Comments on: critical of the masses http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/10/17/critical-of-the-masses/ Getting around the Bay Area with Denis Cuff and the Queen of the Road Tue, 17 May 2011 06:04:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Doug Faunt http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/10/17/critical-of-the-masses/comment-page-1/#comment-2111 Doug Faunt Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:29:38 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/10/17/critical-of-the-masses/#comment-2111 The problem is that the common response to “it’s dangerous” is to not do it i.e. get in a car too. The alternate response would be to make it safer to ride.

I’m neither young nor fearless, and my health is at least partially a result of my bicycle riding.

]]> By: Roderick Llewellyn http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/10/17/critical-of-the-masses/comment-page-1/#comment-2112 Roderick Llewellyn Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:01:47 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/10/17/critical-of-the-masses/#comment-2112 The “18-wheelers” that “blow by” as you ride your bicycle will disappear with the oil. So will the suburban land uses that encourage and are ultimately dependent on high transportation per-capita energy use.
The automobile has (temporarily!) triumphed not because of people’s inherent preferences but because of extensive subsidy, including ignoring the long-term effects of climate change, pollution, and the passing of health-care costs so caused onto the general public. Even in Europe the car is the beneficiary of said subsidy. In the future, we’ll look back with fury at the 20th Century as the time when we blew out all the oil and yet failed to build a sustainable urban environment even once we knew what the problems are.
I notice you blipped over Mr. Rogers’ comment that people of all ages in other countries, including advanced ones like Europe, do ride bikes. You merely point out that they have traffic jams too. The unwillingness of many people over here to ride bikes or excercise in general is because of the American system I might call a “lazocracy”, in which reducing individual physical effort is lauded. I don’t watch TV, but I’ve polled friends who do and they admit that there is never a single character on the tube who rides a bike. (Except for occasional crazy people!). And you can bet the car-company advertisers insist on that. Same reason you don’t see any transit riders either.
You do ultimately provide an answer when you say that other places are easier to get around by bike and they have $5/gallon gas. Simple: make our places easier to bike around too! You don’t have to worry about getting us expensive gas. Reality will take care of that all on its own.

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