My experience confirms that safety concerns are the biggest impediment to getting people on bicycles. No doubt, the ubiquitous helmet contributes to that fear, but I am convinced that fear has two other deeper causes. First, far too many roads where most commuters ride are unnecessarily dangerous and new riders lack the skill and moxie to take their share of the lane. Second, Americans watch way too much TV, which is an entire industry composed of fearful, angry, unhappy people intent on making everyone else fearful, resentful, and unhappy. There are many things that people ought to be concerned about, like climate change and spreading poverty, but instead, as this video clip pointed out, we are all encouraged to be stressed out about minimal or non existent dangers. Too many people simply approach life, including cycling, from that place of fear.
I just retired from a physically and emotionally demanding job at a major medical center. Whenever I mentioned the slightest ache or pain I would invariably be asked or simply assumed that I had hurt myself commuting to work. Yet, with a daily census of around 450 inpatients we probably averaged two admissions a year for cycling injuries. Promoting reason over fear is a good thing to do, but I doubt that the bicycle helmet is the best place to start. michael, not enjoying mud season in VT! On Mar 16, 4:20 am, newenglandbike <matthiasbe...@gmail.com> wrote: > Can't comment on the speaker's delivery, but what does that matter? > I pretty much agreed with most of what the guy said, that is, to > get people on bicycles, you don't want to force them to wear a helmet > and imply that they are doing something more dangerous than > driving. Conversely, the overbearing prevalence of private- > automobile culture could probably be combatted effectively by > enforcing a strict automobile helmet law. > > 'Copenhagencyclechic' and it's sister-sites across the web represent > exactly the kind of campaign bicycling needs-- something that appeals > to peoples' (women and men's) sense of freedom and individuality (and > vanity), and incidentally the idea of bicycling for utility/ > transportation rather than for sport or recreation. The bottom line > is, the energy-rich, complacent people (not saying this is ALL people) > of the industrialized world aren't going to hop on bikes because of > Peak > Oil or 390ppm CO2 in the atmosphere, and the hotter, more barren > planet that we have created and will leave to the next generation. > But if you appeal to their sense of vanity, you could make some > headway. This is exactly what the automobile industry does to sell > cars- and they know what they are doing. > > -Matt > > On Mar 16, 12:33 am, PATRICK MOORE <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Damn, Jim, it's about time someone had the courage to raise this highly > > troublesome subject; moral standards in this our little world of odd, retro > > bike geekdom are tumbling fast. > > > Patrick "Sarah Palin for President -- as long as she promises complete > > silence for four years: Moore > > > On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 7:17 PM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery < > > > thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > > > I have nothing against professional photographers or exploiting people, > > > but > > > I am greatly offended by the shameless portrayal of internal gear hubs and > > > chain guards as sensible for transportation bikes! Both of these cause me > > > lots of trouble on a daily basis! > > > > -- > > > 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. > > > -- > > Patrick Moore > > Albuquerque, NM > > For professional resumes, contact > > Patrick Moore, ACRW at patrickmo...@resumespecialties.com -- 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.
