Bike, Scooter Sales Shifting Gears

As gas prices surge beyond $4 a gallon, more Americans are cycling as a way to stay fit, save money or both. There’s definitely an obvious link that one leads to the other when it come to taking a bike instead of a car.

Bike sales rose 9% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2010, and sales of road bikes – commonly used in commuting – shot up 29%. Sales for gas-powered scooters are up even more: nearly 50% in the first quarter compared with a year ago.

Census data show that when gas prices last peaked, in summer 2008, bike commuting rose 15% nationwide from 2007. If gas keeps going the way the experts expect it to go I expect this will be no different this time around. We embrace our travelling biker. We’ve seen a few bikers booking with us and we feel it’s due to several of the nearby bike trails that we have.

In the past two years the federal government has made a $2 billion investment in aiding the growth to bike trails. Cities have capitalized on this and the number of U.S. communities designated “bicycle friendly” by the league of American bicyclists has grown from 25 in 2003 to 179 this year. See how our state or your state rates in bicycle programs by clicking HERE.