Shifting Ahead:
Predictions for Cycling in the 21st Century
Two leaders in cycling journalism and one editor of a
peculiar webzine--each take a look into the crystal ball to
see what will emerge in the the cycling world in the next 100
years. Here's a random, not-so-serious sampling of what they
find...
By 2010, gasoline supply will begin to
undulate. Prices in the U.S. will top $3 per gallon,
about the same time TEA 21 projects are completed. Sales
and usage of bikes for commuting, coupled with mass
transit construction, will explode.
By 2015, the National Park Service will
completely ban automobiles in parks. The bicycle tourism
business will grow accordingly.
By 2030, the demand for agricultural land
to feed the 12 billion earth residents will be greater
than demand for suburban housing on acre lots. Urban real
estate will skyrocket in value, urban cycling will
continue to grow.
By 2050, however, faced with a complete
elimination of petroleum reserves, the world will be
forced to develop nuclear/solar/wind/coal/trash/anything
you can burn fuel sources to run power plants. Attempts
to regulate automobile usage, however, could spark a
"road warrior" apocalypse with cyclists
possibly turning up on the wrong side of a class war.
Americans will produce several Tour de
France champions, thereby giving bike riding the
marketing sex appeal that made driving automobiles so
popular.
I predict we'll burn up
all the fossil fuels in our SUV's and all start riding bikes
everywhere again. Then we'll live in a Utopian society where
people actually get
along with each other. Peace.
All public transit buses will finally be
equipped with bike carriers on the front or rear of the
bus.
More mountain bikers will buy road bikes;
more road bikers will buy mountain bikes. Well-rounded
cyclists (not well rounded stomachs) will be the norm.
A small, clip-on module with a wireless
ear phone will harness "Global Positioning
Satellites" to give the cyclist an audio cue sheet
on how to get just about anywhere.
The typical Lifecycles at the local Y will
be equipped with virtual reality goggles and moveable
handlebars. Instead of flipping through a magazine during
a workout, riders will plug in whatever race they feel
like joining.
The Mountain Bike Brigade of the US Army
Cavalry will become the most celebrated unit in the Armed
Forces.
Despite plenty of worthy attempts by
nutrition companies to replace it, the almighty banana
will continue to reign as the as the undisputed World Champion of
Cycling Foods.
Despite a loss of some customers, most
will continue to buy bikes from bike shops for that
proverbial "look in the eye" that is absent
from e-commerce.
Proudly delivering the January, 2029
Inaugural Address to the citizens of the United States
will be none other than: President Lance Armstrong. (What a
country!)
Shifting Ahead: