The transportation of the future?

An organization calling itself "Bikes Belong" proclaims the U.S. is going back to the future with this energy-efficient transportation device.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - More bicycles than cars have been sold in the United States over the past 12 months, with rising gas prices prompting commuters to opt for two wheels instead of four.

Not since the oil crisis of 1973 have bicycles sold in such big numbers, according to Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong, an industry association.

"Bicycle sales are near an all-time high with 19 million sold last year -- close to the 20 million sold during the oil embargo in the early 1970s," said Blumenthal, whose association is based in Boulder in the western state of Colorado.

The US Chamber of Commerce says more bicycles have been sold than cars over the past 12 months.

Admittedly since gasoline did its Katrina Dance the thought has crossed the Oklahomilist's mind that perhaps a bicycle would be a good investment, a horse and buggy having too many negatives to consider.

But the last attempted bike ride in the Grand Tetons was nearly the literal last ride as a majority of the Oklahomilist body systems (MOTOBS, as the Mogambo would say) experienced near catastrophic failure on a scale only a NASA administrator could appreciate. Admittedly it was a much higher altitude than Tulsa County, Oklahoma, and certainly we're in better shape today, but the memory lingers.

Lingering too, is this image:

The ghost bikes of Pittsburg, Penn., seen in various locations where cyclists involved in close encounters with automobile traffic were killed.

Anyone familiar with Oklahoma motorists and Tulsa metro traffic in particular know full well that any man, woman or child biking on the streets are taking an extreme risk. It's going to take a lot higher gas prices, a public education campaign and at least 50,000 forced lobotomies before the roads are truly safe for bicycles again.

If only the bike paths went somewhere practical.