"At least he tried?"
I'm one of the many who still use hotmail as my primary personal email account (I know, I know, I have a gmail account too, but haven't yet switched over to it.)
Every day, hotmail has links to a handful of feature articles in the upper-left-hand corner. To my surprise, one of today's featured articles was "Bicycle diaries: Living in America without a car".
Cool, I thought. The millions and millions of people using hotmail every day will have an opportunity to get exposed to the idea of the bicycle as transportation, rather than just thinking of the bike as a toy or as exercise equipment.
I had high hopes. I was disappointed.
Because the author lives in a suburban area, his experiences are undoubtedly a little different (probably more challenging) than my urban experience. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I too have a car and do use it occasionally for bigger errands or when the weather is rough.
To his credit, he does mention many of the advantages of riding - good exercise, hot dates, etc. But all too often he then negates those advantages with a chilling underlying message. If I were your everyday American cager, considering my options to reduce my automobile dependence, this article would likely steer me right back into my car.
The overarching theme of the article? "At least he tried." Personally, I'd rather the article feature someone who tried, succeeded, and enjoyed it.
What annoys me is not that he mentions some of the problems encountered when using a bike for transportation, but that he doesn't explain any of the options available to make those problems managable.
OK, he mentions wearing normal shorts over his bike shorts so people are less likely to realize that he's a biker. But that's about it. No mention that he could have used panniers or a backpack to safely transport the dogfood. No mention that most employers wouldn't fire you for riding a bike, in fact many employers go out of their way to encourage fitness (often including bike commuting). No mention that excellent clothing options are available to keep you warm while biking in cold weather.
And should you really care if a store clerk or soccer mom avoids eye contact with you? In my experience, people find you more of a curiousity than anything else, and I've had no problem with that.
Every day, hotmail has links to a handful of feature articles in the upper-left-hand corner. To my surprise, one of today's featured articles was "Bicycle diaries: Living in America without a car".
Cool, I thought. The millions and millions of people using hotmail every day will have an opportunity to get exposed to the idea of the bicycle as transportation, rather than just thinking of the bike as a toy or as exercise equipment.
I had high hopes. I was disappointed.
Because the author lives in a suburban area, his experiences are undoubtedly a little different (probably more challenging) than my urban experience. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I too have a car and do use it occasionally for bigger errands or when the weather is rough.
To his credit, he does mention many of the advantages of riding - good exercise, hot dates, etc. But all too often he then negates those advantages with a chilling underlying message. If I were your everyday American cager, considering my options to reduce my automobile dependence, this article would likely steer me right back into my car.
- He enjoyed commuting into his previous office job, until his publisher (who hates bike messengers) saw him with his bike, and his job with that company ended shortly thereafter.
Message: Biking will get you fired. - Succeeded in hauling a 15lb bag of dogfood on his road bike, but only after almost getting blown into the guardrail.
Message: Biking will get you killed. - Enjoyed a beautiful, moonlit ride through the wooded trail on an unseasonably warm night, and crawled into bed with a mild head cold.
Message: Biking makes you sick. - Found the bike to be quite viable for many errands and local trips, however, store clerks, soccer moms, and general passersby treated him as if he were somehow not right in the head.
Message: Ride your bike, and people will treat you like a leper.
The overarching theme of the article? "At least he tried." Personally, I'd rather the article feature someone who tried, succeeded, and enjoyed it.
What annoys me is not that he mentions some of the problems encountered when using a bike for transportation, but that he doesn't explain any of the options available to make those problems managable.
OK, he mentions wearing normal shorts over his bike shorts so people are less likely to realize that he's a biker. But that's about it. No mention that he could have used panniers or a backpack to safely transport the dogfood. No mention that most employers wouldn't fire you for riding a bike, in fact many employers go out of their way to encourage fitness (often including bike commuting). No mention that excellent clothing options are available to keep you warm while biking in cold weather.
And should you really care if a store clerk or soccer mom avoids eye contact with you? In my experience, people find you more of a curiousity than anything else, and I've had no problem with that.
posted by equipoise at 10:56 AM
2 Comments:
Excellent analogy, jojo. I want to see the "walking wearing swim flippers" article - that'd be priceless.
Thanks for the link to the other Slate article - it does make up for it a bit. If only hotmail would have linked to that article instead!
For all of the trouble one goes to in order to commute to work by bike (dry cleaner near the office, finding a place to shower downtown in the morning, packing a towel, deodorant, soap, and a change of undergarments) and for all of the strange looks people may make when strolling about in bike clothes and helmet, the freedom you earn from spinning around town certainly outweighs the negatives.
Perhaps the Slate article is a bit too optimistic--maybe biking to work is still a novelty and he has yet to be cut off by an SUV suddenly making a right turn (without a signal) in front of him; maybe he hasn't been taken down from behind by an overzealoused SAAB driver (who really wanted to make that last dying yellow light) en route to a meeting; maybe he hasn't been soaked for a week straight riding home in a post-hurricane gale.
Perhaps he's still a bit biased because he's new to it all, but I still find his perspective so much more refreshing than the defeatist attitude in the Bicycle Diaries. For someone that has had the opportunity to live without a car for the last year and depend solely on my bike, I've had my share of sweaty grocery store checkouts, chain-soiled blue jeans (though, gasp! not Banana Republic, and also the chafing fades in time), and head colds from a cold night ride home, but this is simply part of the larger package. These are things you learn to deal with over time. Rarely can someone effectively quit smoking cold turkey. No one learns to walk in a day. And developing a successful bike-dependent strategy takes time like anything worth learning.
Lose the spandex and get back on the saddle. You'll thank yourself!
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