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Bike for Peace Campaign
'At the beginning of the day you got a choice: "Life's a Bitch" or "Life's a Beach." Grab your bike, go out there, and make it a beach, even if you don't have a beach.' -Wise TibetanMonkey, Beach Cruiser Philosopher
"DEMOCRACY BEGINS WITH A BIKE AND ENDS WITH AN SUV"
BIKE=FREEDOM... SUV=CAGE
YOU MAY WANT TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN...
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Go into "no man's land" and TAKE THE LANE. Yes, it can be done provided we coordinate and cooperate. They can't afford to kill many cyclists if we are part of one movement. Actually we are at greater risk by NOT coordinating. We lose our lives in grinding and winding road edges and sidewalks, where we also endanger the pedestrian, another innocent casualty in this war. Did I say war? Good metaphor but, of course, we don't stand a chance. WE ARE SITTING DUCKS. "Never saw him" is a common excuse. Put on something bright and go into no man's land. (see lyrics below)
Bike For Peace
But I wouldn't recommend martyrdom. Plan B is to stay in the cage. Weigh the options, including a Plan C. I go kayaking often where I enjoy relative peace. Such is life in the end of times. Nothing Biblical about it. We get what we deserve and we are endangered species because of our ARROGANCE & GREED. There's bananas for all, but we want the whole bunch. Banana Revolution or extinction.
My motto:
"REVOLUTIONS FROM THE PLANET" (borrowed from Sun Bicycles)
You think of the bike as a kinder, gentler vehicle that will help keep Peace as well as save the Environment, and make you Sexy.
***
(I quote from book's review)
Of course, you and I know that BICYCLES ARE SEXIER THAN CARS, right? And yet I suspect that you, too, have friends who just don't see it. Well, help is at hand. Get these benighted souls a copy of Pryor Dodge's book, 'The Bicycle.'
The bicycle, perhaps surprisingly, has always been faintly suspect and subversive -- something of a threat, as the poet says, to lucrative patterns of repression, even before there were cars. This isn't just a recent, or an American, phenomenon. In the 1890s, "The German government resisted cycling....'The freedom, mobility, and privacy of the bicycle were more than the authorities would tolerate', though they found bicycles useful for policemen and local militia." In the US, "Municipal governments, chambers of commerce, and merchants of all kinds complained loudly about the disastrous effects of the bicycle on business." Even earlier, in England, "The Bicycle Union... put pressure on parliament to block an amendment [that] would have curbed the use of bicycles on highways.... The status of the bicycle was ambiguous. Was it a man or a vehicle? Was the cyclist riding, driving, or running?.... These issues would not be resolved for decades." Dodge might have added that here in the US, at least, they still haven't: cyclists have all the responsibilities and limitations of both cars and pedestrians, but none of the privileges of either.
http://www.rightofway.org/littera-scripta/dodge.html
Also, our new campaign "VELORUTION!" at http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote91
NEW: "The best model for our roads: the jungle!" at http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote93
Something I overheard...
"The war in Iraq isn't for oil, it's a war for Americans convenience to drive their own personal automobiles and to buy cheap subsidized gas."
But they practice what they preach, unlike some "Christians" that drive SUVs...
It's cheap too!
Please see 'RIDING A BIKE COSTS PEANUTS' at http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote88
The Revolution Will Not be Motorized
by Robin Buckallew
So you say you want a revolution? Well, we all want to change the world. So what? Quit bitching and moaning, quit bellyaching, and get off your duff. There is no way to change the world by sitting on your ass in an air conditioned room, even if you listen to nothing but early Dylan and read nothing but Hunter Thompson. You can't change the world unless you change yourself first. As Gandhi used to say, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/GlobalWarning/1054.html
***
"When overtaking a bicyclist, motorists are worried about how close vehicles in the adjacent or oncoming lanes are rather than how close they are coming to the bicyclist - and they are certainly in too much of a hurry to stop and wait for a gap in traffic before pulling out and safely passing a rider."
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/ee/enforce_motorist.htm
***
*WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN TO TAKE THE LANE*
OK, let's write the CCBTB or Code of Civilized Behavior Toward Bicycles applicable in London, Miami or Kabul. It's not yet legally binding, but it may some day:
ROUGH DRAFT
1- A bicycle is entitled to TAKE THE LANE on multilane roads. You the driver must exit the lane 50' before and after.
2- A car and bicycle may share the lane on single lane road, provided the vehicle slows down to 20mph.
3- The cyclist is responsible for being VISIBLE, and ignoring this rule may result in dismissing liability of the driver.
4- The cyclist may occasionally take the other lanes to turn.
5- Those who ignore these rules, bullying cyclists, committing hit-and-run, better join the Taliban because they will be hunted down.
***
You know, many out there --even some cyclists-- deny that there's a problem for bikes on our wild roads. I say, "Hey, kids are much more honest"...
Originally Posted by Ed Holland
"I think this must be the worst case of cyclist inferiority syndrome we have ever seen?"
The 99.6% of commuters who do NOT use a bike to work seem to agree with me. Even KIDS understand this...
Question
Why do so many people who ride bicycles ride in the streets when there is a sidewalk nearby?
Now I ride my bike all the time and definitely stay on the sidewalks... so why do so many people ride in the streets and slow traffic and risk getting hit? It's sooo annoying and stupid (in my opinion)
Answerer 4
By law, a bicycle is a vehicle and belongs in the street.
Of course, common sense says that a bicycle is too frail for being in motor vehicle traffic.
Conclusion: THERE IS NO PROPER PLACE FOR BICYCLES.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080610182657AArONFj
***
THE CONFLICT B/ BIKE & CAR COMES FROM "NO MAN'S LAND"
Think about it and you will realize that the conflict that we cyclists endure (the car just has the easy handle) is the result of the contested strip "to the right of the road," which is to say THE AREA BOTH PARTIES CONTEST, ONE TO SURVIVE, THE OTHER TO SAVE TIME. I've been riding the minimum distance from the curb and they still blow the horn. Medium distance, they blast the horn. TAKING THE LANE... THEY GO INTO A RAGE. So it is that in this grinding war of nerves, some get crushed, some survive with bruises...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXAFcYLGrk8
LYRICS
"NO MAN'S LAND"
Headin' in or headin' out
Standing on the shore
Pause a moment to reflect
Which trip costs you more
Between the ever restless crowds
And the silence of your room
Spend an hour in no man's land
You'll be leaving soon
Victims come and victims go
There's always lots to spare
One victim lives the tragedy
One victim stops to stare
And still another walks on by
Pretending not to see
They're all out there in no man's land
'Cause it's the safest place to be
But sanctuary never comes
Without some kind of risk
Illusions without freedom
Never quite add up to bliss
The haunting and the haunted
Play a game no one can win
The spirits come at midnight
And by dawn they're gone again
And so it seems our destiny
To search and never rest
To ride that ever changing wave
That never seems to crest
To shiver in the darkest night
Afraid to make a stand
And then go back and do our time
Out there in no man's land
Living Carfree
Bikes are better than cars
Burn the calories!
Copenhagen's City Bike Program
Bicyclist's Decalogue
HOMEPAGE
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