Originally Posted by
zeytoun
I think VC is a fine name, and just needs to shed it's baggage. VC is also a fine way of biking. My contention is that in the hands of some people, it became an ends and not a means. When something refuses to entertain the possibility of future evolution (i.e. the rules of the road, which have in fact evolved successful exceptions, and will no doubt change in the future - are seen as a sort of perfect constitution by some). The goals are safety and convenience - whichever method best takes you there is best. And there's certainly nothing wrong with being pro-VC, provided you don't lose sight of those goals, and reasonableness. Many of our pro-VCers on this forum do that successfully.
Riding according to the rules of the road is a fine way of bicycling but 'VC' is about as far from a fine name as you can get. It emphasizes the most ambiguous and least important part of the phrase "vehicular rules of the road" and ignores the most important part.
Granted, "rules of the road cycling" is a bit cumbersome (but "ROTR cycling" isn't bad).
The term "vehicular cycling" was a good try at finding a shorthand but I don't think it has worked out all that well.
I used to call myself a vehicular cyclist-- back before I became aware of the extent to which "VC" was little more than a brand of cycling know-it-all-ism and obstructionism. VC is an ill-defined brand, to be sure. Far worse than being ill-defined, though, is the bad image VC has acquired -- due partly to an association with radical anti-facilities-ism and partly to the incredible arrogance and condescention associated with at least some (but certainly not all) proponents of VC-ism.
Because of the many negative connotations that the term "VC" has come to have and, since getting people to accept a distintion between "VC" (which has come to represent a radical anti-facilites ideology) and "vc" (meaning riding according to the rules of the road) is an exercise in futility, I no longer call myself a vehicular cyclist.
I cringe if anyone calls me "VC" (them's fightin' words
)
I have taken to calling myself a "rules of the road bicyclist," a phrase which far more accurately describes what I do and what I advocate.
VC-ists might do well to look for another name-- that is, if they want to disassociate themselves from the more ridiculous social, psychological and political theories of the person who founded the VC brand.
But, heck, VC-ists can adopt whatever silly brand name they want for the ideology which I and many other life-long ROTR bicyclists find at least a little offensive.