Crazy ex-mayor goes after 'snow' riders...
12-07-07, 11:23 AM
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Crazy ex-mayor goes after 'snow' riders...
I posted this over in the Great Lakes forum too, but this one is too good not to share here as well for those of you who ride in the snow...check this out:
MADISON, Wis.
A former mayor has become a bit of an Internet sensation after suggesting on his blog that bicyclists who venture out in snowstorms be shot.
Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin said he meant the comment to be subtle, ironic and topical.
Soglin made his comment on www.waxingamerica.com, a blog he shares with a University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor.
Links were quickly passed around the country, drawing responses from winter bicyclists in such places as the Yukon.
"Fat, grumpy, intolerant ex-mayors ought to be shot. Get some exercise," said a posting by "cyclomaniac."
Soglin had titled his Wednesday commentary, "Bicycling Madison Style: As Dumb As It Gets."
"I was driving home Tuesday at a snail's pace, and there were these lunatics out there riding their bikes in a snowstorm, which they had been doing over the weekend as well," Soglin said Thursday.
"So there was a new 5 inches of snow on top of the ruts and ice we already had on the streets, and it was the middle of rush hour," he said.
"And (the bicyclists) were all over the road, not to mention the guy who was on a mo-ped.
"As a bicyclist myself, I hold us to higher standards than that.
We are supposed to be more rational, more sane, smarter and better looking."
His comments got 1,600 hits by noon Thursday, many of them impolite and a few profane.
"Let me see if we can reduce this: When you're in your car, the world revolves around you and every other person, being or object should just get the @$@$ out of your way?" said one response.
Soglin was quickly tiring of the controversy.
"If these nitwits don't leave me alone," he said. "I'm going to go after the trail bike riders next."
MADISON, Wis.
A former mayor has become a bit of an Internet sensation after suggesting on his blog that bicyclists who venture out in snowstorms be shot.
Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin said he meant the comment to be subtle, ironic and topical.
Soglin made his comment on www.waxingamerica.com, a blog he shares with a University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor.
Links were quickly passed around the country, drawing responses from winter bicyclists in such places as the Yukon.
"Fat, grumpy, intolerant ex-mayors ought to be shot. Get some exercise," said a posting by "cyclomaniac."
Soglin had titled his Wednesday commentary, "Bicycling Madison Style: As Dumb As It Gets."
"I was driving home Tuesday at a snail's pace, and there were these lunatics out there riding their bikes in a snowstorm, which they had been doing over the weekend as well," Soglin said Thursday.
"So there was a new 5 inches of snow on top of the ruts and ice we already had on the streets, and it was the middle of rush hour," he said.
"And (the bicyclists) were all over the road, not to mention the guy who was on a mo-ped.
"As a bicyclist myself, I hold us to higher standards than that.
We are supposed to be more rational, more sane, smarter and better looking."
His comments got 1,600 hits by noon Thursday, many of them impolite and a few profane.
"Let me see if we can reduce this: When you're in your car, the world revolves around you and every other person, being or object should just get the @$@$ out of your way?" said one response.
Soglin was quickly tiring of the controversy.
"If these nitwits don't leave me alone," he said. "I'm going to go after the trail bike riders next."
12-07-07, 11:33 AM
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heh heh heh. He does have a point... aside from the whole shooting thing.
Rush hour + snow storm + bike = stupid.
at least in my mind.
Rush hour + snow storm + bike = stupid.
at least in my mind.
12-07-07, 01:04 PM
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As a UW-Madison student, I can vouch that this is a huge problem right now. But this guy wouldn't be seeing so many cyclists on the streets if they bothered to plow the bike lanes instead of dumping all of the snow into them. Some people have no other way to get to class up here, and judging by the number of cars that are getting stuck in drifts, it may not be such a bad idea if the conditions aren't dangerous and you have the right equipment.
12-07-07, 01:42 PM
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Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin said he meant the comment to be subtle, ironic and topical.
12-07-07, 02:24 PM
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Based on what I saw here Tuesday evening during a minor snowstorm, cyclists and pedestrians outpaced the speed of city (auto) traffic by a considerable margin.
12-07-07, 02:39 PM
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Does anybody have Al Gore's phone number? Want him to fly in on his private jet and shovel my driveway. This is getting old for the first week in December.
12-07-07, 02:58 PM
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Sounds like someone didn't get enough attention as a child.
12-07-07, 03:27 PM
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He's just pissed off cause his name is Soglin. I would be too.
12-07-07, 03:44 PM
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Instant expert. Kind of like the folks who sprout mid-August who 'raced' a disease ride.
12-07-07, 03:46 PM
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We stopped to push a bunch of cars that were stuck in that snowstorm and a lot of others.
12-07-07, 03:55 PM
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Hip, Keep that guy on the east side of the St.Croix/Mississippi River. We don't need a guy like that in Minnesota.
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12-07-07, 03:57 PM
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12-07-07, 04:36 PM
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Meh. I haven't got a car. I don't have the luxury of not cycling when the weather is crap.
Fortunately 2cm of snow is labelled a 'blizzard' here.
Fortunately 2cm of snow is labelled a 'blizzard' here.
12-07-07, 05:00 PM
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WHY CAN'T WE JUST ALL GET ALONG?!?!?!?!
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12-07-07, 05:17 PM
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Did it ever occur to all the nay-sayers that these people were just trying to get home? I doubt that many riders were cycling for recreation that day.
Last edited by bonechilling; 12-07-07 at 06:35 PM.
12-07-07, 06:25 PM
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Commute? By bicycle? No one's that stupid!
12-07-07, 06:57 PM
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Funny thing: I always thought of Madison as an oasis in the hellish Curdistan Republic.
