Commuters embrace new fiscal 'cycle'

Paul W. Gillespie — The Capital Geoff Elliott, owner of Green Pedals on McGuckian Street in Annapolis, sells electric bicycles. Green Pedals will participate in the city’s Bike to Work Day event on May 21 to encourage local commuters that bicycling can be both effortless and better for the environment than automobiles.

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey conducted three years ago, a little less than half of a percentage point of workers nationwide - or just more than 650,000 people - used a bike as transportation. However, many bike sellers and associations believe that number has since grown due to the economic downturn and bouts of sky-high gas prices.

Some entrepreneurs are so convinced that bike commuting is on the rise, they're hoping to build a business centered on it.

Geoff Elliott opened Green Pedals on McGuckian Street in Annapolis almost a year ago. He sells electric bicycles, and they can cost a customer about $1,500 to $3,000 apiece.

These vehicles, which can be pedaled while offering a little bit of electrical power assistance, can run on lithium-ion batteries for about 30 miles between recharges. Because of current laws, the bikes are capped to not exceed 20 mph.

An electric bike's target market may very well be the work-commuting cohort. Without having to grunt through the difficult legwork, a rider could potentially arrive at the office armpit-stain free. In other countries where electric bikes are more popular, this already seems to be the case.
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