Arnold Ziffel
Finally riding a big boys bike
It has been bicycle-crazy since the early March lockdown.
Much of the reason has been that Senior Citizens do better (battling Covid-19) if they are in decent physical shape!
Young families find that bicycling is one avenue for enjoyment for the entire family as "cabin fever" sets in and since there are no movies, no ball games, and social distancing requires approximately 6 feet of separation. This is also beneficial in stress reduction for these young moms and dads who may have been furloughed or layed off temporarily. No kidding, bicycling for these otherwise couch-potato young parents has been beneficial in getting them exercise and enjoyment when otherwise they would likely only get exercise walking from the couch to the fridge/kitchen to grab another beer or more wine, or possibly to pour another drink..... Nothing is wrong with drinking alcohol if it is done responsibly in moderation with restraint but as seen with the massive increase in alcohol sales (for drinking....not for hand sanitizing...) is perhaps indicative that many people are attempting to self-medicate and become comfortably numb during the boredom and stress of this time. The bicycling with the kids is probably the only thing that is keeping some of these young parents from becoming problematic drinkers for the time being.
Riding mass transit and taking public transportation is very close to a suicidal activity so that is another reason that the immediate demand for bicycles has grown exponentially.
I do believe though that it simply is mostly due to the fact that it is a fun outdoor activity that is something that the entire family, (folks from age 5 to age 95) can enjoy together. It is rather "low-impact" in that folks who haven't been on a bicycle in decades or who have not exercised at all in years can mostly ease into riding short distances at an enjoyable slow pace without their bodies feeling beat-up after doing so.
Street automobile traffic was also significantly reduced in Mar 2020, April 2020, and May 2020 as folks largely stayed home unless they were essential workers, or public safety or healthcare professionals.
Nobody gives a hoot about watching old re-run sports telecasts whether from 2019 or from 1959! There are no live sporting events except the few recent NASCAR darlington, charlotte races etc without spectators and that recent Tiger & Tom Brady versus Phil Mickelson & Peyton Manning LIVE Golf competition to benefit charity, again with no spectators. You have had no outlets to see MOVIES or CONCERTS............Yeah, Keith Urban did play a "drive in" concert for Health Care professionals in Nashville in a DRIVE IN THEATER like set up where folks drove in to a giant field and remained in their cars watching with the windows rolled down.
People have simply realized something that they long ago forgot, and that is that riding a bicycle is fun. Fun that the entire family can enjoy together. The only reason that people have re-connected with bicycles is because of the recent loss of all their other activities due to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. For some, it became simply an escape from being a cabin-fever prisoner of their own homes, as many in the Northeast and Midwest had crummy cold weather from DEC 2019 into March 2020 (before lockdown) and then crummy cold weather through April 2020 and into May 2020. Many of us who live in the very warm and hot parts of the USA, don't have the miserable winters and springs that those who live in those areas have. Their cabin fever from their own "annual hunker-down lockdowns" due to only the brutal weather was simply made exponentially worse by the pandemic. The outta shape and older population that would likely do poorly if they get the coronavirus realize that even simple fun exercise from just bicycling around the block or just in front of their home on their own street, will likely improve their survival chances somewhat if they were to get the coronavirus, as those in worse health generally have significantly worse outcomes.
In the few major cities that have a huge amount of residents that routinely use mass-transit, the bicycle became somthing of an alternative other than walking. Uber & Lyft as well as subway, bus, barge. tram, ferry, and taxi's were equally avoided as were commercial airline flights because of the significant elevated risk for transmission of the Coronavirus.
Basically, folks realized that bicycles were one activity that they could actually do that would provide enjoyment. Perhaps, sadly, for some others, the bicycle became essential transportation with a degree of safety that mass-transit cannot provide during the age of Covid-19 Coronavirus..
This during this same time that the price of a gallon of GASOLINE is at lifetime historic low pricing adjusted for inflation for anyone today that is younger than 95 years old. Gas is at historic low price at the pumps, but there are folks that cannot afford used cars and the required liability insurance and license plate fee and maintenance costs associated with keeping it roadworthy reliable and safety inspected, in addition to their outgoing costs for Shelter Rent, FOOD, and other essentials. Bicycles are extremely inexpensive and simple, although you can pay a great amount for some that those who bicycle for sporting pleasure tout as proper equipment versus the bso (bicycle shaped objects) that are not found within local bike shops. Some of the fools will argue endlessly that it cannot be a good bicycle if it is old, or it cannot be a good bicycle if you can purchase it at Walmart or Target, or anyplace other than your local bike shop. We all know this is not true. That does not mean that all old bicycles are good, or that all bicycles from Walmart or Target are decent enough. Bicycles are simple objects, and the most basic bicycles can be made to be excellent and dependable, even if they perhaps were not the best-built offerings of their era.
As a great many folks have determined that during this Pandemic Time of fewer avenues of entertainment and zero live sporting events, that any rideable bicycle, no matter how humble the make or whether the elite cyclists deem it a BSO, ---- folks have determined that getting out and riding ANY Rideable Bicycle is a fun enjoyable thing to do at this point in time! I believe that everything new from every source that is from inexpensive to moderately expensive is SOLD-OUT because most folks do not believe that they have the patience and skill to install NEW TIRES & NEW TUBES, BRAKE PADS, CABLES, & ADJUSTMENTS + LUBRICATION to existing old bicycles within family members' barns/attics/sheds/garages. These folks do readily realize that they would be "upside down" (negative value.....cost would be too great if..) if they took these bicycles to their local bike shops for these minimal repairs as the LBS generally don't want to repair BSO or old bikes unless the customer wants to pay a premium to do so. This and the added lag time because all LBS have backlogs for service work where you may face a two or three week wait for just very simple inexpensive repairs like tire and tube replacement. This is why that NEW bicycle sales have been off the charts.
There are still thousands of existing bicycles in garages, sheds, etc that need very little attention to become roadworthy once again. Tires tubes, cables, and grease are inexpensive and readily available from many online bike parts suppliers. Social distancing necessary during this pandemic has curbed the person to person garage sale, craigs, flea mkt, facebook mkt place bike sales because folks just don't want the hassle of dealing with those that may not respect the seriousness of maintaining 6ft social distance and wearing cloth face masks while maintaining that 6ft distance, not to mention that cash is dirty/filthy and another issue during the typical transaction that was never a concern before the Pandemic. You have that and because Local Bike Shops have more business than they have experienced in decades, so they can be picky and decide to decline to accept bikes for repair that they would have accepted for repairs in Jan 2020 or during 2019 or any time during since the the end of the bike boom during the mid-seventies.
It is great that everyone is Rollin'............................................You know that I mean riding bicycles and not anything with J<>B cigarette papers which isn't something that I approve of.
Much of the reason has been that Senior Citizens do better (battling Covid-19) if they are in decent physical shape!
Young families find that bicycling is one avenue for enjoyment for the entire family as "cabin fever" sets in and since there are no movies, no ball games, and social distancing requires approximately 6 feet of separation. This is also beneficial in stress reduction for these young moms and dads who may have been furloughed or layed off temporarily. No kidding, bicycling for these otherwise couch-potato young parents has been beneficial in getting them exercise and enjoyment when otherwise they would likely only get exercise walking from the couch to the fridge/kitchen to grab another beer or more wine, or possibly to pour another drink..... Nothing is wrong with drinking alcohol if it is done responsibly in moderation with restraint but as seen with the massive increase in alcohol sales (for drinking....not for hand sanitizing...) is perhaps indicative that many people are attempting to self-medicate and become comfortably numb during the boredom and stress of this time. The bicycling with the kids is probably the only thing that is keeping some of these young parents from becoming problematic drinkers for the time being.
Riding mass transit and taking public transportation is very close to a suicidal activity so that is another reason that the immediate demand for bicycles has grown exponentially.
I do believe though that it simply is mostly due to the fact that it is a fun outdoor activity that is something that the entire family, (folks from age 5 to age 95) can enjoy together. It is rather "low-impact" in that folks who haven't been on a bicycle in decades or who have not exercised at all in years can mostly ease into riding short distances at an enjoyable slow pace without their bodies feeling beat-up after doing so.
Street automobile traffic was also significantly reduced in Mar 2020, April 2020, and May 2020 as folks largely stayed home unless they were essential workers, or public safety or healthcare professionals.
Nobody gives a hoot about watching old re-run sports telecasts whether from 2019 or from 1959! There are no live sporting events except the few recent NASCAR darlington, charlotte races etc without spectators and that recent Tiger & Tom Brady versus Phil Mickelson & Peyton Manning LIVE Golf competition to benefit charity, again with no spectators. You have had no outlets to see MOVIES or CONCERTS............Yeah, Keith Urban did play a "drive in" concert for Health Care professionals in Nashville in a DRIVE IN THEATER like set up where folks drove in to a giant field and remained in their cars watching with the windows rolled down.
People have simply realized something that they long ago forgot, and that is that riding a bicycle is fun. Fun that the entire family can enjoy together. The only reason that people have re-connected with bicycles is because of the recent loss of all their other activities due to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. For some, it became simply an escape from being a cabin-fever prisoner of their own homes, as many in the Northeast and Midwest had crummy cold weather from DEC 2019 into March 2020 (before lockdown) and then crummy cold weather through April 2020 and into May 2020. Many of us who live in the very warm and hot parts of the USA, don't have the miserable winters and springs that those who live in those areas have. Their cabin fever from their own "annual hunker-down lockdowns" due to only the brutal weather was simply made exponentially worse by the pandemic. The outta shape and older population that would likely do poorly if they get the coronavirus realize that even simple fun exercise from just bicycling around the block or just in front of their home on their own street, will likely improve their survival chances somewhat if they were to get the coronavirus, as those in worse health generally have significantly worse outcomes.
In the few major cities that have a huge amount of residents that routinely use mass-transit, the bicycle became somthing of an alternative other than walking. Uber & Lyft as well as subway, bus, barge. tram, ferry, and taxi's were equally avoided as were commercial airline flights because of the significant elevated risk for transmission of the Coronavirus.
Basically, folks realized that bicycles were one activity that they could actually do that would provide enjoyment. Perhaps, sadly, for some others, the bicycle became essential transportation with a degree of safety that mass-transit cannot provide during the age of Covid-19 Coronavirus..
This during this same time that the price of a gallon of GASOLINE is at lifetime historic low pricing adjusted for inflation for anyone today that is younger than 95 years old. Gas is at historic low price at the pumps, but there are folks that cannot afford used cars and the required liability insurance and license plate fee and maintenance costs associated with keeping it roadworthy reliable and safety inspected, in addition to their outgoing costs for Shelter Rent, FOOD, and other essentials. Bicycles are extremely inexpensive and simple, although you can pay a great amount for some that those who bicycle for sporting pleasure tout as proper equipment versus the bso (bicycle shaped objects) that are not found within local bike shops. Some of the fools will argue endlessly that it cannot be a good bicycle if it is old, or it cannot be a good bicycle if you can purchase it at Walmart or Target, or anyplace other than your local bike shop. We all know this is not true. That does not mean that all old bicycles are good, or that all bicycles from Walmart or Target are decent enough. Bicycles are simple objects, and the most basic bicycles can be made to be excellent and dependable, even if they perhaps were not the best-built offerings of their era.
As a great many folks have determined that during this Pandemic Time of fewer avenues of entertainment and zero live sporting events, that any rideable bicycle, no matter how humble the make or whether the elite cyclists deem it a BSO, ---- folks have determined that getting out and riding ANY Rideable Bicycle is a fun enjoyable thing to do at this point in time! I believe that everything new from every source that is from inexpensive to moderately expensive is SOLD-OUT because most folks do not believe that they have the patience and skill to install NEW TIRES & NEW TUBES, BRAKE PADS, CABLES, & ADJUSTMENTS + LUBRICATION to existing old bicycles within family members' barns/attics/sheds/garages. These folks do readily realize that they would be "upside down" (negative value.....cost would be too great if..) if they took these bicycles to their local bike shops for these minimal repairs as the LBS generally don't want to repair BSO or old bikes unless the customer wants to pay a premium to do so. This and the added lag time because all LBS have backlogs for service work where you may face a two or three week wait for just very simple inexpensive repairs like tire and tube replacement. This is why that NEW bicycle sales have been off the charts.
There are still thousands of existing bicycles in garages, sheds, etc that need very little attention to become roadworthy once again. Tires tubes, cables, and grease are inexpensive and readily available from many online bike parts suppliers. Social distancing necessary during this pandemic has curbed the person to person garage sale, craigs, flea mkt, facebook mkt place bike sales because folks just don't want the hassle of dealing with those that may not respect the seriousness of maintaining 6ft social distance and wearing cloth face masks while maintaining that 6ft distance, not to mention that cash is dirty/filthy and another issue during the typical transaction that was never a concern before the Pandemic. You have that and because Local Bike Shops have more business than they have experienced in decades, so they can be picky and decide to decline to accept bikes for repair that they would have accepted for repairs in Jan 2020 or during 2019 or any time during since the the end of the bike boom during the mid-seventies.
It is great that everyone is Rollin'............................................You know that I mean riding bicycles and not anything with J<>B cigarette papers which isn't something that I approve of.
