I live in one of Americas most bike friendly big cities. Bikes are great, they are cheap, fast, keep congestion down and are healthful. They will not change the world, they don't make people better human beings. Their environmental impact is, to the American economy, on the margin. But hey all profit happens on the margin, and if we take many marginal improvements we might see real improvements in our world.

I meet many bicycle evangelist, like the guy who wrote this article. I think folks who value things for reasons that don't really represent the true value of the thing itself tiresome. If you like riding bikes than good for you, enjoy em. But as the world didn't end to day I'll just continue to ignore the evangelicals until they show me some proof. I see bicycle extremism lead to some ugly conflicts and ridiculous bigotry. Aggressive bikers get hit by cars, bad drivers get beat up by bikers. I guess in any group you will see some bad apples, but the idea that one form of transport is inherently better than the other, and that people who choose one way or the other are inherently better people or citizens is ridiculous. There is no biking enlightenment.

For the sake of full disclosure I don't ride a bike, I walk shorter distances, use public transport for longer distances and take our family care 1-2 times a month for shopping or real long distance travel. I have voted in favor of improved bike infrastructure in my city, and believe that citizens should have choices in how they get around, especially if those choices can improve the general welfare.