Originally Posted by novacommuter

This is the exact brand of self-important ******baggery that gives cyclists everywhere a bad name. If you can't share the road legally and with courtesy, stay the hell off the roads. There are plenty of us out there who ride predictably, obey traffic laws, and treat cagers with the exact common courtesy that we would like extended to us. It doesn't matter one whit what your opinion is about how other people live their lives. It is their right to live their lives how they see fit as long as it is within legal boundaries. Your lifestyle differs from just about everyone else's on the planet. What do you think about groups who send the message that they don't agree with people who live a *****exual lifestyle, and do so by harassing and generally making life harder on those who do?


The reason they give it a negative spin is because you have given them an opportunity to do so by behaving like petulant children, breaking the law, and broadcasting to everyone within reach that you're nothing more than self-important asshats.


It is my opinion that CM is using bad tactics and strategy to try and prove a point that doesn't need to be proven. Cyclists would gain a lot more respect if every urban cyclist would simply behave rationally, predictably, and courteously to those they share the roadways with.

If you're trying to raise awareness toward urban cycling and cycle-commuting, it seems to me that a much more effective, pleasant, and politically savvy (because it is, after all, a political message you're trying to get across) would be to ride safely, obey traffic laws, and be friendly to motorists and pedestrians. Maybe hand out some bike maps of the city and literature for the local cyclists associations. The old saying "You catch more flies with honey" isn't just BS. People are much more likely to react in a positive manner and take up the mantle of your cause if they have reason to believe that it is a good one, and that those that support it are genuinely good people.