Driving people out of their cars and onto bicycles has been an Agenda 21 plank that Oregon has fully embraced since 1992 . Now its the bikers who are getting a look at the other side of the knife blade as a new excise tax will ding every new purchaser, and they are livid. They are too used to having their cake and eating it too. ? TN Editor

In Oregon, a state known for its avid bicycling culture, the state Legislature's approval of the first bike tax in the nation has fallen flat with riders.

Democratic Gov. Kate Brown is expected to sign the sweeping $5.3 billion transportation package, which includes a $15 excise tax on the sale of bicycles costing more than $200 with a wheel diameter of at least 26 inches.

Even though the funding has been earmarked for improvements that will benefit cyclists, the tax has managed to irk both anti-tax Republicans and environmentally conscious bikers.

BikePortland publisher Jonathan Maus called it "an unprecedented step in the wrong direction."

"We are taxing the healthiest, most inexpensive, most environmentally friendly, most efficient and most economically sustainable form of transportation ever devised by the human species," Mr. Maus said.

Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bill Currier blasted what he described as Ms. Brown's "endless obsession with finding new and innovative ways to take money out of the pockets of Oregon taxpayers."