Commuting by Bike?
Go tell it to the Marines
Posted: 18 July 2008
It's not just us civilians who are feeling the pinch at the petrol pumps and using the bike to get to work. The US Marine Corps in San Diego are feeling the squeeze too and are turning to bikes, buses and trains in a big way. The ripples of huge oil price hikes over recent months are being felt on every shore.
A recent article on the US website www.Military.com tells of demand outstripping supply at San Diego bike shops, as squaddies and civvies alike wake up and smell the coffee, or more accurately, the gasoline. Local shop owners are reporting a thirty percent increase in demand for bikes and accessories since the oil price hikes started to hit.
Check out the full story here
It's not the first time that the military have turned to bicycles. During the two world wars, there were whole battalions mobilised by bike. The Swedish army issued bikes to its infantry until relatively recently. Indeed the popular, heavy duty Kronan (below left) commuting bike was based on the standard issue Swedish army bike (below right).
British soldiers in Iraq are using bikes to quickly negotiate the streets of Basra, while the US military are testng Montague all terrain bikes, one of which features huge balloon swamp tyres, while another folding MTB looks very similar to Dahon's 26" wheeled folding MTBs.
During WWII, BSA (short for Birmingham Small Arms. Yep, they made guns as well as bikes) made a folding bike for use by paratroopers (below), who would parachute in with the bike strapped to their packs. Once they hit the ground they were instantly mobile. Now there's a whole new angle on multi-modal commuting. Try doing that with your Brompton.
Links:
Military Bikes
Kronan Bikes
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