May 11 CTA – Another 500,000 bikes
For the past few days I have been driving. Thanks to the #voltKlout perk I received where I get to test drive the Chevy Volt for a few days (review on that coming later) I have been commuting to and from work. While having the car has been a novelty, it has also been a pain in the ass.
Since I started working in Boulder, I have been doing a combination bike/bus commute (about 35 miles, each way) and compared to driving myself, it has been a dream. I get about an hour each morning and evening where I don’t really have to pay attention to anything. The laptop comes out and I write for a bit. Or maybe I dig into a book for a while. Sometimes I’ll just flat pass out. It takes just as long to bike/bus it as it does to drive it. And with the bus, I get to fall asleep!
I guess that’s what turned my attention to the People For Bike’s campaign and their recent accomplishment of getting a half million pledges of people who will show their support to building a stronger bike culture.
A half million is a lot. So is another half million. With the goal of one million voices to speak together towards developing a stronger bike culture, People For Bikes has a ways to go.
This is your weekly call to action: I’m asking you to pledge your name.
Whether you ride a racing bike, a commuter bike, maybe even just a mountain bike. Once a week, once a month, if you’re ever on a bike ever, throw a pledge out there.
If you dont’ bike because you’re terrified of biking with traffic or because there just isn’t enough bike infrastructure in your area, throw in a pledge.
If you’ve ever wanted to see something actually hit a million. Throw in a pledge.
And then get 10 others to pledge.
And so on.
And so on.
This has been your weekly CTA
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Cars Vs. Bikes
Larimer street, mid-paint
Earlier this week Denver repainted Larimer street from Broadway to Downing turning it into a two-way street from the one-way it has been for as long as I can remember. I was on my bicycle, so I was quick to note how one of the first orders of business for the city was to lay down some paint for a bicycle lane.
I posted the above image onto my G+ and Facebook accounts and was immediately met with “oh, geeze, that will jam up traffic for sure!” (the two-way conversion, not the bike lane). Never mind the fact that turning Larimer into a two-way is just the first step at boosting the local economy of the neighborhood, what about those of us who speed down it?! Furthermore, there has been a HUGE need for a northbound bike lane.
Cyclists like it, therefore drivers must hate it. And vice-versa. It’s a debate for the ages. As long as one exists, they will despise the presence of the others.
However, there are places in this world where cars aren’t allowed. The Mother Nature Network just compiled a list of 10 places where bikes and boats were the only way to travel because autos are not allowed. At the same time cities like Black Hawk, Colorado, are all but outlawing bicycles.
Stop pedaling?
GM launched a campaign this week titled “Stop pedaling, start driving”, noting how “embarrasing” it must be for college students to be riding bicycles everywhere. GM wound up receiving more flack than anything else and pulled the ad quickly. It long before bicycle manufacturer Giant released an ad mocking the generally foolish nature of driving big trucks.
Giant retaliation
On either side of the battle is propaganda. For the cars: flashy propaganda, commercials about “being ‘merikan” and the fact that there are few of us that go a day without seeing a car. On the other side cycling evangelists have taken to a more grassroots campaign in persuading drivers to abandon the wheel for the sustainable ride. Street art, stickers, wit - rarely do their campaigns use a lot of money, which is so often the case when promoting an idea rather than pushing a product.
There's a third option, but it's too offensive to show here. . .
Cars are great tools when you have great distances to travel or perhaps when you really need to be somewhere in the middle of a rainstorm. What about the weekly (daily?) trip to the grocery store? Or to class? Or to school? No matter what campaign is put behind a car’s “green” capabilities – the mere presence of that car promises some kind of emission and waste. Bicycles, while still capable of producing the waste of worn out parts, pale in comparison to the ecological impact.
From Green Label Organic Shirts, they make awesome stuff. Get it.
Thinking about your day to day activity, how could you replace your car? What other methods could you use to get around? How bike-friendly is your town?
Small donation gets you stickers!
Want to show your support for having a bike-friendly community in your town? Check out the I Share The Road. They have stickers. Stickers are Awesome.
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