Thanks Bob. I hang out at KICKBIKE -- "a kickbikers journey" which is becoming a melange of sorts as I'm researching the whole bicycle culture thing as part of some local advocacy.
It strikes me that theres' a lot of confusion about bikes per se because there can be many functional applications for them and when you get into kickbiking -- and I AM smitten! -- you begin to appreciate the pure simplicity of two wheels moving in a forward direction driven by sweat.
The new vogue for set gear/single speed bikes and the new appreciation of old style utility bicycles ( between war design)dovetails delightfully with a kickbike approach to transit. Maybe you aint going to push your kickbike to work through traffic while wearing a suit or your Sunday best but if you want to bike it make sure to approach some of the core aptitudes that the Kickbike offers.
My kickbike straddles a few transit genres -- jogging, shopping, commuting and cartage -- and the more you 'push it' the more into the groove you become as you learn a lot more about what the hardware can offer you.
Among a few other aspects it is taking me to another level of fitness despite my chronic arthritic condition. I'm jogging but not weight bearing as if I was jogging per the norm. (And I can always get off and walk!)
Bikes are not as strenuous as people assume they are. That may be a good thing but as exercise machines you have to work very hard on the peddles over some distance to register the physiological gains you can achieve by kicking a kickbike.
Thats' why I think single speed bicycles are a well worth sponsoring back into the mainstream as we are part of the same biking niche.
PS: I'm going to build a ultility bike from scratch for my partner's birthday so we can ride together and she won't be able to peddle away from me so easily if impulse comes upon her.
