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To the Rhino beeper who complained about spandex-clad cyclists on the road:

You live in a city that doesn't put shoulders or sidewalks beside the roads. Cyclists have nowhere else to go but the traffic lanes.

Still, before you pull out your gun and start shooting them, give it a moment's thought:

Those cyclists aren't using gasoline, so they aren't raising the price of it.

They aren't adding to the stink of exhaust in the air.

They don't take up anywhere near as much room on the road as your car.

When they get where they're going, they won't take up a parking place.

And if they hit somebody along the way, their victim probably won't die.

So ... what exactly is their sin?

Oh, yeah -- they dared to be on the road when you wanted to be able to speed on by without delay.

Oh, no! They inconvenienced you, the sacred god of the highway! Fie upon them! Curse them all! Lest you slow down even a little bit in your vital travels, let them all be banished from the roads! Don't they know how important you are, compared to mere weevils like them?

Lighten up, dear bike-hating clown. So you drive a little slower for a few minutes. Just remember that because they're getting exercise, they won't be needing as much medical attention as you will, so they'll help keep your health insurance rates down.

Unless, of course, you pass them unsafely because you're in such a terrible hurry -- but then, because you're driving a big hulking gas-wasting vehicle, you'll probably kill them, so ... no medical bills after all!

Yep. The world really does revolve around you and your car.

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I thought this was funny and true and I'm glad I live in the 2nd most bicycle friendly city in the country (so I don't have to run them over.) Just kidding. I admire cyclists.

(Here's an amusing anecdote. I was driving to school last week and I saw a man, who seemed to be on his way to work, riding a UNICYCLE. It was really impressive as he was doing it in the hilly suburbs of Portland. )

But anyway, here's to you guys that ride in front of cars and are in better shape than me!!

[ June 01, 2004, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: Narnia ]

Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000  |  IP: Logged | 

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One day, this guy was driving his LandCruiser and saw one of the members riding his bike without a helmet.

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I ride my bike without a helmet usually, but never on busy roads.

Posts: 4229 | Registered: Dec 2002  |  IP: Logged | 

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*dreams of living in Canada*

*likes living in California's climate, though*

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Canada rules. Ask any Canadian. Move here.

And California is going to end up in the ocean pretty soon anyway, when that huge earthquake hits. Or was that a meteor? I can never remember....

Posts: 1996 | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged |