Freedom. Choices. We have them - use them. I looked for a job that I could commute to, and I live in the city. I'm in a smaller house than I could get if I wanted to drive 30+ miles to work. I made this lifestyle decision because it's right for me, and I'm modeling a healthy biking lifestyle to my daughter. I would hate for her to be afraid to ride on the city streets, and feel like she has to get suckered into paying for the car lifestyle based on needless fear.
I love bike commuting, but it's not for the weak of heart or mind. You have to take chances and enjoy the outdoor element and inherent danger of riding with cars around (don't be afraid of riding in the street - it's fun!) It is definitely greener than driving - no doubt. If you commute by bike, don't argue it's not green, sheesh. I have a truck, but put gas in it every other month. Someone else can support the oil barons because they have to be in climate control continuously. Inevitably, we will all find a better fuel through necessity, and the power structure will migrate. I hope some of us will still be riding lugged steel bikes. If you want to play biking as a "sport" or diet, that's great too, we all love bikes here, I hope. Brian Hanson Seattle On Jan 19, 2011, at 10:52 AM, Ray Shine <r.sh...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > You're very right, Sean. My comment was to back-up Kelly regarding the > "green" benefits gained by many cyclists that are cancelled by the drive to > and from the event or ride. Of course I realize that cycling can often be > impractical and/or dangerous. Many times I have cycled from my home to the > home of a family member in a nearby city for a family function, and returned > home in the evening with my wife and with the bike in the back of the auto. > I wasn't riding there to be "green." I was just riding. I know that is how > most folks cycle. The number of folks who commute by bike (as I do) are a > small fraction of the nation's total number of cyclists. I see that more > because of the good fortune of my living and work situation as much as > anything I have done to establish that sort of commuting life style. And > then there are all of those folks with young children, such as my son's own > young families. I would be very anxious, if not irritated, if I were to hear > that one of my son's allowed one of my five grandchildren (range 2 thru 8) to > hop on there little bikes and go riding along a busy city street! I would > absolutely discourage that, and instead recommend that they transport the > family bikes by auto to the nearest bike path to do the rides. Of course I > would do that! Such activities aren't "green." They're just family outings; > plenty good enough in my book. > > From: Sean Whelan <strummer_...@yahoo.com> > To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com > Sent: Wed, January 19, 2011 9:53:13 AM > Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: Rivbike Editorial of Jan. 18 > > At least they are riding bikes and interested in bikes. While most of us on > this list use our bikes for everything from fast brevets to grocery runs and > commuting, that is not the case for everyone. There are numerous reasons why > someone might choose to rack a bike and drive it to an off-road spot and > ride. It may not be right for you and for me, and it might not be > environmentally defensible, but I'd much rather have them riding a bike after > a short drive, than just deciding to "go for a drive" up to Pt. Reyes or > something. > > When I first started riding again after many years off the bike, I was really > afraid to ride in traffic. I would drive my bike to a bike path and ride, > then drive home. I knew it was a bit ridiculous, but that is the place where > I was in terms of my comfort level, fitness level and confidence. Several > years later, I am more in line with the majority of folks here. I commute to > work as often as the weather and business commitments allow. I ride to run > errands in the neighborhood and I seem to only rack the bike on a car when a > group of us carpool to a century or other organized ride in the region. > > At least those folks are spending money at bike shops / on bike stuff. My > local bike shop doesn't carry many of the things that I want, but I email the > owner and he orders it in for me rather than having me just order it from > someone in the interwebs. It works for both of us, and he pays his mortgage > selling plenty of those fancy dual suspension mountain bikes. > > All biking is good biking in some way... > > Cheers, > Sean > > --- On Wed, 1/19/11, Ray Shine <r.sh...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > From: Ray Shine <r.sh...@sbcglobal.net> > Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: Rivbike Editorial of Jan. 18 > To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com > Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 12:09 PM > > You hit the nail on the head, Kelly, and you are spot-on correct. I am > always amused and annoyed at the same time on my weekend rides into Marin > County from San Francisco. It's very common to see the full suspension MTB > folks drive across the bridge and park near Mike's Bikes, take their > expensive MTB off the trunk rack, then go tackle the trails on Mt. Tam. I > know they are from the city (just 8 miles away) because of the residential > parking permits on the bumpers of their cars. I also get a laugh out of the > carbon road riders who will haul the bike over White's Hill on the back of > their SUV, then park on the other side and tear off a fast ride out around > Nicasio reservoir and back to the car. I see this sort of canceling out > thing most, however, with the MTB riders. I suppose they would offer as a > justification that the bike's tires don't do well on paved roads, or some > such. > > > From: Kelly Sleeper <tkslee...@gmail.com> > To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com > Sent: Wed, January 19, 2011 7:10:53 AM > Subject: [RBW] Re: Rivbike Editorial of Jan. 18 > > and then there is organized bike rides that have 100's of people driving many > miles to ride a bike a short distance then drive back home. In St Louis, Mo > Trailnet has one of these type rides weekly. I would wager a single weekend > ride here wipes out all the progress the comuters make in one day. Not saying > don't comute, just saying I don't see cycling as green. It's entertainment > for most folks or exercise but also an excuse / reason to drive thier cars > many more miles. > > Cycling has many uses and is wonderful .. but riding just for green reasons > is or would be weak for me. I ride because I like riding. > > Kelly > > > -- > 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. > -- > 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. > -- > 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. > -- > 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. -- 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.
