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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Paris Gets Bicycles You Have to Pedal…

posted by on November 27 at 10:11 AM

… so the University of Washington gets electric bikes—no pedaling required.

No wonder we have an obesity problem.

RSS icon Comments

1

Point taken, but how often do you ride a bike up the hill from U Village?

Posted by Fnarf | November 27, 2007 10:16 AM
2

Not straight up the hill, surely. It's far easier to go up towards Kidd Valley and turn left, then weave through the back streets towards 50th.

Posted by Greg | November 27, 2007 10:22 AM
3

Well, not as often as I ride Harvard/10th all the way up Capitol Hill from the U Bridge.

Posted by annie | November 27, 2007 10:24 AM
4

I'm assuming these bikes will only be allowed on the Burke Gilman Trail with the motor turned off. Anyone?

Posted by DOUG. | November 27, 2007 10:25 AM
5

$40,000 for 40 bikes? Lame. The article notes that only 8% of students bike already... and 40 e-bikes is going to change that significantly? "8.02% now bike!" Sounds like UW got duped into spending money for some company's PR opportunity.

"[Kavanagh] sees it as a way for students and faculty members to get [...] across the vast campus for classes."
Whut? Like they haven't been doing that by foot for decades already?

Posted by treacle | November 27, 2007 10:36 AM
6

So, you know Paris is basically flat, right? I mean, they have a few hills but I don't think it would ever occur to anyone in Paris to ride a bike up one.

You went to school in the UK, didn't you? You never made it across the channel?

Of course, most electronic bikes top out at an operator weight of 275, so the truly obese will still have to take a bus.

Posted by Judah | November 27, 2007 10:45 AM
7

I dunno. The hills in this city are a bitch.

And knowing UW, half those bikes will be stolen in a week anyway.

Posted by Gomez | November 27, 2007 10:46 AM
8

I agree about the hills. Remember, a lot of people at the UW bike around campus, but going up those hills can get you really sweaty when you've got to give a lecture. And that doesn't look good to the students.

Posted by Will in Seattle | November 27, 2007 10:55 AM
9

@6: Sure, I was in Paris in September; I'm being a little facetious. Actually, it's funny; there's apparently a problem with lots of people riding the bikes down Montmartre and nobody bringing them back.

Posted by annie | November 27, 2007 10:55 AM
10

Oh, and no, I didn't go to school in the UK--save for a summer program in London. I went to school in Virginia.

Posted by annie | November 27, 2007 10:58 AM
11

Setting aside the question of whether using electric bikes is the best fit for this particular bike-sharing scheme, if hills are discouraging someone from riding and if an electric assist is what it takes to get them out there, I'd tell them to go for it -- no shame. They're still cutting carbon emissions, getting some exercise, saving money, and taking a car off the road.

Posted by Patrick McGrath | November 27, 2007 11:06 AM
12

And in Paris you can easily ride around carrying a decent baguette. Since that stylistic sine qua non is not available here one might as well just forget style entirely and ride an ugly electric bike.

I've always assumed that those who rode electric bikes must have Muscular Dystrophy or something like that, so I try not to laugh at them.

Posted by kinaidos | November 27, 2007 11:25 AM
13

@11 - exactly, an electric bike powered by green electricity (the UW pays for 100 percent green) is far better than any car, truck, or SUV, no matter how you slice it.

Of course, an electric Vespa would be cooler.

Posted by Will in Seattle | November 27, 2007 12:41 PM
14
people riding the bikes down Montmartre and nobody bringing them back

I thought that's why they had the funicular.

Posted by josh | November 27, 2007 1:24 PM
15

i test rode an electric bike 2 weeks ago, and it was fun. i rode up a hill & didn't sweat my nuts off.

its all about the options.

Posted by max solomon | November 27, 2007 2:06 PM
16

Gomez like you have ever been on a bike, fat ass

Posted by yikes | November 27, 2007 4:05 PM
17

@12: What kind of a pussy are you, that you need a mechanical advantage?

I run everywhere. To work, to the library, to buy groceries, taking the cat to the vet, everywhere. Wheels are for cripples.

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