have the confidence to do it, so she clearly must, which helps, and as Simon Jenkins points out she wont be doing any killer corners at speed.

Im surprised no one pointed out JD's poor choice of footwear for riding a bike.

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Five Spaces Left for the Climate Ride 2008

Brita Climate Ride 2008 is the first multi-day bicycle ride where your pedal strokes help raise money and awareness for meaningful climate change and renewable energy legislation! This transformative event is ideal for anyone who believes that change is possible and that America can take the lead in a green economy.

Beginning on September 20th, one hundred and twenty Climate Riders will pedal 300 miles from New York City to the nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C. in five days, departing from the heart of Manhattan and then meandering along country roads through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. On the fifth day, riders will cycle past the iconic Washington Monument to arrive near the marble steps of the Capitol building. Here we will celebrate the riders’ amazing accomplishment and valuable contribution to the advancement of climate change education and renewable energy policies.

Along the way, expert speakers will educate and inspire Climate Riders about the science, the policies and the solutions to the climate crisis. Our riders and the communities we pass through will learn that our government, businesses, and each individual American will benefit from a cleaner, healthier climate. This is a unique event—a fundraiser and climate conference on wheels.

The Aims of the Event are to;

• Increase awareness of climate change, renewable energy, and green jobs amongst participants, donors, and the general public.
• Advance the movement toward a green energy economy and encourage citizens to call on politicians to legislate meaningful climate change and energy policies.
• Inspire individuals to take their share of responsibility for reducing fossil fuel energy consumption.
• Showcase the bicycle as a viable, carbon-free, healthy, and fun method of transportation.

For more information on how you can get involved in this amazing event, visit Climate Ride 2008.


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The Man Who Cycled the World

The Man Who Cycled the World, was originally on our screens back in March, but the self-filmed documentary following the World record attempt of Mark Beaumont, to circumnavigate the globe on his trusty £2,500 bike was back on our screens this week spread across four nights in a row, don't worry if you missed it, you can watch it again on BBC iPlayer. It's a pretty amazing documentary about a pretty amazing challenge, and it makes me feel guilty about getting in a car for a 10 minute ride. Surely a bike ride to Asia for my next holidays has potential now if I have a three months. If you want to check his diary, visit Pedalling Around.

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This picture has left me speechless, how can we make the UK like this? An almost empty car park and a full bicycle park on a park and ride scheme in China. Beautiful.

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Picture: Nicole Cooke Winning Gold in Road Race

British cycling has now seen two medals, one gold for Nicole Cooke in the women's road race, two days ago and this morning Britain's second silver of the games by Emma Pooley in the women's time trials. An excellent performance by both. Will this collosal achievement captivate people in the UK to get on their bikes and ride, if not for a Gold medal in 2012, but to get to work, any promotion for cycling is a positive step, and surely this must be the gold medal for Cycle England.

Picture: Bikes in LA

How Can Two and Four Wheels Coexist?

With the increase in bike usage around the world, there has come issues of capacity and infrastructure, however there has also come a social ill. Swarms of cyclists have ventured onto the intimidating multi-lane roads of Los Angeles on a regular basis, breaking the law by passing stationery cars and infuriating motorists at the same time. Officials are so worried by the culture clash or cyclists and motorists, that they have drawn up a Cyclists' Bill of Rights, and initiated discussion on how LA's roads can be harmonised so that two and four wheels can co-exist together, as well as implementing a bike task force. Two cyclists have already been hospitalised as a result of a motorist deliberately breaking sharply in-front of them, for which criminal charges are already being processed.

Picture: Traffic in China

According to the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, more than 1,300 new drivers took to the streets of China's capital each day last year.

Oil Prices Decrease Consumption But Increase Bike Use

You might have missed it, but this week was bike week, running from 14th to the 22nd of June. People were getting on their bikes in support, others were getting on to a bike for the first time, and I even had a few hours fun trying to teach a friend how to ride a bike. There is still two days left for you to be empowered to make the change and start cycling, change your life, your health and the environment for the better.

Of course bike week was the time to announce government funding of £100m through a scheme aimed at encouraging cycling. Bristol intends to double the number of cyclists over the next three years with a series of innovations, becoming the UK's first "cycling city", and a model for the rest of the UK.

Sharing the funding will be York, Stoke, Blackpool, Cambridge, Chester, Colchester, Leighton Buzzard, Southend, Shrewsbury, Southport and Woking.

With the price of oil increasing, analysists continually increasing their estimates, $250 a barrel in 12 months or more, it's no wonder Ford are killing off their fuel inefficient models such as large SUVs and focusing on core small fuel efficient models. The positives are lower government tax and reduced running cost.

As the squeeze gets tighter and inflation is at a record high, 3.3%. Its highly likely we will see a further rate increase from the Bank Of England.

So bikes are the way to go!

Reason to Use Bike Lights at Night

From BikePortland.org

A Portland man says he was tackled, pushed off his bike, and then tasered repeatedly by a Portland Police officer in Southeast Portland last night. The Portland Police Bureau, in a written statement about the incident, say that Phil Sano (a.k.a. “Rev Phil”) did not have a front light on his bicycle and that he refused to stop when officers requested.

The incident occurred around 9:30pm on SE 7th Street, just north of SE Morrison Ave. Phil Sano says he was riding along and felt cold, so he went to zip up his jacket. Then, in an email he sent me just hours after the incident, he wrote,

“Across the street a man in all black shouted at me and started walking my way. I stopped pedaling, but didn’t stop because my hands were not on my brakes. He then sprinted, lunged and tackled me. I then scuffled to separate him and stood apart from him in a defensive position. I felt a sharp sting in my back and heard a repetitive clicking. I turned around to see that I was being tasered!”

At that point, Sano maintains he still did not know what was going on and he repeatedly asked the officers to explain what he had done wrong. At that point, Sano says two officers were holding him down and he could still feel the taser charge flowing into his back.

“I was still freaked out and yelled again, why are you shooting me?”

Sano says the cops yelled for him to “get down”, but that he still had no idea who was accosting him. He wrote, “It was pretty dark and they were wearing all black without any sort of shiny badge…. They looked kinda’ like cops, but generally cops do not tackle bikers unless it is Critical Mass.”

According to Sano, he was tasered “point blank” in the chest and the lower back and that he began to “spasm out of control as the surge of electricity involuntarily constricted” his muscles.

After pleading repeatedly for them to stop, Sano says they continued and that, “without question, I could tell they enjoyed seeing me become so helpless, so weak. It was humiliating.”

Once the tasering stopped, Sano said he laid in a small puddle of his own urine, breathing irregularly and “seething with rage”.

“I can still feel their knee on my neck as I write this, but even then I knew they were in the wrong… really, really fucking wrong.” He added, “There was no cause for such violence; I was not harming anyone and I made sure that everyone within earshot knew it.”

Sano says that all the while, a barb from the taser remained lodged in his chest. Luckily, he remembers, a passing ambulance heard him screaming, stopped on the scene, and removed the electrode from his chest. Sano says that the EMT, “was very concerned” that his speeding heart rate would not slow down.

Once everything calmed down, Sano says the cops told him that he was stopped because he didn’t have a front light.

Sano admits he didn’t have his front light on his bike, because someone had stolen the cradle it attaches to. He says the cops found his light in his fannypack a few minutes later.

According to Sano’s recollection of the incident, he heard Officer Smith say, “You should have stopped when I told you to. Then none of this would be necessary.”

A written statement just released by the Portland Police Bureau’s Public Information Officer Brian Schmautz says that the officers were in uniform and were dealing with another woman and had “turned on their lights to alert traffic while they talked to her.”*

Then, writes Schmautz, they saw Sano roll by without a light and, “One of the officers told Sano to stop, but Sano ignored him.” Here is the rest of Schmautz’s statement:

“The officer, then reached out to stop Sano and they began to struggle. Sano refused to comply with any of the officers orders and continued to resist until additional officers arrived. The officers attempted to Taser Sano, but it was ineffective because of Sano’s clothing.

Sano was eventually arrested and taken to jail. Sano apparently admitted he had been drinking, but was not given field sobriety tests because the officers were not arresting him for DUII. FYI, the officers checked Sano’s history and learned that the Police Bureau had given Sano a warning for a bike light and a free bike light in the past.”

Diana Spartis, a 28 year-old Sellwood resident, was being cited for not having a light on her bike when the incident took place. On the phone with me this morning, she said Officer Smith was telling her about the importance of having a light when Sano rode by on the other side of the street.

Spartis says the Officer noticed Sano also didn’t have a front light then yelled at him to stop. She then told me, “He [Sano] didn’t stop immediately, and the cop took two steps after him, grabbed him by the shirt, yanked him off the bike, ran him up the sidewalk and slammed him against the wall and then right away started tasing him.”

Sartis recollects that she was “maybe 50 feet away” and says, “I did not see him [Sano] do anything physical to the cops… he wasn’t cooperating fully, but he also wasn’t doing anything that should have provoked them that much. He was screaming, ‘no! no!, why are you doing this?’”

The two officers involved in the incident were Officers Erin Smith and Ron Hoesly. Both are members of the Traffic Division.

I have no knowledge of Officer Smith other than this report from a Critical Mass ride back in February of 2005. Officer Hoesly is a motorcycle cop. Back in August of 2006 I joined Officer Hoesly for a ride-along. I frequently see Hoesly around town and he is always friendly and congenial.

Hoesly and Smith initially charged Sano with Resisting Arrest, Attempted Escape III, and Disorderly Conduct. He was also cited for not having a front light (ORS 815.280) and Failure to Obey a Police Officer (ORS 811.535).

At his arraignment at the Justice Center in downtown Portland a few hours ago, Sano says the clerk told him he had been given a “no-charge”. According to a source who is a lawyer that means (for whatever reason) the case is not going forward, but the charges can brought back to life at a later date. My source says this could be an indication that either the police or the DA’s office didn’t think they could prove, or didn’t want to try to prove, the charges.

This isn’t the first time Sano has had run-in with the police. During the 2006 World Naked Bike Ride, Sano was involved in an altercation with an off-duty police officer who was the passenger in a motor vehicle that was being held up during the ride. Sano alleged that the vehicle’s driver tried to run him over.

In that case, Sano was charged with several misdemeanors (including Criminal Mischief and Disorderly Conduct) and faced 2 1/2 years in jail. The case was ultimately dismissed and Sano was set free.

(This incident is being discussed on the Zoobomb Forum and in the Portland Bike Forums.)

Biking Hype & Car Fuel Reduction Ideas

After the purchase of my bicycle a few months ago, with the weather picking up, and myself into a normal sleep routine, I now bike to work every morning, and home every afternoon. As yet I have not been arrested for furious cycling or blatant abuses of the highway code just yet, I try to remain as legal as possible.

The bike ride is one of the fun parts of my day, and now I am completing the task in less than five minutes in the morning, faster than driving and a third of the time taken to walk. Each day saving about 400g CO2 from the environment, (really I should have converted much sooner).

Other friends have also now bought bikes, and with the recent rise in oil prices to a record $135 a barrel, and analyst expectations that will continue to rise to $200 in the next 18 months, petrol prices are surely going to remain constant or rise considerably for the foreseeable future. This morning I had the pleasure to meet a manager at the local independent bike shop in work, and from his comments, bike sales are on the up, however based on seasonality and natural increases in prices across the board he is unable to give a detailed increase figure.

Now signals the time to either reduce your fuel consumption, through better driving technique, car sharing, park & ride schemes, public transport, alternative cars or converting to bike.

Here's a few ideas.

Better Driving Technique

Already on this blog we have published ten tips that could save you £120 (probably about £200 a year now, in our article, Drive Efficiency ... Drive Efficiently.

Car Sharing

If you drive to work from the same location as other from your work, or would like to start car sharing with randomers.

National Carsharing Network
Lift Share
Travel Wise Northern Ireland

These links can give you advice on car sharing.

Park & Ride Schemes

These are schemes where you drive to a point and make use of public transport for the remainder of the journey. These often operate from locations outside major cities. A flat rate fee offers a return bus / train service and parking, and could work out substantially cheaper than parking in the city centre. Often services offer bus / trains every ten minutes to ensure the service is easy, frequent and feasible for the majority. More info on specific schemes can be found at Park & Ride. However this is not a definitive guide.

Picture: Bush Biking

President Bush was given the gift of a bike this week on his visit to Isreal as part of their 60th Anniversary celebrations. Some could say this was almost a tongue in cheek present, considering the all time high of oil prices at $127 a barrel. His tour of the region has seen him ask for Saudi Arabia to increase oil production by 1m barrels a day, which has it appears been rebuffed (for the second time since January), due to their agreements with OPEC. A $1.4 billion arms deal with the country seems in jepordy as Democrats have revealed they will block, unless the 1m barrels a day increase is aherd to.

Bush is no stranger to two wheels, as he fell off his bike in May 2004, and collided with a British police officer a year later at Gleneagles. It's just a shame that the president sometimes has a four-wheeled SUV following him when he goes for a bike ride.

The Fastest Way to Cross London

With the AA having announced the average speed in Central London having fallen to a meager 10mph, it reminded me of an episode of Top Gear which aired last year, the episode was repeated this week, and is available to view on the iPlayer as of writting.

Many races have been performed before pitting cars, bikes and public transport together in a bid to see which method of transport is the fastest, but the BBC Top Gear team added a boat.

Starting from Kew Gardens, the most westernly point on the North Circular, the team were to travel across London one of the world's busiest cities, to the City Airport. The most easternly point on the North Circular. Of course you will have to watch on BBC iPlayer or YouTube to find out who wins, if you even need to watch.

But here is some screen shots;

The AA Trial Electric Bikes

Chronic congestion has reached record levels in some cities, so the AA is introducing patrols on electric scooters and motorbikes to tackle the problem.

The UK's biggest breakdown organisation will use Vectrix electric bikes to cut through traffic and reach breakdowns in central London up to 25 per cent quicker, getting members and other traffic moving again with minimum delay.

The trial is in central London, where traffic speeds in the morning peak are at their lowest in 40 years. If it is successful, the bikes could be rolled out to other major cities revealed today by the AA, in conjunction with Trafficmaster, in a "City Speed League Table";

The average traffic speed across London is 16.9mph. But during peak periods in central London this slows to just 10mph – the same speed as horse-drawn carriages a century ago.

City & Speed

Bristol 16.8
Glasgow 17.3
Southampton 17.8
Liverpool 17.8
Manchester 18.3
Cambridge 18.8
Birmingham 19.4
Sheffield 19.6
Cardiff 21.8
Newcastle 24.0

"On busy city roads, one flat tyre can delay thousands of motorists and further aggravate congestion. By cutting through traffic, AA bike patrols will reach breakdowns more quickly and get our members and other drivers back on the move with the minimum delay. We need radical action to beat record slow traffic in our cities and decided that two wheels are quicker than four. By fixing breakdowns more quickly, we will improve service to our members, and help reduce congestion and emissions. Our analysis of traffic speeds in major cities shows that congestion is not just a London problem with Bristol bottom of the league, and Glasgow, Southampton and Liverpool less than 1 mph quicker than London."
Edmund King, President, The AA

The bike patrols will target 'quick fix' breakdowns such as flat batteries, wheel changes and simple electrical faults. These problems cause over a third of the 3.6 million breakdowns attended by the AA each year, often causing lengthy traffic jams.

The new bikes – which include environment friendly zero-emission electric scooters – are expected to cut up to 25 per cent from peak time breakdown wait times, which average around 50 minutes in central London. The AA's response times are already market-leading as supported by a recent Which? survey.

The AA is making significant investment in further improving its response times and fourteen experienced AA patrols have been selected to ride the motorbikes, supported by a dedicated motorcycle recovery van in London. This will be supplemented in the coming months by five dedicated motorbike repair and recovery vans. They join a fleet of over 500 AA van patrols who cover central London and inside the M25.

Whilst I oppose the thought of supporting car use, the AA provide a service which assist motorists and reduces congestion, congestion itself is a major contributor to increased transportation CO2 emissions, and may be responsible for over 9m tonnes of CO2 annually in the UK. Compounded with the statistics from the AA on average speeds in our major cities, it seems that now is the time to get out of the car and search for an alternative to the gridlock. Getting on your bike you wouldn't be hard pushed to exceed 10mph for central london, and with a bit of effort 16.9mph for all of london. Switching to public transport, you can somewhat relax, sit back and enjoy the ride, and if this wasn't proof enough see my next post about Top Gear.

Choosing A Bike

I recently bought a bike, and went in blind, purchasing a bike that was on the face of it, pretty. Whilst I am very happy with my purchase, my bike is a beast. I asked Paul Dorn from blog Bike Commuting Tips for his suggestions on selecting a bike.

Just about any bicycle will work for commuting. I've traveled to work on a mountain bike, a road bike, a hybrid, and even a fat-tired cruiser. The important thing is to get a bike you feel comfortable on. Find a reputable bike shop, consult with the sales staff, think about how you might use the bike, how far you'll be going, what you might need to carry, what conditions you'll be riding in, and so on.

My present commuting bike is a hybrid, which I'd recommend for most everyday urban riding needs. In much of the world -- in such countries as Japan, China or Holland -- the bicycle is valued as a utilitarian vehicle. And bikes sold in those countries come equipped with fenders, bells, lights, kick-stands, racks, and, very important, chainguards. In the US the bicycle is generally considered a toy, a recreational device, or as exercise equipment. Something you load on top of your car, like skis or a surfboard, and travel to some remote area to "play." That's why bike shops are filled with mountain bikes. They thrive on selling the "sport" of cycling. Travel they leave to other vehicle retailers, i.e. auto dealerships. This is a big mistake.

Don't buy a mountain bike just because the sales person has lots of them to sell. Mountain bikes are fine for many things, even commuting. However, most people never get near a trail with their mountain bike. Those fat knobby tires may really dig into the dirt on a stretch of fire road. But they add lots of rolling resistance on pavement. (They might suggest that the knobby tires are more "flat resistant." Don't believe it. I can tell you from experience that large glass fragments, nails and pushpins can puncture mountain bike tires too. As you'll see later, flats are really no big deal.)

If you think most of your riding will be done on asphalt streets, then consider a hybrid, touring, or a road bike. They're generally made with larger, easier rolling wheels, with street "slicks" or other tire made for riding on pavement, and offer a longer wheelbase for a more comfortable ride. The bike pictured here, inspired by European commuting bikes, is set up well for everyday travel. If you're considering buying a new bike to begin commuting, here are my suggestions for factors to consider; here are my bicycles, complete with reasons and rationalizations.

Minnesota cyclist John Faughnan has a great article on the advantages of using touring bikes for everyday commuting. Many cyclists also happily enjoy commuting on recumbent and fixed-gear bikes; I don't usually recommend either for new cyclists. But for many people, the comfort and ease of a recumbent or the simplicity of a fixed-gear would be appropriate.

In short, my point is: get the bike that suits you. There's no need to have the latest, the most exciting, the most colorful, the most expensive bike.