Originally Posted by John C. Ratliff
I brought this up because I really do think that the VC forum needs more women input. My wife and I both ride, but she does not commute like I do. I know she has a different perspective about things too from me, so I would really appreciate it if there were more input from the women in this forum. Us males sometimes let our egos get in the way of hammering out strategies that we can all agree on. My observation is that just about all of us use the Vehicular Cycling techniques, but perhaps with a different emphasis.
I, for instance, seem more willing to slow down and enjoy a ride on the bike paths than some others, who to me seem obsessed with getting from Point A to Point B as fast and efficiently as possible, without really appreciating the journey. This last week, I was able to stop and watch a flock of ducks and a family of geese (mother, father and five goslings) feedingf near my bike path, which goes along a creek. As I looked at these new, cute little goslings, with their protective parents hoovering nearby, I thought about all those people, both drivers and bikers, who had missed this little gem of a moment. They really don't know what they are missing.
Sometimes, I think that in our rush to get places, we forget about the gift of the journey itself. I have been to China in the 1980s, and watched the cyclists there (both male and female), and they were not riding extremely hard. They were stroking along, simply going to their destination in a deliberate way. Last year, I started seeing this with some bike commuters who rode in their regular clothes to a forum on bicycle commuting. Like the Chinese riders I had seen, they simply rode in and parked their bikes at Portland State University, and went inside to hold their seminars and give their talks. No shower, no sweating, just transportation.
This is where maybe more of the women's voice may be helpful. It could tone down the shrillness that I am seeing here, and perhaps, just perhaps, win over some others who read here, but are turned off by the "decibels" of the discussion.
John