IKEA gives bikes to employees for Christmas 2010

IKEA gives bikes to employees is what I read about today in an e-mail forwarded from a work friend. A lot of my friends at work now send me information like this, since they know me as a de facto "bike guy" around here.

The news release states: "It's been a good year for IKEA, so what better way to celebrate our success than to thank our IKEA co-workers who made this happen. Our big reveal today will be a fun day as we unload 12,400 new bikes at IKEA US locations. This is our way of saying 'thanks IKEA co-workers for being strongly committed to working together.' We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport," commented Mike Ward, IKEA US President.

This is encouraging, as the press release then says:
Why a bike? Because when it comes to sustainable transport, a bicycle is a great option. And when it comes to healthy living, riding a bike is one of the best cardio forms of exercise. Here are some facts.

•Bicycling is an excellent cardio-vascular exercise, which promotes heart health. Just like in any other aerobic workout, bicycling makes your heart pump harder. Also blood circulation increases and eventually, your resting heart rate will decrease. (Helium.com; Benefits of Bicycling by Erich Rosenberger M.D.)

•On average, commuting 10 miles a day by bike in 30 minutes, instead of driving a car burns 110,250 calories (keeping off 30 pounds of fat each year). (Sources: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, RailstoTrails.org, Fitsugar.com, Adultbicycling.com

•Cycling just 20 miles a week can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50%. (Sources: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, RailstoTrails.org, Fitsugar.com, Adultbicycling.com

•Countries with the highest levels of cycling and walking generally have the lowest obesity rates. (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia)

This is all good stuff. I just hope the bicycles and potential bicyclists get the support they need to make those changes.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, the bikes do appear a little less-than-thrilling componentry-wise and they are probably the least expensive option to build and still call it a "bike". They appear to be heavy steel frames with low end components like shifters, derailleurs, and brakes. Which means they may not be the proper equipment to inspire a new rider into riding. A bike that is hard to pedal, impossible to shift, and problematic to stop, is not confidence-inspiring to those long off the saddle. But I suppose IKEA, who has thrived by making cheap furnishings available to the masses may be able to make cycling available to their employees.

I'm not a "hater" for stuff like this - let's just hope it takes off with other employers.

I wonder too if the employees will still get their typical (fiscal) year-end bonuses..?

read the post but enjoy the comments

Much like I read through many cycling magazines not for the articles, but for the ads (and many articles coincidentally, of course, do tend to be written about the products being advertised - funny how that works), I find any blog posts or news articles about cycling recently seem to be overshadowed by the posts left in the comments section.

Here is a recent blog post affiliated with the Seattle PI regarding last month's Bike to Work activities. There are 131 comments and counting.

The comments range from TriplePac's "Road tax by Gross Vehicle Weight. Howzat for reality (and "fairness")! Let's Roll!" and spaceagepolymer's "Interesting how the people who are against bikes seem to be against everything. I bet you're fun to be around." to an unregistered user's "Seattle people are the dumbest people on this earth!!!! All you care about is being 'green' without any logic or forethought. Morons!" and another unregistered user's "This is an awesome article. Biking to work is really stupid and self-righteous."

And SeattleSounder slips in "Arguing in blog comment forums is kind of like racing in the Special Olympics... you may win the race, but you're still a retard."

And there's many, many, more.

So, read the article, feel free to comment here or on the PI web site. I just wondered whether citizens of other metropolitan areas have nearly as much built-up angst against a mode of transportation or if this is just a Pacific Northwest thing.

the story gets worse

The Mayor of our city, while paying a visit to the site on the Cedar River Trail, a local multi-use-trail (a.k.a. "MUT"), where an 83 year-old woman was collided with by a cyclist, and later died of her injuries, himself got run into by a cyclist.

Please - ride safe and smart cyclists! Maybe we need a grassroots self-policing group of concerned cyclists to monitor trails and urge others to abide by trail safety rules.

bike crime

According to the Seattle PI online, police recently busted a ring of bike thieves who based their chop shop out of a storage facility in Seattle.

Hopefully, this will be the first of many efforts to curtail this activity.

Remember this guy?



What an odd story this was and at least he seemed to have a bit of a brashness and swagger which is Colton Moore-esque (a.k.a. "Barefoot Bandit"), far more aloof than the tweakers likely behind the recent Seattle story. Though no doubt, some victims of Bos' thefts likely would believe he deserved his odd and self-afflicted demise.

Use your locks, people! And shop owners, protect yourselves!