Big Bucks in Wisconsin

Los Angeles Impound Lot...For Bikes

If I were to ask you to name something in Wisconsin that generates more money statewide than the annual dough (pun intended) that is generated by deer hunting, you would be hard pressed to come up with something, I suspect. After all, something like half a million people head to the woods every year in hopes of killing a deer while doing their part for herd management as good stewards of the land should. Heck, alcohol sales alone must account for millions of bucks (real or imagined), not to mention all the singles that get slipped to the Chippendale dancers! Anyway, I'd bet you would not come up with bicycling...but you should.
A new study completed at UW-Madison shows that bicycling in Wisconsin generates $1.5 billion dollars annually for the economy. That's right...BILLION! That number boggles the brain (alliteration intended).
In addition to bike sales, there are repairs, merchandise, trail fees, licenses and a veritable explosion in the sales of lycra stuff as well as Gu, trail mix, and, well, you get the picture. The study even went so far as to estimate that increased cycling in the state could save more than $300 million dollars in health care costs as people begin to get off their butts and get on...well...their butts while enjoying the scenic Wisconsin countryside. Because Wisconsin is nothing if not scenic.
Biking is catching on everywhere, and Wisconsin could be in the forefront with manufacturers like Trek being part of the business landscape. Our city, Green Bay, even began a free bike service for riding around the city just to get folks moving. Unfortunately, many folks started moving and kept moving, taking the bikes with them! And it's not like they were fancy schmancy ones, either. But, that's another story. As is Los Angeles.
Bike thefts in L.A. have increased 29% this year as people try to get more and more healthy! Instead of chop shops for the bikes, though, there's Craig's List. It's getting so bad in the city, according to the Los Angeles Times, that a group of bike messengers recently caught two youngsters stealing a bike...and dispensed some justice in the form of taking the kids' clothes (except underwear), backpacks, and cell phones before sending them on their way...without the bike. The incident is the talk of the bike world out there, and while the police are searching for the "assailants," my guess is that they are not looking too hard.
I'm content to watch the city eventually get around to plowing out my route to work so I can get the bike back out and save big bucks in Wisconsin.