mustang1

Because really, I dont wanna be stuck in a bike traffic jam.

I also dont want other cyclists drafting me on the way in to work making things dangerous for both the drafter and the draftee.

I dont want to stay behind that large truck because it's safe to do so then some other cyclist comes along and tries to squeeze past me and make it dangerous for the truck driver, for me, and for the other cyclist.

And I dont want so many cyclists on the road that every other day someone comes up with the "should we register bikes/insure bkes/whatever the bikes coz it's only $10" thread because it always starts small, all the money doesn't go into cycling infrastructure and even if it did, I doubt it's well managed. I rode my bike just fine when there was no cycling infrastructure and I can continue to ride just fine without it. This cycling infrastructure, is it for those cyclists who cannot anticipate traffic or something?

And no, I don't think a cyclist should share the road with vehicles traveling at 50mph, that's just dopey.

crhilton

Thank you Mr. Forrester.

rat fink

That's great!

Drew Eckhardt 

You don't need fewer cyclists, just fewer when you want to be riding. Just ride off hours. I rarely see other cyclists when I work late and return home after midnight.

When you don't want to plan your schedule around other peoples' you can move someplace with cold and snow. I see a lot more cyclists out in the 50 degree SF Bay Area cold all bundled up with jackets, tights, gloves, and ear warmers than I did on 20-40 degree days in Colorado. And I almost never saw any other cyclists when I was riding in snow with ski goggles and cyclocross tires.

sggoodri

Nobody rides the bike paths here anymore. They're too crowded.

Doohickie

fify

spock

Another way to get less people cycling is to make some bike internet forum and keep them busy posting.

cyccommute 

Take away showers? Seems to work very well right now...at least that's the main big 'But...' I hear most

009jim

I don't think you need to worry. Honestly we all know cycling won't become a mainstream transportation mode. For the same reason Governments won't legislate to prevent property developers from cutting down trees. It's all about economic growth. If people ride bikes it's simply not good for the auto industry or the oil industry. Restricting environmental destruction simply isn't good for the property development industry. AND industry means cash flow and that means governments can slice off some of the pie for each of their ministers with their portfolios which they manage (in between expensive lunches). No; don't worry, the roads will always be clogged with cars driven by people moaning about how we should use less paper, while we folks who have seen the light can effortlessly trundle along in the fresh air on our bikes, checking out squirrels and birds.

oban_kobi

Make exploding bicycles with dummies. Send them out into places away from public, as not to kill anyone, but still in view of the public, and have them "spontaneously" explode. No one would want to risk exploding in them middle of a bike ride.

Oh wait was this serious?

Seattle Forrest

gcottay

Well done.

mustang1

Doohickie: thank you, I thought something didn't sound right about my title. (post number doohickie... that'll be 6 then )

Drew: understood, but I'm a commuter these days, I don't have much choice when I ride but am grateful that I can. Actually my bike commute isn't too crowded; just towards the city end there are a bunch of cyclists who are super-eager to get to work and live life a little too close to the edge. (post number 4)

Rat: isn't it just! (post number 3)

Cyc: we dont have showers. Out of the 150 cyclists at my place, we... improvise. (post number 8)

009: clogged cars, yeah, and diesel stinks... figuratively. Why would the British government make cars have clean burning diesel, yet all the vans, trucks, buses... they all have crap-fest diesel engines? This morning had particularly bad air quality. (post number 9)

Oban: exploding carbon? (post number 10)

nelson249

I know I know! Let's make cycling an elite activity where only those who fit our notion of "real" cycling will be able to ride around on two wheels.

electrik

1. More MUPS.
2. License bicycles.
3. Narrow streets, widen sidewalks.
4. Increase speed limits.
5. More on-street parking.
6. Removal of all post and ring standards.
7. Increased fines and enforcement.
8. Car lobby to continue to fuel anti-cyclist propaganda.

genec

winner! WINNER!!

DX-MAN

Some people would complain if they were hung with new rope.

cyccommute 

Well, there's your problem. If you lived in America, you'd never find 150 commuting bicyclists in the same place. I work at an alternative energy research laboratory with a work force of 2600 and we don't have 150 people riding bikes on a regular basis during the summer...with poor students all around (summer interns). In the winter, I'm about the only 'regular' bicycle commuter (3 to 5 times per week).

irwin7638

...with dog walkers, wearing ipods, listening to Led Zeppelin.

High Roller

* Maintain government subsidies for the oil & gas and automobile manufacturing industries
* Don't force motorists to pay the full economic, health, and environmental costs associated with their habit
* Discourage mixed zoning and infill and continue to expand urban sprawl
* Continue to build arterial/lolipop roadway designs, with no connectivity between quieter streets
* Keep building debris-infested bike lanes that encourage inexperienced cyclists to ignore sound defensive cycling practices
* Expand mandatory use laws so cyclists are perscecuted when they dare to claim space on the roadway for their own safety

High Roller

I think the term "obliviot" was coined just for these people.

AlmostTrick

Stop riding your bike. Then slap "ONE LESS BIKE" bumper sticker on your car.

noisebeam

The more I ride, the more I post. When I temporarily stop riding for a few days or week I lose interest in BF.

vol

Best way is to begin with yourself, here, now.

mustang1

Then I would get fat(ter) and I don't want that. But I don't care if anyone else gets fat. The government cares if people get fat because then they cant work as hard and keep taking time off from work which means the govt gets less tax revenue and the economy goes down (actually it won't go down a whole bunch, I guess we'll need more medical staff so the insurance companies will get a boost?). So if we stay fit, then the govt can reduce our taxes.

No wait, they'll NEVER reduce our taxes, the'll just keep more of hte money for themselves. It's a farce. Oh gosh, what a vicious cycle.

Look, maybe it's different in america. But in the UK, the bike infrastructure consists of bus lanes in which I get stuck behind buses. And taxis. And it's shared with motorbikes/scooters also. And with the buses and taxis, I have to sniff their diesel. Considering all this, and my original points, and then seeing people coming up with the "should we have mandatory registration schemes" kinda does my head in.

In the UK, where we pay around 80% in various forms of taxes when filling up with gas, how much of that money goes into road building? Or transport related activities? If I have to register my bike, so what if $10 goes into fixing a bunch of tarmac. Did you know it costs £80 just to fill a pot hole (and that's just for the material, not the labour costs). And the bike paths get pot holes too. It's not like it's super flat, not even remotely close.

Why should I pay for that?
Why should I pay for sniffing diesel fumes? Why should cars be the only ones that has clean diesel when trucks and buses cause far more pollution?
Why should I be stuck in traffic... on a bike? Why would cycling infrastructure be part of... a bus lane shared by taxis and motorbikes too?
Why should I put up with some dork drafting me, making it dangerous?
Why do we need registration... so the cops can pull us over when we run a red light? That's a *good* idea, but they can/should do that anyway.

I just think, the more cyclists there are, the more likely we will go down the road of registration schemes, mandatory insurance schemes, annual bike check schemes, money making sch... oh oops... all these schemes as applied to cars is a farce. I knew of a car where the suspension was screwed up and it was dangerous to drive yet it passed all the government approved annual safety checks. It's just bureaucracy gone nuts and i dont want that kind of bureaucracy with something as simple as a bike.