M
Mark
Guest
My son (15 YO) walks to school - about a 40 minute walk - then walks to extracurricular activities
and walks or takes the bus home. I would have thought that a bike would have been perfect for his
commute. When I ask him about it, he shrugs and mumbles that walking is better exercise. His sister
let me in on the attraction of the walk - his route includes going past a couple of girls houses,
and they walk together - so it is a social thing for him.
On 9 Feb 2003 23:56:35 -0800, [email protected] (Luigi de Guzman) wrote:
>[email protected] wrote in message news:<vZE1a.49928$iG3.6321@sccrnsc02>...
>
>
>> So, biking is easier than walking, but harder than driving. That causes riding and deters riding.
>> It is less 'fashionable' than driving. It is considered to be safer than driving when under the
>> influence. There you have some insight into the teenage potential cyclist's mind.
>
>would you attribute it entirely to laziness, or are there other factors involved?
>
>I find that there are a lot of people I talk to that say, at least, that they'd like to ride their
>bicycle to get around, but are scared of having to share the road with cars-- "If I'm on the road
>in a car, at least I've got two tons of steel protecting me if someone else hits me," they tell me.
>"On the bike, nothing; I feel naked." Some people are amenable to reason; the usual Effective
>Cycling talk, backed with an offer to go for a ride together, may work here.
>
>The vast majority, however, are simply paralysed by fear of motorized traffic, and resolutely
>refuse to ride their bicycles anywhere where there might be the slightest whiff of other vehicle
>traffic. Which makes me conclude that they are either lying through their teeth about a desire to
>ride their bicycles, or genuinely that scared...There's got to be something that can be done, from
>a policy standpoint, short of bicycle apartheid, to address their concerns.
>
>What amazes me is that people will go through all sorts of extremes to take personal risks for
>their amusement and will not countenance even a negligible increase in risk for instrumnental--that
>is, utilitarian--purposes. I'm particularly amused by the BMX kiddies I see when I'm home (Northern
>VA). They show no fear whatsoever when they attempt maneuvers on their bikes that would make me
>sick with fear--and yet, they can't ride on the street to get where they're going to...I'm often
>aware of them stopping whatever they're doing and just staring as I zip through a particularly
>tricky intersection, mixing it up with the local SUV population. (A secondary amazement, when I see
>the BMX kiddies, is that their parents let them get smashed up doing tricks on the bike, but are
>terrified of letting them ride the mile or so to the store or the park or the library)
>
>Since you talk about high awareness of the risks of drunk driving--something that has come about
>after decades of public information campaigns--perhaps attempts to convince the public about the
>safety of cycling, backed with Real Money (TM), might have some impact.
>
>Good luck getting your classmates on the bikes.
>
>-Luigi Go play in traffic!
and walks or takes the bus home. I would have thought that a bike would have been perfect for his
commute. When I ask him about it, he shrugs and mumbles that walking is better exercise. His sister
let me in on the attraction of the walk - his route includes going past a couple of girls houses,
and they walk together - so it is a social thing for him.
On 9 Feb 2003 23:56:35 -0800, [email protected] (Luigi de Guzman) wrote:
>[email protected] wrote in message news:<vZE1a.49928$iG3.6321@sccrnsc02>...
>
>
>> So, biking is easier than walking, but harder than driving. That causes riding and deters riding.
>> It is less 'fashionable' than driving. It is considered to be safer than driving when under the
>> influence. There you have some insight into the teenage potential cyclist's mind.
>
>would you attribute it entirely to laziness, or are there other factors involved?
>
>I find that there are a lot of people I talk to that say, at least, that they'd like to ride their
>bicycle to get around, but are scared of having to share the road with cars-- "If I'm on the road
>in a car, at least I've got two tons of steel protecting me if someone else hits me," they tell me.
>"On the bike, nothing; I feel naked." Some people are amenable to reason; the usual Effective
>Cycling talk, backed with an offer to go for a ride together, may work here.
>
>The vast majority, however, are simply paralysed by fear of motorized traffic, and resolutely
>refuse to ride their bicycles anywhere where there might be the slightest whiff of other vehicle
>traffic. Which makes me conclude that they are either lying through their teeth about a desire to
>ride their bicycles, or genuinely that scared...There's got to be something that can be done, from
>a policy standpoint, short of bicycle apartheid, to address their concerns.
>
>What amazes me is that people will go through all sorts of extremes to take personal risks for
>their amusement and will not countenance even a negligible increase in risk for instrumnental--that
>is, utilitarian--purposes. I'm particularly amused by the BMX kiddies I see when I'm home (Northern
>VA). They show no fear whatsoever when they attempt maneuvers on their bikes that would make me
>sick with fear--and yet, they can't ride on the street to get where they're going to...I'm often
>aware of them stopping whatever they're doing and just staring as I zip through a particularly
>tricky intersection, mixing it up with the local SUV population. (A secondary amazement, when I see
>the BMX kiddies, is that their parents let them get smashed up doing tricks on the bike, but are
>terrified of letting them ride the mile or so to the store or the park or the library)
>
>Since you talk about high awareness of the risks of drunk driving--something that has come about
>after decades of public information campaigns--perhaps attempts to convince the public about the
>safety of cycling, backed with Real Money (TM), might have some impact.
>
>Good luck getting your classmates on the bikes.
>
>-Luigi Go play in traffic!
