[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by wagonman76

8 miles comes in many forms. When I was a teen and in much better shape, I used to ride my bike 5 miles to school and back on nice days. But it was up and down a lot of long steep hills and was a very tough ride. This part of the state has many massive hills from where the glaciers cut the land. Now if it was 5 miles on flat road, it'd be a piece of cake.

Snow, cold, wind, rain... we do have some nice days but most of the year is not very ideal for riding a bike anywhere. If I lived in LA it'd be a different story.

When I was a summer intern I lived in Laguna Beach Ca and worked about 15 to 20 miles away. My car caught on fire half way through the summer and I had to ride a bike while I fought with the insurance company. It was hilly. It was doable, but dangerous. After a few weeks, I could sometimes beat my roomate who drove to work if he hit traffic. I got in the best shape of my life, but I also got hit by cars three times. Fortunately none of them were very serious. One time my watch sacrificed itself to protect my wrist from serious damage.

If we are seriously going to bike to work, we need bike trails and/or stricter laws. We also need this global warming thing to get moving. It is taking too long.

[JimmyInGreatLakes]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

We also need this global warming thing to get moving. It is taking too long.

Oh it's coming! The most obvious sign will be in 150 years when that half-mile deep glacier that buried Michigan begins to thaw.

[Jasmin71]

lol global Warming......... I been outside today nothing warm out there ! jk

8 Miles might not seem much but its a LOT in the Winter...

and we dont have good transportation here the Bus's are never on time. So if you want to keep a Job thats not a way to go ...

[alleyyooper]

Can't build bike trails the STATE IS BROKE people. Bike riders,The Lance Armstrong wanta bees don't pay anything for the roads they ride on now either, what make you think they would pay a tax to get a bike trail?
They want us old folks to do it for them.

Stop paying farmers not to grow crops and use some types of crops to make fuel for the engines that some one will start putting in cars and trucks and stop fooling around with stuff that only works for city folks like mass transit and electric cars.

Yes the goverment pays millions into billions to not grow crops. Google farm subsities.

Al

[wagonman76]

I don't know but around here they always seem to find money to build bike trails.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by alleyyooper

Yes the goverment pays millions into billions to not grow crops. Google farm subsities.

Al

good luck stopping it. I know some people who recieve those subsidies. And guess what, a certain percetnage of the subsidy is donated into certain political campaign funds, thereby guaranteeing that the subsidy continues.

Originally the subsidy was used to keep prices from crashing and to get farmers to allow some of their fields to lie fallwo and recahrge nutrients. Now farmers know enough to rotate crops on their own and prices are certainly plenty high. However getting rid of subsidies seems about as likely as changing welfare to workfare. A good idea that probably cannot happen due to our political system.

[YAZ]

A big shell game.

They play with the oil, play with the gold, etc.

Big problem if oil moves off of the U.S. dollar standard.

If that happens?

$6.50 per gal will be a bargain.

[alleyyooper]

Who do the farmers vote for?
Who is in the house and senate making big noises we are spending to much money and need to balance the buget?

Sort of like having two mouths and one doesn't know what the other is saying.
But they get away with it since so many people don't read about what they do and are doing.

Still a biofuel is what is needed and will work a bunch better for the most americans than mass transit or a electric car/truck.

Al

[dragon_fly_12]

Originally Posted by alleyyooper

Who do the farmers vote for?
Who is in the house and senate making big noises we are spending to much money and need to balance the buget?

Growing up in the country with my grandmother's family prominent farmers, traditionally speaking the old school farmers have always voted very conservatively / republican. I remember my grandmother being torn during elections when I was young because her husband (non-Union postal worker) voted democratic, but her family ties took her republican.

I would say, just from my experiences living in rural areas, that the conservative voting pattern is still largely taken with farmers.

[Jwo85]

well since Sunday, prices have been coming down slowly.