Apparently the bikeconomy is trendy...

[Massimo]

Just to share some good news and to ask: do you agree with “cyclists go more to local shops, restaurants, cafes than users of other transport modes”?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/12/europes-cycling-economy-has-created-650000-jobs

 

[Turbo Rider]

Nope. I shop at supermarkets as they offer better value for money. I prefer not to go to restaurants because I'm vegetarian and most restaurants offer next to no choice. I don't go to cafe's because I find them overpriced. Most of my spare money goes on my bike though, so I can see what they're saying about the industry as a whole. Goot, ya?

 

[Brandane]

Nope. When going to the supermarket, I invariably have to carry home much more than 2 panniers will hold. Also, my local supermarket is a Morrisons, and I detest the place. I would rather take the hit and cost of a 9 mile each way drive to Tescos.
Going to a cafe on the bike? Sometimes but rarely. I'm usually a solo rider so tend to buy take away stuff from a shop. If in company then yes, a cafe it is (or preferably a pub); but I am always a bit conscious of the fact that I am a sweaty mess, or have the rain running out of me; perhaps not pleasant for non cyclists who might have to share my space (or the staff who have to mop the floor/dry my seat etc.).
Restaurants - never on a bike.

 

[Brandane]

Now we can show clearly that every cycle lane you build and every new cyclist you create is contributing to job growth. Investing in cycling provides a better economic return than almost any other transport option. This should be your first choice every time.”

Sorry; I know this is a cycling forum and "we" view things differently, but how do they arrive at this conclusion?
I would suggest that building a car is more labour intensive than building a bicycle; as is the process of transporting it, selling it, maintaining it, producing spare parts for it, etc..
Building roads for cars will also create more jobs, as will maintaining them as cars cause more damage to existing roads. Then there is the production and refining of oil to produce petrol; the transport and retailing of petrol/diesel.
The insurance industry too.

Don't get me wrong; I am in no way suggesting that cycling is a bad thing. Au contraire; one of the main reasons I cycle is to try and contribute as little as possible to the bank accounts of all the industries I have mentioned above. But to claim that cycling is somehow contributing more to the economy than other methods of transport is just BS..

Next time you're at your local supermarket, count the number of cars in the car park; then the number of bicycles. Do the same at the cafe, and local restaurants...........

 

[mcshroom]

With respect to return on investment, new cycling infrastructure significantly out performs new road spending however: -
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/df...benefit-to-cost-ratio-is-off-the-scale/017088

An average return for a road is £1.50-£2 per £1 spent, whereas with cycling the average was £5.50 per £1.

 

[Drago]

I use the local greengrocer and butcher in the next village, otherwise it's a once monthly raid to the cash and carry to load the pickup with a month's worth of groceries and vegetable oil.

 

[mjr]

I ride to market on Tuesdays and the farm shop on Fridays. I mainly buy tins, bottles and cooled items at the supermarkets when unavoidable. I'd love to write more agreeing with the rest of it but I need to cook dinner before riding to the pub so here's the great Cab: http://cambridgecyclist.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/supermarkets-arent-ignoring-us-they.html

 

[summerdays]

I think I am much more likely to stop at a number of shops when on the bike, whereas in the car you tend to go to one place park then go home. Shopping, we do an occasional raid on the supermarket by car, but other times stop either on foot or bike to grab a pannier worth of products, and you can get quite a bit in them.

 

[KneesUp]

When do you become a cyclist and not a motorist? Aren't most of us both?

We get our shopping delivered and top up by walking to the supermarket that has put the corner shops out of business - it's such a short walk that it's as quick to walk as it would be go on the bike once you've factored in getting it in and out the shed and locking it up at the shop.

The times I go food shopping I don't have a choice - even Aldi is closed by the time I get chance in the week, so it's Sainsburys or nothing.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I've got 2 Tescos, a Sainsburys, an Aldi, a LiDL, 2 ASDAs, 2 Waitroses and lots more within 4 miles of where I live. So short trips at quiet times make sense on a bike. No loyalty to any of them. That said, I take my mother shopping once a week as she's getting a bit frail and can no longer drive. So I'll be in the car tomorrow. However, as Friday is a market day, as soon as I move the car from its ''residents' only'' parking bay, everybody else who ''needs'' to drive to the market takes up the available private parking spaces for the day. So I end up putting a bike in the car, cycling to and from her house and then collect the car once they've all driven off and I can park again. My main regret is that I can't drive in SPDs.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Had to think about this one!

Just to share some good news and to ask: do you agree with “cyclists go more to local shops, restaurants, cafes than users of other transport modes”?

No, I don't have a car, but since trading public transport for cycling I often tend to shop further away from home, as I can now get to out of town shopping centres faster. This excludes food shopping, because I'm well served by several supermarkets at walking distance. I've seen me cycling the 6/7 miles to the trendy west end though, if looking for an exotic ingredient.
Another example: I'm getting a new bathroom. When bussing it, I would have gone bathroom shopping in B&Q, the nearest retailer on the bus route, my local branch.
What I did instead was to cycle to another non local retailer, ended up buying what I needed there.

 

[Ern1e]

I like @Pat "5mph" no longer own a car but this doe's not limit my ability to go "shopping by bicycle" and with the use of the trailer I can do a full weeks shop without leaving the confines of the Rossendale valley, in which we have tesco's Asda lidl and a small Spar super market and 2 local traditional markets. Resteraunts yes we do tend to stay local with these also (we have several quite good ones) but have on occasions cycled over the hill for a Sunday lunch outing.So in conclusion do I need to travel to Manchester etc well no not really but if I should it is only about £7 by bus and no parking problems lol.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I go more to cafes because we always break for cake and coffee on club rides. As for shopping - the nearest supermarket is around a hilly hours ride away, and I simply do not have the time to make numerous journeys each week. I also shop for the best value, which for me means mostly Aldi, and Lidl. The nearest town with both is even further away (no public transport), so I drive. To make this economic I do just one weekly shop, Cycling and shopping just do not come into the equation for me.