Bike Culture C/D S/D

sorry long, and also probably taking the topic too seriously.

no, im serious too.

anyone who has ridden a bike for any reasonable amount of time in a city has felt persecuted by drivers, but the recent hipster urban trend has made voicing that persecution a badge of honor in some circles, whereas in the past people would just tell you to shut up and get a car.

well, i mean, i ride about 4k mi a year commuting into downtown denver. i truly dont feel persecuted. ppl are really rarely rude or intentionally dangerous to me. or maybe im truly clueless. when drivers are jerks, i mean, im no angel about it, but things are usually good. i would not commute otherwise.

there is a possibility im freeriding on the hard work of bike activists-- i mean maybe their work, agitation and complaints have made my rides so much easier, in which case, maybe i should go to meetings like the one that spun off this article. but if the ppl are annoying and likely to make me annoying-- maybe not.

A sense of persecution, a righteous attitude

Critical Mass anyone?

I don't even own a bike but I'm basically pro-critical mass - I mean, what's the alternative? the sense of persecution doesn't come out of nowhere imo and the righteous attitude can be contrasted w/ every driver in america feeling like they have a god given right to nice roads / cheap gas / etc.

I'd own a bike and ride it everywhere if I weren't afraid of getting hit by a car, fwiw

i ride about 4k mi a year commuting into downtown denver. i truly dont feel persecuted. ppl are really rarely rude or intentionally dangerous to me. or maybe im truly clueless. when drivers are jerks, i mean, im no angel about it, but things are usually good. i would not commute otherwise.

This is exactly my experience in London (I managed 4,026 miles last year). Very rarely you get some arse who won't let you filter, or who overtakes badly, or calls you a cunt, but that's people for you. I get mad with other cyclists much more often than motorists (and most of all with peds who JUST DON'T HAVE A FUCKING CLUE how to cross a road).

ytth, if you're in fruitvale, a bunch of friends and i are doing this Tour de Taco ride this upcoming saturday
http://www.ebbc.org/?q=node/4950

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1783/taco.jpg

cyclists in oakland talking about people literally riding them off the road near fruitvale

no shit, but this happened today. riding on fruitvale ave and this fucking asshole thuggy teenager swerved into w/in inches of 4 of us as he passed all of us. one after the next.

not sure where to put this, but i've never visited the site below without being wowed, if not by a bike, then by the photography.

ttp://www.ecovelo.info/