Antone's Nightclub
Bike It – You Might Like It
RECEIVED Wed., July 12, 2006
Dear Editor,
I think that Mr. Harwell would be hard-pressed to insist that his car is unsmelly if he were forced to stand behind it straddling a bicycle [“Postmarks,” July 7].
Furthermore, I think he would be equally hard-pressed to find a cyclist who rode while talking on a cell phone, eating a burger, and smoking a cigarette simultaneously.
Finally, cycling as an alternative mode of transportation isn't necessarily about making every single trip a bike trip. It's about realizing the difference between the necessity of a vehicle and the luxury of a vehicle and making a responsible choice. Most people can't take their kids to school or ride to work on a bike. However, they can ride to the corner or to a friend's house without starting up their car. A gallon of milk or a couple of sandwiches fit neatly into a backpack.
Cycling as a movement isn't about replacement, it's about augmentation, and the benefits that come with it. Health, environmental, financial ... shall I go on?
I am tired of people decrying the assertions of alternative transportationalists because it won't replace their cars. Nothing will replace your car, jerk. Even I was forced to purchase one, because my commute became too dangerous. But denying the efficacy of bike transportation as opposed to car transportation is akin to claiming that wind power won't hold a candle to fossil fuels. Of course it won't! But that doesn't mean it can't make a difference and that we shouldn't respect (and possibly defer to) those who chose it as their means of powering their homes or getting around town!
Eric, I'm sorry that you saw a cyclist burn through a deserted red light, and it enraged you. Maybe if your car ran on calories you would appreciate the impetus for capturing inertia to its fullest. I am sure that if you had been going through the green light running perpendicular, your car would have won that clash of the titans. Hopefully you would have at least proffered assistance to the poor cyclist your vehicle had crushed, a courtesy that is becoming extinct in this city.
Until that magical moment, why not try riding your dusty bike for something other than recreation? You don't have to do everything on it, just a few things, here and there. Then perhaps you'll understand the cycling community's problem with asshole drivers, and perhaps even share some of our collective pissed-offedness about the average motorist's utter lack of respect (and apparent bloodlust) for those less en-motored.
I think that Mr. Harwell would be hard-pressed to insist that his car is unsmelly if he were forced to stand behind it straddling a bicycle [“Postmarks,” July 7].
Furthermore, I think he would be equally hard-pressed to find a cyclist who rode while talking on a cell phone, eating a burger, and smoking a cigarette simultaneously.
Finally, cycling as an alternative mode of transportation isn't necessarily about making every single trip a bike trip. It's about realizing the difference between the necessity of a vehicle and the luxury of a vehicle and making a responsible choice. Most people can't take their kids to school or ride to work on a bike. However, they can ride to the corner or to a friend's house without starting up their car. A gallon of milk or a couple of sandwiches fit neatly into a backpack.
Cycling as a movement isn't about replacement, it's about augmentation, and the benefits that come with it. Health, environmental, financial ... shall I go on?
I am tired of people decrying the assertions of alternative transportationalists because it won't replace their cars. Nothing will replace your car, jerk. Even I was forced to purchase one, because my commute became too dangerous. But denying the efficacy of bike transportation as opposed to car transportation is akin to claiming that wind power won't hold a candle to fossil fuels. Of course it won't! But that doesn't mean it can't make a difference and that we shouldn't respect (and possibly defer to) those who chose it as their means of powering their homes or getting around town!
Eric, I'm sorry that you saw a cyclist burn through a deserted red light, and it enraged you. Maybe if your car ran on calories you would appreciate the impetus for capturing inertia to its fullest. I am sure that if you had been going through the green light running perpendicular, your car would have won that clash of the titans. Hopefully you would have at least proffered assistance to the poor cyclist your vehicle had crushed, a courtesy that is becoming extinct in this city.
Until that magical moment, why not try riding your dusty bike for something other than recreation? You don't have to do everything on it, just a few things, here and there. Then perhaps you'll understand the cycling community's problem with asshole drivers, and perhaps even share some of our collective pissed-offedness about the average motorist's utter lack of respect (and apparent bloodlust) for those less en-motored.
Mike "Dub" Wainwright