did anyone else read this blog post?

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/spoke-n-word-biking/2010/06/dirty-l...

Really? $800 for a decent bike? $500 in gear? I haven't spent $800 dollars total on all the bikes I have purchased in the last 10 years!

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 16, 2010 at 5:12pm
From the article: "Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but in the short-term, this whole idea is hooey."

Umm....in the short term? Well, duh! THAT'S WHY YOU STICK WITH IT!

And I concur with you jen, you don't have to spend 800 dollars on a bike. You could go down to Working Bikes and get something ridiculously inexpensive. And stick with inexpensive rain gear. As for the shoes mention in the article, I'm sure everyone has a pair of shoes that he or she can use to cycle in. Or does the audience of her article only have dress shoes or high heels for the office?

I loves me some uneducated reporting.

P.S. Hooray for spending wasting 200 dollars a month to give your car somewhere to sit for 40 hours a week.
Permalink Reply by Jared on June 16, 2010 at 5:14pm
I can easily imagine spending that much but its hardly necessary.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on June 16, 2010 at 5:56pm
This what happens when people only make 3 phone calls and use the internet to research a story...
Permalink Reply by Vilda on June 16, 2010 at 6:00pm
I worked SO HARD on this article....*whimper* ...> Runs away... ;-)
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 16, 2010 at 6:20pm
*looks up the word 'prohibitave'*

FTD! (F*ck the dictionary!)

Marne Provost said:
i thought the definition of intellilgence* included being able to spell.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 16, 2010 at 6:46pm
Oh, and the well-researched author of the blog post is a (car) traffic reporter on CLTV. Me thinks she might have a slight bias.
Permalink Reply by Jared on June 16, 2010 at 6:57pm
She also thinks Halsted, Chicago and Milwaukee intersect.
Permalink Reply by T.C. O'Rourke on June 16, 2010 at 7:25pm
Yeah, this is pretty shoddy.

However, the basic premise is that bike commuting isn't a whole lot cheaper than commuting via car. In many cases, like mine, I would agree.

YES, you can buy a $50 bike and ride it for years. But it sucks. $800 is a pretty accurate for a decent bike if your not capable of scoring a deal or building one up yourself from scavenged quality parts.

And much love to Working Bikes, but their mission seems to be getting people on bikes on the cheap, not getting people on trouble-free quality bikes. They get them rolling; it is easy to spend 3 times the purchase price on parts and repairs.

She also makes a good point that the cost of good cold weather gear is daunting. AGAIN: YES you can wrap yourself in old tarps for free and sprinkle Cayenne pepper on your ass, but the best way to stay warm is to drop some $.

If you own your car outright, have maintained it in a reasonable way, park legally and have a good driving record, it is pretty cheap. And this is the problem.
Permalink Reply by Vondo on June 16, 2010 at 7:58pm
...sprinkle cayenne pepper on your ass... GOLD!
Permalink Reply by Craig S. on June 17, 2010 at 1:33am
Dang, you people are a tough crowd. I doubt that any of y'all are the target demographic of this person, who's just begun to commute to work in the last year. Recently, a friend of mine confided that he's began to commute by bike to his work in the loop several days a week and some of his concerns in years past were not far off the mark from the some of the info in the blog post.

I also kind of concur with some of the info presented in her previous very superficial blog posting. As T.C. points out anyone can don a tarp and tube socks but quite honestly, technical fabrics and clothing are a wonderful thing. Cut the writer some slack, at least she's riding, right?
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on June 17, 2010 at 1:59am
I just cannot agree that 800 is a reasonable number for a simple commuter bike... 30 seconds on Google got me this hybrid that with a rack could be a totally viable commuter bike and its only 270 bucks.

Is it a great bike? No. But it would be a viable commuter bike.
Permalink Reply by Vilda on June 17, 2010 at 2:10am
I have 3 bikes purchased under 800 bux. Craigslist and a sale at performance. And the gear isn't tarps. No one said wrap your self in a tent. Proper layering doesn't usually require more than you have in your closet. Now if this reporter wants to look cute and fashionable and look like she's a spandex warrior then sure spend all ya like. But it makes ya an idiot.

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