Change It Up Wednesday - BIKE INDUSTRY INFORMATION

After some debate with the powers that control the Tom's Pro Bike Blog I have decided to switch up Wednesday's.  There is only so much clothing that you can highlight and I don't want to post clothing blogs just for the heck of it - I want the blog to be a tool to help people learn more about bikes and the industry itself.

So starting today Wednesday's will be a catch all that just might include clothing from time to time but not every week.

Today I want to post a story about a Washington State Representative that made the claim that cyclists emit more Carbon Dioxide than someone not riding their bicycle.  His e-mail is posted below for you to read.



Here is his rebuttal to his own e-mail that he sent to a reader of VeloNews:

Orcutt responded later in the day:

Anthony,
First of all, let me apologize for the carbon emissions line of an e-mail which has caused so much concern within the bicycle community. It was over the top and I admit is not one which should enter into the conversation regarding bicycles.
Although I have always recognized that bicycling emits less carbon than cars, I see I did a poor job of indicating that within my e-mail. My point was that by not driving a car, a cyclist was not necessarily having a zero-carbon footprint. In looking back, it was not a point worthy of even mentioning so, again, I apologize — both for bringing it up and for the wording of the e-mail.
Second, please understand that I have not proposed, nor do I intend to propose, any tax — and certainly not a carbon tax — on bicyclists. There is little in the Democrat tax proposal that I support. However, the one aspect of the Democrat tax plan that has merit is their proposed $25.00 tax on the purchase of any bicycle $500.00 or more. I am willing to consider this because I’ve heard requests from members of the bicycle community that they want more money for bicycle infrastructure. The idea of bicyclists paying for some of the infrastructure they are using is one which merits consideration.
Since I have heard concerns about doing this via sales tax due to the impact on bicycle shops, I am very willing to work with the bicycle community to determine an appropriate way to enable bicyclists to pay for some of the bicycle-only lanes and overpasses. It is my intent to seek out your advocates in Olympia to see if there are other ways to accomplish this.
Again, I do apologize for the carbon line in the e-mail and any confusion it has created. I look forward to working on reasonable solutions to the problems cyclists are having with infrastructure.
Ed
Representative Ed Orcutt

I always try and give people the chance to clarify their statements and it seems as the Representative did a great job of back-tracking from his original stance after his people got a hold of him and told him that his statement would not be well received by people that cycle for recreation, exercise, or transportation.

Personally I would not have a problem paying a specific tax on bicycle purchases if I knew for certain that the additional money would go to bike lanes around Western New York so that more people (my family included) felt comfortable on the roads with some protection from vehicles.  It is not always very convenient to pack bikes up, drive down to the waterfront, and ride around the bike paths that have been built around that area and there are very limited other areas specifically built for car free bike riding.

I have no problem riding on the road but I honestly believe that if there was a better bicycle infrastructure that more people would commute to work and ride bikes.  It works in other cities and it is something that needs to be improved in Western New York. 

There is a local initiative in the works to convert the railroad line from Orchard Park to Springville into a multi-use trail - Erie Cattaragus Rail Trail - here is there FaceBook Page
and Website.  They are an organization that is definitely worth supporting if you are looking for traffic free areas to ride your bike.  I visited Jim Thorpe, PA and they have a 30 mile trail that local bike companies will transport you to the top and you ride back to town or you can just do a 60 mile ride!  With so many different opportunities for business growth to me this is a no-brainer.

Just a reminder that our new shop hours went into effect March 1st and today is the first Wednesday that Tom's Pro Bike is open for you the customer.  Stop by the shop and check out our inventory.

We have new hours

Tom had been hearing from his customers that it was not always possible to get to the shop with his hours that he had been using since the shop opened.  So he listened to his customers and effective March 1st here is the new schedule (yes they are in effect now!)

Monday: 10-8
Tuesday: 10-8
Wednesday: 10-6
Thursday: 10-8
Friday: 10-6
Saturday: 10-6

 

Tom's Pro Bike Service

3687 Walden Avenue

Lancaster, New York 14086

F: (716)651-0858

mailto:tom@tomsprobike.com

Web Site: http://www.tomsprobike.com/