Bikes Point the Way to a Sustainable Future
12-18-08, 02:29 PM
#1
Pedaled too far.
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Bikes Point the Way to a Sustainable Future
There was an interesting article on Alternet.org.Bikes Point the Way to a Sustainable Future.
Apparently Vehicular Cycling is the moitey of outlaw bikers.
Would that be outlaw bikers like League of American Bicyclists who teach it in their Road 1 courses?
Apparently Vehicular Cycling is the moitey of outlaw bikers.
Would that be outlaw bikers like League of American Bicyclists who teach it in their Road 1 courses?
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12-18-08, 07:45 PM
#2
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Good article overall. I really agree that there is a culture shift happening. Unfortunately the shift is still small, very small.
I teach high school in an urban/suburban area with 85-90% of the kids on free or reduced lunch (we actually just give it to all the kids for free because there are so many). These kids get driven to school every day, can't WAIT to get a car, and think a bike is a toy that they outgrew around 6th grade. The sad thing is they really don't have the money to spend on driving to school every day, let alone purchasing a car for themselves (and actually insuring it, legally registering it, and maintaining it!). They are much too "uncool" to ride a bike. Of course I am a science teacher and a huge dork anyway, so they think it is a given that I would commute on a bike most days, when in reality the money they could save could be substantial.
Considering a lot of them are on government checks, I really wish there was some kind of closer monitoring of how people on assistance spend their money. I know it isn't possible but there are a lot of ways many of these families could cut back. Almost all of them have more than one TV, most have one over 32". My mom was a teacher and my dad was a microbiologist. We had pretty good money, my parents were smart about it. Until I recently was given a "massive" 36" TV, the biggest TV I ever had was the 25" in my parents house... and that was the only one.
I think the cultural shift of young people spending more time in front of the TV, computer, cell phone, etc and generally living a fast-paced lifestyle directly counteracts any kind of "velorution" that might spring up. They don't want to take an extra 15 minutes to get where they are going.
I teach high school in an urban/suburban area with 85-90% of the kids on free or reduced lunch (we actually just give it to all the kids for free because there are so many). These kids get driven to school every day, can't WAIT to get a car, and think a bike is a toy that they outgrew around 6th grade. The sad thing is they really don't have the money to spend on driving to school every day, let alone purchasing a car for themselves (and actually insuring it, legally registering it, and maintaining it!). They are much too "uncool" to ride a bike. Of course I am a science teacher and a huge dork anyway, so they think it is a given that I would commute on a bike most days, when in reality the money they could save could be substantial.
Considering a lot of them are on government checks, I really wish there was some kind of closer monitoring of how people on assistance spend their money. I know it isn't possible but there are a lot of ways many of these families could cut back. Almost all of them have more than one TV, most have one over 32". My mom was a teacher and my dad was a microbiologist. We had pretty good money, my parents were smart about it. Until I recently was given a "massive" 36" TV, the biggest TV I ever had was the 25" in my parents house... and that was the only one.
I think the cultural shift of young people spending more time in front of the TV, computer, cell phone, etc and generally living a fast-paced lifestyle directly counteracts any kind of "velorution" that might spring up. They don't want to take an extra 15 minutes to get where they are going.
12-18-08, 08:16 PM
#3
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There was an interesting article on Alternet.org.Bikes Point the Way to a Sustainable Future.
I posted the entire story in General 'cause Alternet takes storys down fairly quickly so in short order
there wouldn't be a link that worked.
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My preferred bicycle brand is.......WORKSMAN CYCLES
I dislike clipless pedals on any city bike since I feel they are unsafe.
Originally Posted by krazygluon
Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred, which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?
My preferred bicycle brand is.......WORKSMAN CYCLES
I dislike clipless pedals on any city bike since I feel they are unsafe.
Originally Posted by krazygluon
Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred, which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?
12-18-08, 08:32 PM
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The article confused me. I didn't understand what they are trying to say. I don't get the concept of "outlaw biker" either. We have criminals who sometimes ride bikes but do some cities have criminal groups like the "Pagans" or "Satan's Slaves" motorcycle gangs but on bicycles where one criterion to be admitted to the group is that several members have to witness you committing a felony to ensure you aren't a cop? This rule doesn't exclude snitches but filters the undercover cops.
I get the idea that for some people bikes are just another status symbol or a form of conspicuous consumption a way to advertise that the person has the money for the expensive stuff and can afford the leisure time to go play with it. That behavior will always be with us I think. Just yesterday a person stopped to chat about commuting to work but she came from the mountain biking side of things- put the bike on the car and drive out of the city someplace. The biking conversation died when I said I don't own a car. How can you be a biker if you don't own a car? You can't haul your bike to the various "events" where you can show off your expensive equipment and skill to an appreciative audience.
I didn't understand Artkansas outlaw/league of american bicyclists comments either.
moitey
1 a: one of two equal parts : half b: one of two approximately equal parts
2: one of the portions into which something is divided : component , part <an ether molecule with a benzene moiety>
3: one of two basic complementary tribal subdivisions
I get the idea that for some people bikes are just another status symbol or a form of conspicuous consumption a way to advertise that the person has the money for the expensive stuff and can afford the leisure time to go play with it. That behavior will always be with us I think. Just yesterday a person stopped to chat about commuting to work but she came from the mountain biking side of things- put the bike on the car and drive out of the city someplace. The biking conversation died when I said I don't own a car. How can you be a biker if you don't own a car? You can't haul your bike to the various "events" where you can show off your expensive equipment and skill to an appreciative audience.
I didn't understand Artkansas outlaw/league of american bicyclists comments either.
moitey
1 a: one of two equal parts : half b: one of two approximately equal parts
2: one of the portions into which something is divided : component , part <an ether molecule with a benzene moiety>
3: one of two basic complementary tribal subdivisions
12-18-08, 08:35 PM
#5
Pedaled too far.
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12-18-08, 10:21 PM
#6
In the right lane
This new bicycling subculture stands for localism, a more human pace, more face-to-face interaction, hands- on technological self-sufficiency, reuse and recycling, and a healthy urban environment that is friendly to self-propulsion, pleasant smells and sights, and human conviviality.
Sorry... this article is treading dangerously near sociology or social mythology. I admit that there may be some synchronicity between cycling, localism, recycling, sustainability etc, etc. However, the tone of the piece is a little too smarmy for my taste. I think it would have helped if the author presented a few individuals involved with bikes and sustainable living and then extrapolated ... briefly... on the connection. Four pages however is stretching it.
12-19-08, 08:07 PM
#7
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This pretty much explains my experience of bicycling, except for the "pleasant smells" reference, unless it is a reference to my cycling clothes after a week of commuting in the heat.
Sorry... this article is treading dangerously near sociology or social mythology. I admit that there may be some synchronicity between cycling, localism, recycling, sustainability etc, etc. However, the tone of the piece is a little too smarmy for my taste. I think it would have helped if the author presented a few individuals involved with bikes and sustainable living and then extrapolated ... briefly... on the connection. Four pages however is stretching it.
Sorry... this article is treading dangerously near sociology or social mythology. I admit that there may be some synchronicity between cycling, localism, recycling, sustainability etc, etc. However, the tone of the piece is a little too smarmy for my taste. I think it would have helped if the author presented a few individuals involved with bikes and sustainable living and then extrapolated ... briefly... on the connection. Four pages however is stretching it.
12-19-08, 08:48 PM
#8
In the right lane
And anyone who can write, in all seriousness, "The bicycle has become a cultural signifier that begins to unite people across economic and racial strata" clearly hasn't noticed how irritated road cyclists can become when they get dropped by a Fred with a big granny gear on a steep hill.
12-19-08, 09:34 PM
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There was an interesting article on Alternet.org.Bikes Point the Way to a Sustainable Future.
Apparently Vehicular Cycling is the moitey of outlaw bikers. Would that be outlaw bikers like League of American Bicyclists who teach it in their Road 1 courses?
Apparently Vehicular Cycling is the moitey of outlaw bikers.
Would that be outlaw bikers like League of American Bicyclists who teach it in their Road 1 courses?Last edited by Dahon.Steve; 12-20-08 at 08:09 AM.
12-20-08, 03:19 PM
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I loved this paragraph:
This curious, multifaceted phenomenon constitutes an important arena of autonomous politics. The bicycle has become a cultural signifier that begins to unite people across economic and racial strata. It signals a sensibility that stands against oil wars and the environmental devastation wrought by the oil and chemical industries, the urban decay imposed by cars and highways, the endless monocultural sprawl spreading outward across exurban zones. This new bicycling subculture stands for localism, a more human pace, more face-to-face interaction, hands- on technological self-sufficiency, reuse and recycling, and a healthy urban environment that is friendly to self-propulsion, pleasant smells and sights, and human conviviality.
This curious, multifaceted phenomenon constitutes an important arena of autonomous politics. The bicycle has become a cultural signifier that begins to unite people across economic and racial strata. It signals a sensibility that stands against oil wars and the environmental devastation wrought by the oil and chemical industries, the urban decay imposed by cars and highways, the endless monocultural sprawl spreading outward across exurban zones. This new bicycling subculture stands for localism, a more human pace, more face-to-face interaction, hands- on technological self-sufficiency, reuse and recycling, and a healthy urban environment that is friendly to self-propulsion, pleasant smells and sights, and human conviviality.
12-21-08, 03:53 PM
#12
You gonna eat that?
I don't cycle to belong to a "subculture". I cycle to get to work. Or to relax.
If I belong to a subculture at all, it's just to gain contacts and information to learn more about bicycles, then to maybe pass along same to more people along the way. The paragraph quoted above is pretty, ummmmmm... pretentious.
If I belong to a subculture at all, it's just to gain contacts and information to learn more about bicycles, then to maybe pass along same to more people along the way. The paragraph quoted above is pretty, ummmmmm... pretentious.
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi 
"However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
12-21-08, 07:33 PM
#13
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I loved this paragraph:
This curious, multifaceted phenomenon constitutes an important arena of autonomous politics. The bicycle has become a cultural signifier that begins to unite people across economic and racial strata. It signals a sensibility that stands against oil wars and the environmental devastation wrought by the oil and chemical industries, the urban decay imposed by cars and highways, the endless monocultural sprawl spreading outward across exurban zones. This new bicycling subculture stands for localism, a more human pace, more face-to-face interaction, hands- on technological self-sufficiency, reuse and recycling, and a healthy urban environment that is friendly to self-propulsion, pleasant smells and sights, and human conviviality.
This curious, multifaceted phenomenon constitutes an important arena of autonomous politics. The bicycle has become a cultural signifier that begins to unite people across economic and racial strata. It signals a sensibility that stands against oil wars and the environmental devastation wrought by the oil and chemical industries, the urban decay imposed by cars and highways, the endless monocultural sprawl spreading outward across exurban zones. This new bicycling subculture stands for localism, a more human pace, more face-to-face interaction, hands- on technological self-sufficiency, reuse and recycling, and a healthy urban environment that is friendly to self-propulsion, pleasant smells and sights, and human conviviality.
It's too bad that it happens to be "Sub-Culture" whose lifestyle actually takes advantage of human powered machines. It won't be until the last drop of oil is sucked from the earth before we see everyone start to take on many of their qualities.
We have sacrificed to much for the motorcar bankrupting the nation, fighting a war halfway around the world costing billions per week.
12-21-08, 08:37 PM
#14
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I loved this paragraph:
This curious, multifaceted phenomenon constitutes an important arena of autonomous politics. The bicycle has become a cultural signifier that begins to unite people across economic and racial strata. It signals a sensibility that stands against oil wars and the environmental devastation wrought by the oil and chemical industries, the urban decay imposed by cars and highways, the endless monocultural sprawl spreading outward across exurban zones. This new bicycling subculture stands for localism, a more human pace, more face-to-face interaction, hands- on technological self-sufficiency, reuse and recycling, and a healthy urban environment that is friendly to self-propulsion, pleasant smells and sights, and human conviviality.
This curious, multifaceted phenomenon constitutes an important arena of autonomous politics. The bicycle has become a cultural signifier that begins to unite people across economic and racial strata. It signals a sensibility that stands against oil wars and the environmental devastation wrought by the oil and chemical industries, the urban decay imposed by cars and highways, the endless monocultural sprawl spreading outward across exurban zones. This new bicycling subculture stands for localism, a more human pace, more face-to-face interaction, hands- on technological self-sufficiency, reuse and recycling, and a healthy urban environment that is friendly to self-propulsion, pleasant smells and sights, and human conviviality.
I don't disagree with the author's point of view, in fact I totally agree with it. I just wish he/she gave the impression that he/she knows what it's like to actually have a job and a family, and what those responsibilities tend to do to one's sense of priorities. You're never, ever going to win over a stressed-out, over-extended, SUV-driving suburban mom with abstractions about monocultural sprawl or autonomous politics. You have to spell out, in concrete terms, what's in it for them, which is actually quite a bit. That's all I'm saying, really.
12-22-08, 05:49 AM
#16
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Eschew Obfuscation....
Aaron
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
12-22-08, 06:34 AM
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The pathetic sports junkie on a bicycle is no more free than a motorist trapped in an SUV in a traffic jam … There is a void of self-doubt which athletes attempt to cover with spandex outfits and titanium objects of veneration. The sporting goods ‘user' is compelled by nervous guilt to look down upon those who do not ride as fast, or as far, or as often. Persons exhibiting the following behaviors are best regarded as covert operators of the capitalistic conspiracy to further co-opt and defuse non-fossil-fueled transportation movements: *
• Abnormal concern with perfect finish and perfect operation of the bicycle • Keeps glossy bicycling magazines under the mattress • Suggests you should buy new equipment instead of repairing old bicycle • Always rides in superhero tights • When riding, is more concerned with speed and distance covered than scenery or places visited • Unable to hold a conversation unrelated to bicycles or biking • Paranoid delusion that he/she is being persecuted for his/her hobby • Speech is sprinkled with component brand names • Constant desire to witness bicycle's transforming power in his/her own life • Believes that biking is a morally superior choice, therefore befitting a morally superior attitude • Attempts to bring bicycle-related issues into every conversation • Awkward duck walk caused by wearing cleated bike shoes into roadside businesses • Easily impressed with expensive equipment and celebrity endorsements • Wears helmet even when not on bike
As you can see, these easily-identifiable symptoms of sporting goods addiction are identical to the symptoms of capitalist-driven automobile addiction. They are caused by the fetishization and worship of lifeless objects. What was once viewed as a useful tool, a means to an end, becomes the end in itself. Should your comrades seek to impose these dangerous ideas on you, or should you find yourself believing them, stay on your guard, and remember that these innocent- sounding ideas are in actuality part of a sinister plot to coopt the velorution. Do not let the greedy multinationals once again derail progressive attempts to save our Earth from global warming and environmental disaster!*
• Abnormal concern with perfect finish and perfect operation of the bicycle • Keeps glossy bicycling magazines under the mattress • Suggests you should buy new equipment instead of repairing old bicycle • Always rides in superhero tights • When riding, is more concerned with speed and distance covered than scenery or places visited • Unable to hold a conversation unrelated to bicycles or biking • Paranoid delusion that he/she is being persecuted for his/her hobby • Speech is sprinkled with component brand names • Constant desire to witness bicycle's transforming power in his/her own life • Believes that biking is a morally superior choice, therefore befitting a morally superior attitude • Attempts to bring bicycle-related issues into every conversation • Awkward duck walk caused by wearing cleated bike shoes into roadside businesses • Easily impressed with expensive equipment and celebrity endorsements • Wears helmet even when not on bike
As you can see, these easily-identifiable symptoms of sporting goods addiction are identical to the symptoms of capitalist-driven automobile addiction. They are caused by the fetishization and worship of lifeless objects. What was once viewed as a useful tool, a means to an end, becomes the end in itself. Should your comrades seek to impose these dangerous ideas on you, or should you find yourself believing them, stay on your guard, and remember that these innocent- sounding ideas are in actuality part of a sinister plot to coopt the velorution. Do not let the greedy multinationals once again derail progressive attempts to save our Earth from global warming and environmental disaster!*
Beware of messiahs who require conformity to confirm your non-conformity.
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"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
12-22-08, 09:31 PM
#18
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That's exactly my point. The author is like a Bolshevik, expounding Marxist ideology in a coffee shop, seeking the approval of other would-be Marxist coffee hounds, while outside the coffee shop, where things actually get done, millions are systematically oppressed by their corporate overlords.
12-22-08, 11:20 PM
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As for the article, I think it is dung. Could the writer be a little bit more pretentious?
01-13-09, 12:32 PM
#20
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IMHO... if you need someone else to give you a reason to ride, or do anything for that matter, Why bother! Do it because YOU love it/want to do it. Not because it's hip/kewl/the PC thing to do.
