originally published in May 2005
Well, if you're reading this, it’s already Bike Month. Just in time too because pretty soon everyone is going to start appreciating bikes in a big way. Why’s that? Have you noticed the price of gasoline lately?

No longer the exclusive territory of a few fringe experts to whom nobody cared to listen, the subject of oil in crisis is suddenly in the mainstream press. The term “Peak Oil” has appeared in countless print and internet news alerts. The pretext is usually an attempt to rationalize recent oil price spasms and the prognosis isn’t good.

And even if one is not inclined to believe the prognosis of gloom and doom concerning the decline in oil reserves, one still has to acknowledge the market driven price increase. China is booming and intends to follow the American model of consumption. This is going to be sort’a like keeping up with the Joneses next door — but on an international scale.

Unlike the 70’s oil embargo, the 2005 oil crisis is happening while every oil producing country on the planet is processing black gold as fast as they can manage. The Saudis recently admitted that they don’t have another 20 percent of production capacity in reserve. Refineries are at capacity. Oil prices today are due to demand outstripping supply.

Whether you believe in the decline in supply or not, there’s no denying that things are changing for the long haul. Oil prices are up and you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Don’t believe me? Hey, if the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Fortune Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Scientific American, Mother Jones and Rolling Stone Magazine can find some agreement on the subject, maybe we all ought to start paying attention. Please don’t be like that dude at my office.

Here’s what my co-worker Bubba (no that’s not his real name) said about gas prices the other day. “Nothing to worry about. I don’t drive much anyway. Can’t believe nothing you read. Rush ain’t worried about it, so I ain’t worryin’ 'bout it.” Arrgh! Bubba sure knows how to push my buttons. Alright! Last chance people. You don’t want to be like Bubba, or do you?

By now you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Why is this guy busting my chops about gas & oil in a bicycling newspaper? And what’s this got to do with Bike Month?”

Because it’s closing time at the tavern. “Last call gentlemen!” We’ve been partying like fraternity brothers standing around a “bottomless” oil & gas tap and we need to ace the final exam tomorrow or we won’t be returning to school next semester. It’s time to push away from the bar, go home, sober up and get busy investing in our future.

Our communities, thanks to decades of plentiful and cheap oil, have sprawled and taken up vast expanses of once fertile farmland. We can’t walk to the market, we can’t walk to school, we can’t walk to work. We don’t live in walkable European style villages. We must have transportation. And if our way of life is to continue without hardship when personal transportation is no longer an option, we must have transit. Now is the time to invest in rail and more efficient means of transportation. Thank goodness we all have bikes already, eh? ------- Actually, I think the looming oil crisis may turn out to be good for us, when it finally arrives. For one thing, it’s going to cut down on traffic in a big way. That ought’a be good for bikes.

Even if folks don’t abandon the suburban outlands, they’re going to start replacing those big trucks & SUVs with smaller cars, less trips, and better mileage. Maybe someday I’ll be able to ride in those TxDOT wide outside lanes without fearing for my life because there won’t be an endless queue of revved up diesel duallys roaring down my shared lane.

Yep! If fuel prices keep going up, more folks may choose to walk or ride their bikes to work, maybe the city buses will fill up. When that happens, why not make the right lane for bikes and buses only? Better yet, why wait? Do it now.

When the real crunch comes, maybe I’ll finally be able to convince the boss that I should telecommute. I’ve always wanted to call it in.

Global warming? Forgetaboutit! No more oil, no more warming. So very simple, isn’t it?

Experts say the price of oil has a negative effect on jobs and the economy. So what? Me worry? Not a chance. If I loose my job I won’t drive. I won’t need to buy a toll pass either. And if suburbia is abandoned in favor of close-in walkable communities. I won’t have to drive a hundred miles to find a safe place to ride my bike anymore.

If it comes down to a knock-down drag-out struggle for oil on the world market, don’t worry about the kids. At least they’ll have three hots and a cot. They’ll all have secure jobs in the armed services pulling sentry duty by an oil field somewhere far, far away. If that happens, we’ll all be wishing we had unbreakable employment contracts like the armed services have.

And if the dollar tanks because we’ve been printing virtual monopoly money to the tune of a few trillion dollars to pay for our gasoline habit, the joke will be on the Chinese bond holders.

Congress rigged the system so we can’t file bankruptcy anymore? Har! No problem dude! Pay off those outstanding credit cards with worthless paper.

Worried? Don’t be. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. So stay prepared. Hang onto that bike, keep riding it, and unload that gas hog in the driveway before the moron down the street comes to his senses and tries to unload their H2 on you. By then it’ll also be too late to sell that big Detroit guzzler. Hey, maybe you can have it attached to the house as a guest bedroom or something.