Vote for Peace: Ride a Bicycle!!!

I have an even better idea, Don. Why not find out what you're talking about before carrying on so
piously sweetly and ignorantly?

For instance, your claim that European cities, particularly northern ones, all have bike lanes isn't
even close to true. Norway, the richest country in Scandinavia, has crappy, limited, often poorly
maintained, bike lanes along main roads when they pass through towns. They don't go along any other
roads or streets. Between towns, not only are there no bike lanes, there aren't even shoulders.

Your difficulty with knowing what you are talking about is reinforced when it comes to your
ridiculous wonderfulness social ideology. Did you know that something very like what you are
describing, a mixed economy with both socialist and capitalist elements, was tried and eventually
abandoned in almost every country in Western Europe in the past century, including most notably the
very Scandinavian countries you are waxing so frothy about.

The reason the Social Democrats can't win elections in Europe any more is that everybody has been
there and done that. They aren't interested in it any more because it didn't freakin' work when
they tried it.

Do you have any idea how much of a lamebrain you sound like in espousing a socialism that you think
you are going to educate others about, like it's some kind of news to anyone?

"Don Quijote" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

VOTE FOR PEACE: RIDE A BICYCLE!!!

Well, since this war seems to be about oil, why not boycott it? The way to go is to 'burn the
calories' in a nice, clean and safe way...

(the emphasis in capital letters and quotes is mine)

Source: "Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities," by Timothy Beatley.

Bicycles as a legitimate form of mobility.

There are few mobility options more environmentally-friendly than bicycles. They are zero
emissions, take up relatively little space, are inexpensive, are available to the young and old
alike, and provide their users with important physical exercise. In the United States and many
other developed countries, we have ignored or "forgotten" this relatively low-tech mobility
option. Yet, in many northern European cities, bicycles are a significant and legitimate mobility
option and an increasingly important part of the transportation mix there.

Bicycle use as a percentage of the modal split is consistently much higher in most of the cities
examined in this study and vigorously promoted as a more environmentally friendly mode, which
provides greater mobility than the automobile (specially for shorter distances). Most of the
cities studied here have developed, and continue to develop, extensive and impressive bicycle
networks. Berlin has 800 kilometers of bike lanes and Frieburg has 410 kilometers. Vienna has more
than doubled its bicycle network since the late 1980s and now has more than 500 kilometers.
Copenhagen has about 300 kilometers of bike lanes and now has a policy of INSTALLING BIKE LANES
ALONG ALL MAJOR STREETS. Bicycle use there has gone up 65 per cent since 1970. These cities show
commitment to making bicycle use easy and safe, and they reveal the key ingredients to building
bicycle-friendly cities.

Bicycle use in these exemplary cities is year-round proposition. Summer use of bicycles is usually
higher in northern cities such as Copenhagen, where 40 per cent of work-commutes are by bicycle
during these months. Nevertheless, in Copenhagen some 70 per cent of those normally bicycling also
bicycle to work during the winter months. Similar experience can be found in Finnish cities,
suggesting that the notion that bicycling is feasible or acceptable only in ideal weather is
untrue. That such high rates of usage can be achieved in northern European cities suggests GREAT
PROMISE FOR AMERICAN CITIES. And, while bicycles are specially promising for shorter trips, it is
clear that many people are prepared to ride their bicycles considerable distances. It has been
estimated that in Copenhagen, an average bicycle commute is 7 kilometer, or about 20 minutes
--many commutes are longer, which indicates that many residential areas will, given facilities and
safe routes, be within a reasonable bicycle commuting range.

A ROAD TO FREEDOM (UNLIKE RUSSIA'S)

Why not build a new system? That offers PROSPERITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE and FREEDOM; that discards the
defects of both Communism and Capitalism; and that places the system at the service of the human
being, and not the other way around. Why not HUMANISM?

Naturally, education and health care should be the maximum priorities; they should be free -or
affordable, in the case of higher education- and accessible to all. Education should emphasize the
learning of English -or Esperanto, if we all ever on it- and literacy... in computers. Likewise,
culture and sports should receive special attention (for example, adopting the affordable
child-care centers; in general, we would have much to learn from the Scandinavian model). A MIXED
MODEL, that includes competition and cooperation, would create a healthy competition, and it would
allow to satisfy the material and human needs of all. (In this way, the cooperative enterprises
would be forced to become more efficient, while capitalist enterprises would be forced to become
more humane; we would have much to learn from the Israeli kibbutz [non-profit cooperatives]; and
from the industrial cooperatives of Mondragon, in the Basque Country [a "workers capitalism"].) We
should seek full employment (for instance, by creating jobs in the construction of the
transportation infrastructure; but, if unemployment persists, the work time could be reduced).
Public transportation should be A1. (The city of Curitiba, in Brazil, offers us a functional model
of transportation; BICYCLE LANES SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED ALONG ALL MAJOR STREETS.)

(snip)

webspawner.comdonquijoteOpen ↗

I haven't seen all of Europe's big cities, but have been in Prague, Paris, London, and Madrid. I was
surprised at the small number of cyclists in these cities after being told about the prevalence of
bicycles in Europe. It might be due to the fact that they have efficient mass transportation, and in
Prague at least, people are very used to walking places within a mile or two. Frankly, cycling on
the streets of those cities looked as though it would have been a harrowing experience. The only
place I saw many cyclists were in the country...racer types and northern European tourists-bikers on
Spanish coast getting away from the early spring cold.

"Jack Kessler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have an even better idea, Don. Why not find out what you're talking

about

Quoted message said:

before carrying on so piously sweetly and ignorantly?

For instance, your claim that European cities, particularly northern ones, all have bike lanes
isn't even close to true. Norway, the richest country in Scandinavia, has crappy, limited, often
poorly maintained, bike lanes along main roads when they pass through towns. They don't go along
any other roads or streets. Between towns, not only are there no bike lanes, there aren't even
shoulders.

Your difficulty with knowing what you are talking about is reinforced when it comes to your
ridiculous wonderfulness social ideology. Did you know that something very like what you are
describing, a mixed economy with

both

Quoted message said:

socialist and capitalist elements, was tried and eventually abandoned in almost every country in
Western Europe in the past century, including most notably the very Scandinavian countries you are
waxing so frothy about.

The reason the Social Democrats can't win elections in Europe any more is that everybody has been
there and done that. They aren't interested in

it

Quoted message said:

any more because it didn't freakin' work when they tried it.

Do you have any idea how much of a lamebrain you sound like in espousing a socialism that you
think you are going to educate others about, like it's some kind of news to anyone?

"Don Quijote" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

VOTE FOR PEACE: RIDE A BICYCLE!!!

Well, since this war seems to be about oil, why not boycott it? The way to go is to 'burn the
calories' in a nice, clean and safe way...

(the emphasis in capital letters and quotes is mine)

Source: "Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities," by Timothy Beatley.

Bicycles as a legitimate form of mobility.

There are few mobility options more environmentally-friendly than bicycles. They are zero
emissions, take up relatively little space, are inexpensive, are available to the young and old
alike, and provide their users with important physical exercise. In the United States and many
other developed countries, we have ignored or "forgotten" this relatively low-tech mobility
option. Yet, in many northern European cities, bicycles are a significant and legitimate
mobility option and an increasingly important part of the transportation mix there.

Bicycle use as a percentage of the modal split is consistently much higher in most of the cities
examined in this study and vigorously promoted as a more environmentally friendly mode, which
provides greater mobility than the automobile (specially for shorter distances). Most of the
cities studied here have developed, and continue to develop, extensive and impressive bicycle
networks. Berlin has 800 kilometers of bike lanes and Frieburg has 410 kilometers. Vienna has
more than doubled its bicycle network since the late 1980s and now has more than 500 kilometers.
Copenhagen has about 300 kilometers of bike lanes and now has a policy of INSTALLING BIKE LANES
ALONG ALL MAJOR STREETS. Bicycle use there has gone up 65 per cent since 1970. These cities show
commitment to making bicycle use easy and safe, and they reveal the key ingredients to building
bicycle-friendly cities.

Bicycle use in these exemplary cities is year-round proposition. Summer use of bicycles is
usually higher in northern cities such as Copenhagen, where 40 per cent of work-commutes are by
bicycle during these months. Nevertheless, in Copenhagen some 70 per cent of those normally
bicycling also bicycle to work during the winter months. Similar experience can be found in
Finnish cities, suggesting that the notion that bicycling is feasible or acceptable only in
ideal weather is untrue. That such high rates of usage can be achieved in northern European
cities suggests GREAT PROMISE FOR AMERICAN CITIES. And, while bicycles are specially promising
for shorter trips, it is clear that many people are prepared to ride their bicycles considerable
distances. It has been estimated that in Copenhagen, an average bicycle commute is 7 kilometer,
or about 20 minutes --many commutes are longer, which indicates that many residential areas
will, given facilities and safe routes, be within a reasonable bicycle commuting range.

A ROAD TO FREEDOM (UNLIKE RUSSIA'S)

Why not build a new system? That offers PROSPERITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE and FREEDOM; that discards
the defects of both Communism and Capitalism; and that places the system at the service of the
human being, and not the other way around. Why not HUMANISM?

Naturally, education and health care should be the maximum priorities; they should be free -or
affordable, in the case of higher education- and accessible to all. Education should emphasize
the learning of English -or Esperanto, if we all ever on it- and literacy... in computers.
Likewise, culture and sports should receive special attention (for example, adopting the
affordable child-care centers; in general, we would have much to learn from the Scandinavian
model). A MIXED MODEL, that includes competition and cooperation, would create a healthy
competition, and it would allow to satisfy the material and human needs of all. (In this way,
the cooperative enterprises would be forced to become more efficient, while capitalist
enterprises would be forced to become more humane; we would have much to learn from the Israeli
kibbutz [non-profit cooperatives]; and from the industrial cooperatives of Mondragon, in the
Basque Country [a "workers capitalism"].) We should seek full employment (for instance, by
creating jobs in the construction of the transportation infrastructure; but, if unemployment
persists, the work time could be reduced). Public transportation should be A1. (The city of
Curitiba, in Brazil, offers us a functional model of transportation; BICYCLE LANES SHOULD BE
IMPLEMENTED ALONG ALL MAJOR STREETS.)

(snip)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

webspawner.comdonquijoteOpen ↗

"David Storm" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I haven't seen all of Europe's big cities, but have been in Prague, Paris, London, and Madrid. I
was surprised at the small number of cyclists in these cities after being told about the
prevalence of bicycles in Europe. It might be due to the fact that they have efficient mass
transportation, and in Prague at least, people are very used to walking places within a mile or
two. Frankly, cycling on the streets of those cities looked as though it would have been a
harrowing experience. The only place I saw many cyclists were in the country...racer types and
northern European tourists-bikers on Spanish coast getting away from the early spring cold.

I had the same impression in France. I was there for two weeks and I didn't see a single
recreational cyclist and only TWO commuters outside of Paris. The commuters were farmers riding out
into their fields.

In Paris it was extremely rare to see a bike anywhere except the rental bike tour along the Seine.

The first French recreational rider I saw was two days before the Tour de France. They had a "ride
the same course" ride early in the morning before the last stage began and in the USA there would
have been thousands of riders. In Paris there were barely hundreds and most of them were speaking in
non-French languages.

France is a big country and I was told that bicycling is still popular in Britainy. But what is
telling is that I met up with a friend over in Paris and he told me a story: he was riding through a
city in France after spending two months there. He saw a bicycle going the other way and the other
rider saw him. They both stopped and stared at each other because it was the first time either had
seen a bicycle on their respective tours in France.

"Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

In Paris it was extremely rare to see a bike anywhere except the rental bike tour along the Seine.

This is so at odds with my own observations that I'm left wondering what parts of Paris you were
in, and how you define "extremely rare." I don't think bicycle riding is at all rare, even in
inclement weather.