Vote for Peace: Ride a Bicycle!!!

[Claire Petersky]

"P e t e F a g e r l i n" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "Frank Krygowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> | P e t e F a g e r l i n wrote:
> | >
> | >
> | > Not everyone is forced to drive in rush hour traffic and even if they are, there are
> many
> | > opprotunities to drive where/when traffic isn't an issue.
> |
> | I've got to say, the idea of an "opportunity to drive" is foreign to
> | me. It's not that I never drive - but it's like having an "opportunity" to take out the
> | garbage. I'm not interested in doing it any more than I have to.
>
> Some folks can't grasp the concept of driving for fun, or for pleasure, or to > get to a place
> that offers much better riding than their local areas.

is like, and while I could see how it could be fun for them, it doesn't melt my butter.

So, you go drive your car, cooped up in a malodorous steel box, and have your form of fun.

Me, I'll be on my bike, out in the fresh air, getting exercise, and enjoying life in a way that can
not be possible when there is a barrier between me and the rest of the world.

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky ([email protected]) Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm Singing with you at: http://www.tiferet.net/ Books
just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

 

[P E T E F A G E]

"garmonboezia" <cthvlhv@r'lyeh.arg> wrote in message news:fySea.196757$S_4.108442@rwcrnsc53...
| "P e t e F a g e r l i n" <[email protected]> wrote in
| news:[email protected]:
|
| >
| > Some folks can't grasp the concept of driving for fun, or for pleasure, or to get to a place
| > that offers much better riding than their local areas.
| >
| > Some folks live sheltered lives, or have an ingrained fear of autos.
| >
| >
| >
|
| You're right about that. I can't grasp it. I've never driven and I don't plan to start now.

It's not surprising that you can't understand something that you've never experienced.

<snip babble

 

[Claire Petersky]

archer <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> > archer wrote:
> > >
> > > I would love to be able to ride to work, approx 12 miles each way, but there's a big bridge on
> > > the route, and bikes are not allowed on it (and neither are pedestrians).
> >
> > You sure there's no way around it? I've found a few alternative routes on my commute using
> > mapquest that would have required some exploring to find.
>
> The only alternate routes to the other side of Narragansett Bay which allow bikes make 12 miles
> into about 50 miles, unless I pretend I'm a triathlete, and swim across 2 miles of water towing my
> bike behind me <GG>.

Can you load the bike on to mass transit for the bridge section? Many bicycle commuters here load
bikes onto the bus between the Evergreen Point and Montlake stations on the Evergreen Point Floating
Bridge (which is motor vehicle only). Apparently during commuter hours the racks fill up to the
extent that a bus that is making the crossing, even if not in service, is required to stop at these
two places to pick up cyclists. In my experience, for the occasional time I cross the lake there,
the bus always has had an available slot on the rack.

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky ([email protected]) Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm Singing with you at: http://www.tiferet.net/ Books
just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

 

[Frank Krygowski]

P e t e F a g e r l i n wrote:
>
> "Frank Krygowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> | I've got to say, the idea of an "opportunity to drive" is foreign to
> | me. It's not that I never drive - but it's like having an "opportunity" to take out the
> | garbage. I'm not interested in doing it any more than I have to.
>
> Some folks can't grasp the concept of driving for fun, or for pleasure, or to get to a place that
> offers much better riding than their local areas.

I'm familiar with the concept of driving for fun. I remember being 17 years old. "Wowee! I can
drive! This is so cool!"

Then I grew up.

> Some folks live sheltered lives, or have an ingrained fear of autos.

Oh, doubtlessly! But in America, the ones living the most sheltered lives are those who fear going
anywhere but in their cars. (Somehow, the auto enthusiasts don't notice that close link between them
and the fearful, frail lady down the street.)

BTW, I've never met anyone who considered my life sheltered. I've encountered some wistful
envy instead.

--
Frank Krygowski [email protected]

 

[P E T E F A G E]

"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| "P e t e F a g e r l i n" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
| > "Frank Krygowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
| > | P e t e F a g e r l i n wrote:
| > | >
| > | >
| > | > Not everyone is forced to drive in rush hour traffic and even if they are, there
are
| > many
| > | > opprotunities to drive where/when traffic isn't an issue.
| > |
| > | I've got to say, the idea of an "opportunity to drive" is foreign to
| > | me. It's not that I never drive - but it's like having an "opportunity" to take out the
| > | garbage. I'm not interested in doing it any more than I have to.
| >
| > Some folks can't grasp the concept of driving for fun, or for pleasure, or to > get to
a place that offers much better riding than their local areas.
|

| is like, and while I could see how it could be fun for them, it doesn't melt my butter.

You "anti-car,, bikes are the only solution" loons crack me up.

| So, you go drive your car, cooped up in a malodorous steel box, and have your form of fun.

Why do you assume that becasue someone drives they don't also ride?

| Me, I'll be on my bike, out in the fresh air, getting exercise, and enjoying life in a way that
| can not be possible when there is a barrier between me and the rest of the world.

Yeah, I might be riding too, but without the goofy newage metaphysical fakeness.

p.s. My car isn't malodorous. It just runs a bit rich at idle because the cats are fried.

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Claire Petersky) writes:

> It is much better to join the queue of motor vehicles than to skoogie up to the front of the line
^^^^^^^

I really like that word. Did you just coin it in a moment of automatic creativity? I thought it
might have some Chinook etymology, but it apparently doesn't. I'm guessing it's a combination of
"skootch" (scootch?) and "boogie".

When my next door neighbour can't find the right word, he uses "dookie" as a filler. E.g: "I've
gotta tighten that dookie thing on my bike; the seat keeps sliding down."

Then there was the time I was describing my bouillabaisse recipe to him -- rendering a red snapper
head for the base stock. So now, when he doesn't know somebody's name, he refers to them as
"snapperhead".

I find it most fascinating, how language is so prolific and self-creating. It could make an
interesting AI project.

Anyhoo, I gotta get on my bike now, and skoogie down to Canoodlin' Liar (Canadian Tire) to buy a new
hot plate.

Hey, "skoogie" could be a dance step. Now I'm wondering how Little Eva would've sung about it. Might
have the makings of a good tune.

Yeah. Skoogie. I like it! And the leading "Sk" lends a PNW flavour to it. That's why I thought it
might have roots in Chinook.

May I use it, please?

cheers, Tom

* I have an aunt who flips out whenever anybody suffixes "wise" to any word other than "clock".

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

 

[Peter Cole]

"Don Quijote" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> (no comments)
>
> Safety Benefits of Bike Lanes In Cambridge, sidewalk bicycling was cut in half after the
> installation of bicycle lanes on Mass. Ave. in Central Square.

The only place in your quote that I'm actually familiar with is the part of Cambridge, MA, cited
above. There was a fatality there last summer, attributed by many to the bike lane. We hates them.

 

[Don Quijote]

garmonboezia <cthvlhv@r'lyeh.arg> wrote in message news:<fySea.196757$S_4.108442@rwcrnsc53>...

> > Some folks live sheltered lives, or have an ingrained fear of autos.
> >
> >
> >
>
> You're right about that. I can't grasp it. I've never driven and I don't plan to start now. If I
> want to ride somewhere, I ride there.
>
> Replace "fear" with "hatred" or "resentment" and you'll have it nailed. The very landscape of
> America has been transformed to cater to automobiles and I gotta say it's not a pretty sight. Our
> current adventure in the Near East, becomes much more comprehensible when compared to the
> behaviour of a late stage smack addict.
>
> I'd say pretty much anybody living in the United States lives a very sheltered life compared to
> the rest of the world.

It sounds to me like this:

THEY PAVED PARADISE AND PUT UP A PARKING LOT, in the words of Joni Mitchell. And, accordind to the
American Farmland Trust, the trend continues. It estimates that the United States is losing about 50
acres 'an hour' to suburban and ex-urban development.

Source: "Better NOT Bigger: How to Take Control of Urban Growth and Improve Your Community"

Here's a review:

"For those of us who cannot abide more of the shlocky, subsidized, sprawling urban expansionism that
so often masquerades as progress on the North American continent, there is finally an action guide.
'Better NOT Bigger is a manual for taking apart the machinery of hidden policies and political
coalitions that drive unfettered growth in our towns and cities." --Alan Durning

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[Don Quijote]

archer <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> The only alternate routes to the other side of Narragansett Bay which allow bikes make 12 miles
> into about 50 miles, unless I pretend I'm a triathlete, and swim across 2 miles of water towing my
> bike behind me <GG>.

No need for that... There's a new kayak in the market (a Hobbie Cat) that you can pedal...

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[Don Quijote]

"Edward Dike, III" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> | I'd say pretty much anybody living in the United States lives a very sheltered life compared to
> | the rest of the world.
>
>
> Replace "sheltered" with "productive", "free", or "high standard" and you'll have it nailed.
>
> ED3

Not so much for the "little animals" as it is for the "Lion," right?

THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE

Once upon a time, in the deep jungle, lived a Lion and a Monkey... One day the Monkey, tired of the
Lion always getting the lion share, and seeing that such injustice represented a danger to all the
species of the jungle, demanded justice... The Lion, yawning and stretching, said: "You would have
to have paws and sharp teeth..." Then the Monkey, who was very clever, devised a plan: He would go
to the costume store, and look like a lion...

When the Lion saw him, noticing that the new lion wasn't a match for him, and fearing competion,
killed him on the spot... before the indifferent look of the little animals of the jungle... And
that's how the Law of the Jungle was re-established one more time...

NOTE: Other monkeys survived him...

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[Don Quijote]

[email protected] (Brent P) wrote in message news:<5JLea.164446$eG2.21479@sccrnsc03>...

> > And you plan to bring out riders who don't have any experience to ride in traffic? If ain't safe
> > for small cars, how is it gonna be safe for bicycles?
>
> Is your reading comprehension poor? Re-read what I wrote. Bike lanes do make* the roads safer,
> they simply give an illusion of safety to an exaggarated fear of one particular type of car-bike
> collison while making conditions worse with regards to the most common types.

*Is is it my reading comprehension, or you are saying that indeed bike lanes make the
roads safer...?

>
> Why would you encourage novice riders to ride in traffic with an illusion of safety provided by a
> painted line instead of actual knowledge of how to ride safely?

If people aren't even taught how to properly drive, which drives people into ever bigger Stupid
Unnecessary Vehicles, how can you be safe in a bicycle...?

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

PS: Read the study I posted elsewhere, and you may the 'light'...

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[Don Quijote]

"one of the six billion" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> > So your point is that we shouldn't implement bike lanes because of cars' doors... How is it
> > different without bike lanes?
> >
>
> Bike lanes have that dividing line that adds to the aggression of motorists when you are outside
> it. Often when a bike lane is completely in the door zone just 8 inches left of it is safe,
> however motorists will then become more aggressive than they would were that "stay off the road
> lane" weren't there. The aggression doesn't end with motorists either. I once was verbally
> harassed by a police officer (he was screaming at me until the veins in his neck were showing) for
> straddling the line as he referred to it as. I wasn't even outside the lane. My reason for riding
> on the line was specifically because of the door zone.

Some post I came across:

I quote:

Police figure if cycling is so dangerous, it's not the motorist's fault, but the cyclist's for being
on the road.

[email protected] (Bill) says:

You gotta love these SUV's, I do mine. I live about 3 blocks from the vet and I give my
Yorkshire Terrier a ride there everytime in my SUV, he only weighs 5 lbs. I enjoy burning
gas, makes my day! Bill

I respond:

Lucky you. You got the weight of your vehicle, the law, and a whole army on your side...

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[P E T E F A G E]

"Frank Krygowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
| P e t e F a g e r l i n wrote:
| >
| > "Frank Krygowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
| >
| > | I've got to say, the idea of an "opportunity to drive" is foreign to
| > | me. It's not that I never drive - but it's like having an "opportunity" to take out the
| > | garbage. I'm not interested in doing it any more than I have to.
| >
| > Some folks can't grasp the concept of driving for fun, or for pleasure, or to get to a place
| > that offers much better riding than their local areas.
|
| I'm familiar with the concept of driving for fun. I remember being 17 years old. "Wowee! I can
| drive! This is so cool!"
|
| Then I grew up.

Substitute "riding a bicycle" and "I can ride" to see the silliness of your comments.

| > Some folks live sheltered lives, or have an ingrained fear of autos.
|
| Oh, doubtlessly! But in America, the ones living the most sheltered lives are those who fear going
| anywhere but in their cars. (Somehow, the auto enthusiasts don't notice that close link between
| them and the fearful, frail lady down the street.)

Why do you assume that people who enjoy driving are fearful of going anywhere but in their cars?
That's quite bizarre.

Especially when you're discussing this issue with someone who also commutes by bike.

Heck, it could even be construed as evidence of a sheltered life.

| BTW, I've never met anyone who considered my life sheltered. I've encountered some wistful envy
| instead.

What qualities does your life have that would make one wistfully envious? Especially if they don't
know the first thing about your life, other than what you reveal via your mutterings in this thread
and vague recollections of past threads involving helmet nazis?

 

[Don Quijote]

Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (J. Bruce Fields) wrote:
>
> >Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >>The Tempe bike lanes I ride aren't on roads that allow parking, so that's not an issue.
> >
> >I seem to remember that Mill Avenue, for example, has bike lanes next to street parking. I saw
> >some streets in Mesa (Main, maybe?) with the same design, though there were also a lot of lanes
> >on streets without parking.
>
> They just changed Mill Avenue a few months ago. Used to be two lanes, with no parking and a narrow
> (though adequate) concrete bike lane next to the curb. Now there's a traffic lane, a wide bike
> lane (six feet / two meters) and a "lane-width" parking lane that includes the old bike lane. I
> can assure you I'm not in the door zone when riding in the center of the bike lane (unless there's
> a Hummer parked 3 feet from the curb). ;-)

I think, because I don't want to be unfair, Hummers and similar SUVs should have their own lanes
too, if you know what I mean...

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[Don Quijote]

Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> > So your point is that we shouldn't implement bike lanes because of cars' doors... How is it
> > different without bike lanes?
>
> Since you ask: without a bike lane, many cyclists are more comfortable moving left away from
> the doors.
>
> With bike lanes, motorists (and inexperienced cyclists) are more likely to believe the cyclist
> should stay right of their special white line. Of course, the motorists have no concept of the
> issues cyclists deal with - but that doesn't prevent them from thinking they know better than the
> cyclists.

So, you don't think the engineers would be smart enough to provide enough space in the few place
where parking may be allowed on the right? Has anyone ever wondered how the Dutch dealt with that?

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[Don Quijote]

[email protected] (Brent P) wrote in message news:<7VOea.166219$eG2.21678@sccrnsc03>...
> In article <[email protected]>, Don Quijote wrote:
>
> >> Strictly speaking, it's "not an issue" on _your_ favorite bike lanes. Obviously, it's a serious
> >> issue on others.
>
> > So your point is that we shouldn't implement bike lanes because of cars' doors... How is it
> > different without bike lanes?
>
> Bicycle lanes are often (at least in my experience) painted such that the ideal riding posistion
> if they didn't exist is on the painted line or to the left of it.
>
> Then there are other abborations like the bike lane for NB MLKdrive in chicago at 31st street is
> about 1ft wide at the curb.

I think bike lanes can be just like any road: poorly or well designed... Perhaps the points of
their "objectors" could be incorporated into their design, for which service we can be highly
indebted to them...

http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote

 

[Brent P]

In article <[email protected]>, Don Quijote wrote:
> [email protected] (Brent P) wrote in message news:<5JLea.164446$eG2.21479@sccrnsc03>...
>
>> > And you plan to bring out riders who don't have any experience to ride in traffic? If ain't
>> > safe for small cars, how is it gonna be safe for bicycles?
>>
>> Is your reading comprehension poor? Re-read what I wrote. Bike lanes do make* the roads safer,
>> they simply give an illusion of safety to an exaggarated fear of one particular type of car-bike
>> collison while making conditions worse with regards to the most common types.
>
> *Is is it my reading comprehension, or you are saying that indeed bike lanes make the roads
> safer...?

Are you freaking dense? Bike lanes can only serve to make the road more dangerous for cyclists
compared to simply having a wide curb lane. A painted line does nothing to stop hit-from behind as a
painted line is not a barrier, the sleepy/drunk/abusive/whatever driver still crosses it like it
wasn't there. Meanwhile bike lanes complicate intersections.

>> Why would you encourage novice riders to ride in traffic with an illusion of safety provided by a
>> painted line instead of actual knowledge of how to ride safely?

> If people aren't even taught how to properly drive, which drives people into ever bigger Stupid
> Unnecessary Vehicles, how can you be safe in a bicycle...?

Again. Why do you promote a painted stripe on the road that provides an illusion of safety that
doesn't exist instead of real skills that allow a cyclist to be as safe as possible in traffic?

Your painted line cannot stop a motor vehicle.

 

[Brent P]

In article <[email protected]>, Don Quijote wrote:

> I think bike lanes can be just like any road: poorly or well designed... Perhaps the points of
> their "objectors" could be incorporated into their design, for which service we can be highly
> indebted to them...

I will ask you the question no bike lane supporter has ever been able to answer. WHAT IS A WELL
DESIGNED BIKE LANE AND HOW DOES IT PREVENT ADDITIONAL COMPLICATION TO INTERSECTIONS?

This has never been answered, because it is impossible to make a well-designed bike lane such that
it doesn't add complication to intersections. The answer is wide curb lanes. No complications, the
cyclist may still take the lane when needed, no additional motorist anger for leaving 'the bike
area', and no additional complexity to the intersection.

All my favorite high-volume roads for cycling are wide curb lane with speed limits close to the 85th
percentile. This creates the best flow, the easiest interaction, and the least conflict.

 

[Garmonboezia]

"P e t e F a g e r l i n" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
> Some folks can't grasp the concept of driving for fun, or for pleasure, or to get to a place that
> offers much better riding than their local areas.
>
> Some folks live sheltered lives, or have an ingrained fear of autos.
>
>
>

You're right about that. I can't grasp it. I've never driven and I don't plan to start now. If I
want to ride somewhere, I ride there.

Replace "fear" with "hatred" or "resentment" and you'll have it nailed. The very landscape of
America has been transformed to cater to automobiles and I gotta say it's not a pretty sight. Our
current adventure in the Near East, becomes much more comprehensible when compared to the behaviour
of a late stage smack addict.

I'd say pretty much anybody living in the United States lives a very sheltered life compared to the
rest of the world.

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <W17fa.183023$F1.8304@sccrnsc04>, garmonboezia <cthvlhv@r'lyeh.arg> writes:

...

> Replace "fear" with "hatred" or "resentment" and you'll have it nailed.

For you & me, both.

> The very landscape of America has been transformed to cater to automobiles and I gotta say it's
> not a pretty sight.

Same up here in Canada. Over 25% of the area of Vancouver (Proper) BC has been paved-over.
It's ugly.

> Our current adventure in the Near East, becomes much more comprehensible
^^^^^^^^^

At last! Thank you for your geographic correctness! AIUI, the Middle East consists mainly of
Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan -- areas with more Asian cultural ties. The Near East is more
connected with Africa, and includes Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Israel, as well
as the several smaller Arab states, and most of the Mediterranean coast (and some of the Atlantic
coast) of Africa.

> late stage smack addict.
>
> I'd say pretty much anybody living in the United States lives a very sheltered life compared to
> the rest of the world.

The more one has, the more one has things to gripe about, I guess.

I, too, note addictive behaviour in re ppl's reliance on cars. Especially in the vehemence with
which car addicts defend their precious little commodities whenever they infer threats to the
continued existance and free run of their cars.

cheers, Tom

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