My own commuter bike is a three-speed Raleigh that I bought used 22 years ago for $75. After 22 snowy winters the frame and the wheels show a lot of rust, which serves as "urban camouflage." I keep it repaired pretty well, so it rides OK, but it looks pretty funky, and its resale value is close to $0, so it doesn't get stolen.

If I had to commute a long distance, I'd probably need nicer wheels, but for my purpose, a beater bike works very nicely.

Whether many Americans will trade their cars for bikes remains to be seen. Sales of commuter bikes rose 15% over the past two years, according to Boston-based Bicycle Market Research Institute. However, at an estimated $900,000 in annual sales, it is still a small niche. Less than 0.5% of Americans commute by bike, according to the 2000 U.S. Census report. "There's no way it will happen here," says Bicycle Market Research Institute President Ash Jaising, who projects the segment's rise in sales will slow to 5% to 10% over the next two years. "The roads are just too dangerous."

The industry marketing types realize it's gonna take more than expensive gas to get people to switch modes. Maybe they would be less pessimistic if the Streets Renaissance campaign went national!

But the only reason I don't is because there is no safe place to park my bike!

The building won't let cycles in via any of the entrances, not even the loading dock, despite allowing hand trucks and carts stacked with boxes in at any time. (Having seen the way some delivery guys handle their hand trucks, I'd say there's more potential to damage from them than from guys like me who actually like the place where I work.)

My company would like to allow its employees to park bikes in one big empty room, but since it doesn't own the building has to abide by the terms of its lease.

Florida just implemented a new state law that requires motorists to maintain a minimum three-foot distance when passing bicyclists -- following similar legislation in Arizona, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wisconsin.

Simple. Any collision would be held to that standard and motorists would be considered more responsible for the crash if they did not leave enough room.