Advocacy & Safety - Why should I ride a bicycle?

I would like some assistance to speed up my research for this topic. This is for a speech class, and I have just under 2 weeks to get this done. The speech is a persuasive speech. All speeches are based on a social justice issue. I am coming at this from the angle that our current society has set us up for a severe inequality in those that have money, and those that do not(I'm open to more suggestions if you have them though). One of the possible resolutions, is to get more people out on a bicycle.

I am looking for some help in how to promote this idea. Facts to backup positions are wonderful, as I need to site a minimum of 3 sources for the speech as well. And as I said, the goal is a persuasive speech, so I want to persuade the class that bicycling is a good thing for them to do, and show them how to do it and why.

Before you ask why is this in A&S, it is because I believe it to be a good advocacy point, since I have to try and persuade people on it. Just wanted to clarify that.

cheaper, quicker, more reliable than most alternatives (especially in cities like London) also health benefits (physical and mental), consistent journey times, environmentally friendly.

I'm not really seeing the connection between bicycle ridership and class inequity. Perhaps you need to refine your thesis.

My best advice is for you to stick with something you know. You have a much higher chance of credibility and success that way.

Do you ride?

If so, why do you ride? What benefits do you get from it? What changes has it made in your life? Telling your story from a personal perspective will be a lot more convincing that simply quoting numbers from somewhere. You've got to make your presentation relevant to your listeners in order for it to stick between their ears.

Still lacking ideas? Try http://www.peopleforbikes.org.

Is your argument that people "ought" to ride a bicycle, in order to be more responsible or benign to the rest of society, or that people would benefit individually from cycling? Or a combination of both?

The first argument would be a difficult sell. The second is more persuasive to individuals. The third has the most sway with government.

The act of cycling has personal benefits as well as societal benefits, but most people persist at it for personal benefit. The act of cycling does build empathy for other cyclists, and having empathy for those who cycle for transportation is probably good for social justice. That is, empathy encourages safer driving, and possibly a better built environment and social climate for cycling, which is friendlier to those who do not have motor transportation.

I would like some assistance to speed up my research for this topic. This is for a speech class, and I have just under 2 weeks to get this done. The speech is a persuasive speech. All speeches are based on a social justice issue. I am coming at this from the angle that our current society has set us up for a severe inequality in those that have money, and those that do not(I'm open to more suggestions if you have them though). One of the possible resolutions, is to get more people out on a bicycle.

Do you mean to say:

I am coming at this from the angle that our current society has set us up for a severe inequality between those that have money, and those that do not...

Otherwise I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say.


One of the possible resolutions, is to get more people out on a bicycle.

I'm not sure how it is a resolution. Are you coming at this with the idea that because more people can afford a bicycle than can afford a car - the more people who use bicycles in general instead of cars would somehow make all people more equal despite variances in their income?

What exactly is your thesis here?

What is your thesis?

I'm also not getting the connection between class divides and cycling. Are you trying to argue that cars use disproportionate resources and that by cycling we (Americans) would be helping better spread those resources to other nations? I think that argument would work better than comparing classes within the US, since a lot of lower income folks in this country do drive and do have cars.

One angle you might be able to use could be healthcare. Maybe you could make the argument that by cycling everyone would be in better health and there would be more medical resources for those in need. It's stretching it...but you might be able to make that argument.

Why don't you do your own homework?

Here are a few of the Reasons to Ride I try to explain in my book The Cyclist's Manifesto:

Fun. The simple physical sensation of gliding and swooping around on two wheels.

Adventure. More adventurous than driving to the same destination. Life is too short not to add adventure to mundane daily commutes.

Efficiency. The most efficient form of transportation ever invented. (Bicyclists can easily achieve the rough equivalent of 1000 mpg.)

Exercise. Provides exercise while providing efficient transportation at the same time. Get where you need to go and be fitter/stronger/better by the time you get there, rather than a bit closer to death as you would be after sitting in a car.

Still, bicycling isn't for everybody, and that's okay.

As noted by others I think the inequity theory is not valid
In the US if you look at who bicycles,you would get something like:

1)a small subset that have to due to lack fo finances, these are primarly at the lowest wage end.
2)Kids who don't have drivers licenses
3) once in a while riders
4) people who ride lot...whether commuting, utility or recreation.......

If you look at the demographics I am sure you will find that the biggest group, will be on average in a high financial demographic which kinda of blows the inequity away as related to biking.

I also don't see how more people bicyling would resolve inequity.

You might be better off by going from the benefits....first to self then to society

I would make two arguments: cycling is good for the individual cyclist, and cycling is good for society and social justice:

Benefits for the individual cyclist:
greater level of fitness and health - you feel better.
lower cost transportation option than anything other than walking.


Benefits for society as more people cycle:
Society pays a huge price subsidizing automobile infrastructure (roads, parking, pollution, auto-related accidents and death etc), cycling lowers this cost to society.
Lowering costs of fundamental needs makes society more equitable, and transportation one such need. Cycling is the most efficient and lowest cost transportation mode available.

see the first link in my sig below.

From a societal standpoint, there is also the possibility that if everyone rode bikes, one would get a better mix of poor and rich for part of the day. When one has a chance to see and interact with others, fear from ignorance goes down on both ends. We don't have a real mix in our small town but I meet people almost every time I bike but I never meet anyone while I am driving. So it provides a better sense of community than driving does.
You could ague that the U.S. consumes a huge amount of the world's resources compared to its population which leaves poorer countries fighting amongst themselves for what is left. Global climate change will also be affecting poorer countries much more severely than it will rich countries.
But I bike because it is fun and I don't have to schedule 'exercise time' into my day, it just happens while I am doing errands. I am more in touch with my community and natural surroundings and it helps my mental health also.
Few people will be swayed by an intellectual argument so use emotional appeals but base them on facts. I don't know if anyone has done a study but I bet neighborhoods where people bike and walk more have lower crime because most people will know their neighbors, like an unofficial blockwatch program (this would be a statistical difference not a 100% thing). So I would push the emotional arguments of safety, community connectedness and fun. What if your commute to work and home each day was similar to what many people do on weekends, ride in the park. With few cars, our streets would be parklike and be a pleasure to use. Automobiles also don't pay anywhere near their fair share for the use of the public space that is our roads.

It appears that I have not stated what I was thinking correctly. My thinking here, is that cars put a heavy burden on those that don't have a lot of money in the first place. The expense of the car cuts into their already tight budget. But, we have designed most cities around such vehicles as the car, and not around walking/biking/mass transit. So a car is almost a necessity.

I also watched part of the PBS special Blueprint America, where they were talking about lack of mass transit in Detroit, and how in a lot of areas people can't afford cars, but they don't have mass transit either.

Does that make what I said earlier clearer at all?


see the first link in my sig below.

That is partly what I'm basing this on. I saw that video about a month ago from your sig, and got me thinking about this. Any idea where they get their figures from?

So a car is almost a necessity.

Take my word for it - 10 posts from now, you are going to regret you ever said that here on A&S.

-Kurt

Take my word for it - 10 posts from now, you are going to regret you ever said that here on A&S.

-Kurt

But is it not true, that a good 75% of the population in this country(if not more) consider it to be?

I am currently trying to make my life more independent of my cars(I have several), and get rid of some. But what my views on the subject are, and what the majority of Americans' views on the subject, are not necessarily the same.

But is it not true, that a good 75% of the population in this country(if not more) consider it to be?

Who gives a flying crap about what the rest of the population thinks? I ride because I like to, not because I want to be accepted by the judges of American Idol.

-Kurt

The social justice of cycling and cycling advocacy... hmmmm...........................

How about:

Driving isolates us, makes us less amenable to the interaction with others; surrounded by our steel 'coffins', we are less likely to see other people AS people, and more as obstacles -- or even targets from a video game!

When we forget/ignore the equality/existence of other people, we are less likely to see a just and fair solution to societal problems.

Cycling has a tendency to create more interaction, almost forcing us to recognize others as people, equal to us on many levels (fitness, of course, not being one of them, but that just creates friendly rivalry, IME), and worthy of notice.

When people are more cognizant of others as individuals, the possibilities of social justice improve markedly.

Now -- choose your own words and perspective to say something like THAT!

The social justice of cycling and cycling advocacy... hmmmm...........................

How about:

Driving isolates us, makes us less amenable to the interaction with others; surrounded by our steel 'coffins', we are less likely to see other people AS people, and more as obstacles -- or even targets from a video game!

When we forget/ignore the equality/existence of other people, we are less likely to see a just and fair solution to societal problems.

Cycling has a tendency to create more interaction, almost forcing us to recognize others as people, equal to us on many levels (fitness, of course, not being one of them, but that just creates friendly rivalry, IME), and worthy of notice.

When people are more cognizant of others as individuals, the possibilities of social justice improve markedly.

Now -- choose your own words and perspective to say something like THAT!

I definitely like that POV. Thanx much for posting that!

I would like some assistance to speed up my research for this topic. This is for a speech class, and I have just under 2 weeks to get this done. The speech is a persuasive speech. All speeches are based on a social justice issue. I am coming at this from the angle that our current society has set us up for a severe inequality in those that have money, and those that do not(I'm open to more suggestions if you have them though). One of the possible resolutions, is to get more people out on a bicycle.

I am looking for some help in how to promote this idea. Facts to backup positions are wonderful, as I need to site a minimum of 3 sources for the speech as well. And as I said, the goal is a persuasive speech, so I want to persuade the class that bicycling is a good thing for them to do, and show them how to do it and why.

Before you ask why is this in A&S, it is because I believe it to be a good advocacy point, since I have to try and persuade people on it. Just wanted to clarify that.

I took speech in college. So I know what you are having to do.

Is the professor/instructor making the class do the persuasive speech first, or did you do the informative speech first?

Do research on how gasoline emissions are damaging the ozone layer. How commuting by bike helps save the environment and that, when commuting by bike a person is also getting an aerobic workout.

It was informative speech first.

It appears that I have not stated what I was thinking correctly. My thinking here, is that cars put a heavy burden on those that don't have a lot of money in the first place. The expense of the car cuts into their already tight budget. But, we have designed most cities around such vehicles as the car, and not around walking/biking/mass transit. So a car is almost a necessity.

I also watched part of the PBS special Blueprint America, where they were talking about lack of mass transit in Detroit, and how in a lot of areas people can't afford cars, but they don't have mass transit either.

Does that make what I said earlier clearer at all?



That is partly what I'm basing this on. I saw that video about a month ago from your sig, and got me thinking about this. Any idea where they get their figures from?

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration put some of the facts together, not sure about all of them.

Clif just wrapped them into pretty music and pictures. But the facts still remain. I walk a lot, and the funny thing is, 2-3 miles is nothing. But there sure are a lot of folks that cover that sort of distance and less in a car, all the time. Heck, I am amused every time I see someone waiting for some parking spot "right out in front" of where ever they are going... it is utter lunacy the amount of effort folks put into not moving around under their own power.

Cars have their usefulness, but really, most of us could do with a lot less driving, and over all, we'd be a lot better off for it.

It really is that simple.

OK, maybe I helped you along a little bit before, let me try again -- by answering your posted query from my perspective.

Why should I (or DO I) ride a bicycle?

As much as bikes were a part of my childhood, it wasn't until my teens that I discovered the true joy and passion for the bike that I finally recaptured sometime after my 41st birthday. Let me clarify:

A 10-speed Schwinn liberated me from the idea that bikes were toys, and could be a vehicle to my dreams (hokey as that sounds, it's true -- I reunited with my dad because of the bike). I transported myself to high school registration, explored the town I was born in all on my own for the first time, I commuted to my first job, all on the bike. Yes, there was the 'feeling of flying' described by the editors of Bicycling Magazine, and I routinely broke 30mph during those commutes. But I never connected the joy in my heart to what was in my head. If I had, maybe I wouldn't have been so quick to park the bike when I saved up that down payment for the first car.

As life in my early adult years wore on, all the ticket-punches -- marriage, kids, job, house, hobby activity (in this case, bowling and golf with the father-in-law) left me unfulfilled, and i knew not why. When it occurred to me again to try bike riding, i wouldn't commit to it like I should; cheap, ill-fitting bikes that went south too quickly and easily on me made me think that maybe I couldn't recapture that feeling.

I tried repeatedly, and always failed... until after my divorce. It took a few more bikes to find one that 'spoke' to me, but when I did find that one, I thought maybe I COULD reclaim the past, and that feeling of pure passion and joy.

My second wife was more supportive of me finding joy (although not supportive enough to stay, she left, also); and it was during the early years of my daughter's life that I found IT -- the unbridled joy that I'd tried and failed to rekindle. Ironically, it was during another 6-mile commute.

What my second wife did, more than anything else, was enable me to heal from the twists put on me growing up; I was finally allowed to be ME, without judgment being passed, and ME wanted that bike-joy back, and to keep it. I DIDN'T want the 9-5, the grind, the rat-race. Burt it was expected....

During our separation, I would routinely drop our daughter off where she was staying, and leave my van there, also, in case she needed to cart the kids around (her 4 and my 1); I'd pull the bike out of the back, and just GO!

That was 8 years ago; now, car-free, I define myself by the object, the source of my joy.

I am a bicyclist. And that is good.

(Sorry so long...almost like a blog.........but it's there.)

I've always been fascinated by the fact that when the motor car was first introduced, society felt complied to require licensing, registrations and special taxing because of all the mayhem and damage they caused on the streets. Now decades later that mayhem and damage still exists but is now blamed on second class road users who do not have a "legitimate" rights to the road because they are not licensed, registered and taxed.

Anyway, I try to collect interesting stories in support of cycling which you can find at www.BaltimoreSpokes.org

Why do you ride a bicycle? It's simple. It is one of the best and simplest exercise you could do. It promotes good coordination to your muscles and keeps you physically active.

I'm not sure if 'class equality' is quite the right angle, but there's definitely something wrong with society when you're judged as lesser or different because you don't own a machine that operates by almost literally burning your money.

I tried to get a job at a temp agency a few months ago, but was turned away because I didn't have a 'vehicle'- a bicycle wasn't good enough for them. Apparently to them, if one is broke and applying for part-time contractual blue-collar work in a depressed town in a depressed economy, it makes complete sense for him to own, maintain, fuel, and insure a car.

There are a lot numbers in this article (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/cars-wrecked-culture.html) without proper citation, but these numbers supposedly come from a book of the same title. Hopefully that book does a better job of listing its references.

Transportation (of which the bicycle is only one option) is riddled with social justice issues. For instance, the entire suburbanization that took place in America that was made possible by the proliferation of automobiles was at least partially motivated by racism. Anyone who believes that suburbs where not at least partially motivated by racism needs to look no further than what is considered the world's first suburb, Levittown, NY. A suburb of NYC that included as part of its neighborhood code "No Blacks Allowed". The suburb vs. city strife continues to this day as a disproportionate amount of government transportation spending goes towards highway construction to benefit the well-to-do suburbs while the downtown residents' transit systems are chronically underfunded.

You have a potentially very interesting speech to give. Good luck to you.

Social Justice? I think you are perpetuating a misconception. Ninety nine percent of bicyclists have cars. Cycling is an expensive sport, racing bikes can cost over a thousand dollars.

(Of course, you probably know this, but you will be making your speech to people who don't know anything about bicycles.)

There is still a depression-era mentality, that some (most?) people are so poor, that they have to choose between a car OR a bike. 99% of cyclists have a car, actually .

Why ride a bicycle? Because a person on a bicycle can cover four times the distance that he or she could walk, in a day.

Because it's easier to find a parking space close to the front door of the store.

Cycling saves gas.

Cycling is good exercise.

I think we are battling a misconception. Cycling is an expensive sport. Of course, there are Hispanic immigrants who ride bicycles, but they are "pawns in the game".

I think we are battling a misconception. Cycling is an expensive sport.

I have found that if I stay away from the cycling specific clothing, I can find what I need from other sources for pretty inexpensively. This doesn't work for someone who is racing, but it works just fine for me (commuter / casual distance rider). When it crosses the line from utility to sport is when it gets expensive. But sports in general are expensive. However, the gratification people receive from competing in sports is the justification for the cost.

Cycling is liberating for the mind because it defies the logic of human experience.

I think we are battling a misconception. Cycling is an expensive sport.
As a sport, yes.

As transportation, no.

You don't need no stinking fancy pants bike or just fancy pants to ride around for transportation. Even if you did, compare it to the costs of a car. Sure, I can buy a used car for $1000, but I can buy a nice bike for $1000.

Climbthehill makes some excellent points. That's where I see inequality, too. Public transportation funds are disproportionately spent on roads for car-driving suburbanites, not on sidewalks, bikeways, and transit.

"there's definitely something wrong with society when you're judged as lesser or different because you don't own a machine that operates by almost literally burning your money."

I think that's one of the best descriptions of an infernal combustion engine I've seen yet!

"I think we are battling a misconception. Cycling is an expensive sport."

Momma, please. If you take cycling as a means of transportation rather than a sport, you'll find it's by far the cheapest way of getting around. My bike cost me $50 used, $150 in upgrades and I've ridden it for thousands of miles. It costs a small fraction of what a monthly transit pass would. Expensive? HAH

Your time is probably up but the best reason to ride is because you want to.

"I think we are battling a misconception. Cycling is an expensive sport."

Momma, please. If you take cycling as a means of transportation rather than a sport, you'll find it's by far the cheapest way of getting around. My bike cost me $50 used, $150 in upgrades and I've ridden it for thousands of miles. It costs a small fraction of what a monthly transit pass would. Expensive? HAH

More simply, I think the misconception is that cycling is a sport first and a mode of transportation second.

There are a lot numbers in this article (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/cars-wrecked-culture.html) without proper citation, but these numbers supposedly come from a book of the same title. Hopefully that book does a better job of listing its references.

Transportation (of which the bicycle is only one option) is riddled with social justice issues. For instance, the entire suburbanization that took place in America that was made possible by the proliferation of automobiles was at least partially motivated by racism. Anyone who believes that suburbs where not at least partially motivated by racism needs to look no further than what is considered the world's first suburb, Levittown, NY. A suburb of NYC that included as part of its neighborhood code "No Blacks Allowed". The suburb vs. city strife continues to this day as a disproportionate amount of government transportation spending goes towards highway construction to benefit the well-to-do suburbs while the downtown residents' transit systems are chronically underfunded.

You have a potentially very interesting speech to give. Good luck to you.

This I find very interesting. Never gave it much thought about racism fueling the suburbs. Though I have lived in predominantly white suburban neighborhoods my whole life.

This I find very interesting. Never gave it much thought about racism fueling the suburbs. Though I have lived in predominantly white suburban neighborhoods my whole life.

I too grew up in a predominately white suburb and never gave it much thought. One thing I did wonder growing up was why there seemed to be so many African-Americans living in the cities we would visit like Chattanooga, TN and Atlanta, GA but hardly any in my school. I actually asked my dad this question, but he didn't know either. After moving to downtown Atlanta about 10 years ago, I became a more interested in how this suburban style of living actually developed and I began to study its history. This is when I learned about "White Flight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight)". I find the development of cities exceedingly interesting, which is one of the reasons I prefer to bike. I can get a more intimate portrait of the city from two wheels than I can four.

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Back to the original topic. I ride a bicycle because it is fun and it gets me where I'm going quickly and cheaply. When I am talking to drivers (aka potential cyclists) about commuting by bicycle, this is what I tell them.