On Jan 19, 2011, at 7:26 AM, newenglandbike wrote: > The point about bicycle culture/laws in Holland, and the reasonability > of incentives for commuting in a safe, non-polluting manner is > something that's resonated with me for a long time. Sometimes I long > to move to a place like that, but then I wonder why shouldn't I just > try to be be more active in trying to help change happen here, which > i'm woefully not and just riding a bike doesn't really do > anything.
Sure riding a bike makes a difference. If you're riding a bike in place of driving a car, you're keeping about 1.1 pounds of carbon dioxide out of per mile out of the atmosphere (if you have a ten mile round trip, that's about 2200 pounds of CO2 per year). And that's only one greenhouse gas! You're an example to others, especially if you're not dressed like Alberto Contador *and* you look like you're having fun. Someone may see you and say "hey, that looks like fun. I could do that." We've got examples of that on this very list, and it changed their lives for the better. (ow, here in Minnesota when non-cyclists see cyclers going down the street with 3 foot snowbanks and it's -10F, they just shake their heads and turn the heaters up in the car. You can't have everything, I suppose). You get the health benefits of cycling: less fat, better cardiovascular health, stronger muscles, better bones, a better brain. As someone who works with the elderly, those benefits are not to be sneezed at. In short a bike is a miracle machine. It can save your life, improve your quality of life, improve your health, improve America's energy security, reduce the costs of road construction and maintenance, reduce pollution, reduce long range health care costs... it's patriotic to ride a bike. When you're out there, you are a shining example to others whether they are looking or not. Have a great ride! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
