I wonder if the workers have to assemble the bikes themselves? Surely they are made in China.

Now they can reduce the employee parking so they can add more square footage for stuff people don't need.

They showed this on the local news last week. Yes, the bikes came in big flat boxes and needed to be assembled! The finished bike looked pretty nice though, if your into that sort of thing.

Are the packages labeled with an unpronouncable Swedish name rather than "bicycle"?

I heard some people griping about this on the radio, that the style of bike wasn't very "commuter-friendly", etc. I think they were probably just jealous. How many companies are giving any sort of Christmas bonus these days? Hooray for IKEA!

" if Scrooge were played by Earl Blumenauer"

Earl would give them discounts on MAX passes for XMAS.

"if Scrooge were played by Earl Blumenauer"

. . all bus service would be phased out and eliminated.

Earl would give them discounts on MAX passes for XMAS.

No, discounts on WES passes.

1. Huh?
IKEA says "no" on bike lanes
By Richard Masoner ——

Brooklyn Ikea store manager says encouraging bike traffic on street in front of his store is ‘dangerous.’

The store manager of the new Ikea store in Red Hook attended a community meeting to discuss painting bike lanes on Columbia Street and around to Halleck and Beard Streets, where the Ikea store is located. According to Gothamist:

At a Community Board 6 meeting last Thursday night, the Swedish retailer came down hard on a DOT plan to install a bike lane that would run four measly blocks on Columbia Street from Bay Street, onto Halleck and Beard Streets. “It seems dangerous to officially encourage bikes to the front of IKEA,” intoned IKEA Manager Mike Baker, whom one member of the transportation committee described as “confrontational.”
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2010/ikea-says-no-on-bike-lanes/

2. IKEA bike gift news from Conshohocken PA, eh? How likely that the bikes are made in China, and not in PA(Cannondale)?

Last Major US Bicycle Maker Outsourcing to Asia
July 12, 2010
http://www.outsourcing-process.com/outsourcing/last-major-us-bicycle-maker-outsourcing-to-asia/

Nice stunt/gesture, though. Some workers in the U.S. will just get pink slips.

I liked this proof for the benefits of bicycling:
"Countries with the highest levels of cycling and walking generally have the lowest obesity rates. (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia)"

Well, duh! Countries with the highest levels of cycling and walking are also so poor that the people hunt lizards for food. Nope -- no obesity there!