More Venezuelans Turning to Bicycles As Strike Diminishes Gas Supplies

The Associated Press Venezuela Jan. 5 —

In a holiday shopping season made dreary by Venezuela's general strike, one item was and remains particularly hot:

The bicycle.

Before the strike, streets in the capital were usually choked with beat-up buses, taxis, cargo trucks and cars, and a gasoline shortage in this oil-rich nation seemed unthinkable.

But the Caracas traffic jams and the gasoline vanished when Venezuela's largest labor union and business chamber began a general strike Dec. 2 to demand President Hugo Chavez' resignation.

While motorists wait to fill their tanks in mile-long lines outside service stations, bike stores have been swamped as Venezuelans adopt an alternate form of transportation.

Frank Gonzalez, co-owner of a store in Caracas' upscale Las Mercedes district, said he's never seen such a spike in year-end sales.

"We are selling three or four times as many bikes as we did last year. The demand is incredible. I've never seen a boom like this," said Gonzalez, smiling. His store was bustling with activity.

"What's happening is great for us, but it's terrible for the country," said Gonzalez's business partner, Mauricio Racchini.

Under normal circumstances, bike sales usually double during the holiday season. But in 2002, sales soared well beyond that, thanks mostly to middle-class Venezuelans with some money to spare from year-end bonuses, store owners said.

"Sales are up 300 to 400 percent this year, almost all of it bikes ... and some in-line skates," said Javier Rodriguez, owner of a sports store selling everything from top-of-the-line mountain bikes to used surfboards.

Biking quickly became fashionable at opposition-led marches and street demonstrations. If protesters aren't walking, they're usually pedaling.

"It's fun protesting and riding at the same time," said Patricia Rago, a 39-year-old economist. "Besides, this is a great way to get exercise."

Some Chavez opponents even have created a group called Cyclists for Freedom. They organize "Cyclemarches" of up to 13 miles with rest stops.

And while the bike enjoys new popularity, cars sales not surprisingly have dropped.

The latest statistics from the Venezuelan Automobile Industry Chamber show Venezuelans bought 111,247 cars from January to October 2002, 33 percent less than the same period a year before.

Statistics for November and December have not been released, most likely another result of the strike.

Then, there are the Venezuelans who have never been able to afford a car. In poor areas isolated rural regions and impoverished city slums bikes have long been a necessity.

No new bicycles gleam in the dusty window displays of a rundown shop in Caracas' La Pastora neighborhood. Inside, customers look over spare parts and a few children's bikes with training wheels.

"Business is up, but it's mostly repairs. People here don't have the resources to purchase new bikes," said Emilio Luque, an employee and cyclist.

Most Venezuelans with formal jobs make the monthly minimum wage of $125.00. Roughly half of Venezuelans work in the informal sector hawking items on sidewalks.

For Freddy Machado, a rusty oversize tricycle is his livelihood.

"I need this to survive. Forget recreation, I don't have the time or energy," said Machado, 59, as he pedaled his trike through the trash-strewn streets of downtown Caracas selling bananas, mangos and pineapples from a large basket.

On the Net: Cyclists for Freedom (in Spanish):