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Old November 15th 08, 05:04 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides,uk.rec.cycling
ComandanteBanana
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Default TAME TRAFFIC AND/OR BUILD BIKE FACILITIES

On Nov 15, 1:45*am, wrote:
On Nov 14, 8:00 pm, (Tom Keats) wrote:

But my concern is about incipient new ridership who
may be affected to any degree. *The very subject
line of this thread was obviously designed to
dissuade people who may be considering bicycling.
Then he throws in unsubstantiated, unqualified,
unquantified, ostensibly hearsay statements like:
"Accident statistics on bicycling are horrific per
mile traveled."


Great way to promote bicycling, eh?


...

Well horrific is a subjective term but it is true that bicycling has
per-mile injury rates far higher than driving. We shouldn't be too
surprised by that. Most of the injuries to bicyclists (80%) are
caused by falling off, wiping out, things motorists don't have to
worry about. And then, when a car and bike smash together, only the
bicyclist gets hurt. Bicycling may be a little more deadly than
driving but neither is remotely likely to result in fatality.
Motorcyclists have far worse fatality rates than anyone but better
injury rates than bicyclists. Again it is easy to predict this stuff
that is found in the numbers.

Bicycling has benefits that can't be gained any other way. That's the
difference that we need to get across to beginners or potential new
riders, and what is often forgotten when people start talking about
the danger of riding. The benefits dwarf the dangers.

People who are safety obsessed about bicycling are probably barking up
the wrong tree. There is no safety in traffic. The only cure is to not
leave the house. People who are too paranoid to ride a bike on the
street get in a car and go 80mph on the highway without a second
thought. That's simply irrational behavior. But bicycling has its
dangers and they should be acknowledged. Here in particular, the truth
shall set us free. The truth is that bicycling is the superior mode,
providing superior health benefits and other benefits as well as
superlatively efficient transportation, despite a relatively high
injury rate.

And I think it's okay to acknowledge that, because of the unique
challenges of riding a bike, bicycling may not be for everybody. Like
el Banana for instance.


Neither for 99% of Americans who do NOT dare ride on the road. First
you have to TAME TRAFFIC AND/OR BUILD BIKE FACILITIES. Did I say that
before?

The other day I went down this very dangerous causeways where I've had
so many incidents before, and for the first time I obeyed the law...
and walked my bike across bridge. It took me over 5 min. of walking
and a lot of care not miss my step on a sidewalk that's only 2 1/2'
wide. Yeah, someone has determined that this bridge in not rideable,
but I'm sure he hasn't walked it either. He probably forgot that a
bicycle IS a vehicle in Florida.

I felt like a piece of trash, humiliated and mad. So I decided to ride
it back against all laws, including the law of the jungle, which is
the most prevalent around here. So it is incidents like this that keep
me coming back to the Internet, and making a lot of noise.

Well, it's not chaotic noise, but the clear cry of "lion!"

Here's a video of how the lions can be fought...

BATTLE AT KRUGER (THE PERFECT METAPHOR)

*WITHOUT SOLIDARITY WE ARE LUNCH!!!*

http://mybignoise.blogspot.com/2007/...of-jungle.html
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