And that's because the ultimate goal in America --if you ever make
it-- is to live in a Gated Community, where you don't see people --at
least not the friendly type. It's people who mostly live inward and
come out in the SUVs with tinted windows. Maybe they are too busy to
enjoy anything. Then outside you don't find many people either because
they are afraid to come out and find the wrong type of people.
You don't see people walking or riding bicycles and that's because the
urban landscape is scary and depressing. Many American cities were
rated "sad" recently for their poverty and lack of green to which I
add the fact that you don't see people. The sidewalks lie in disrepair
forever without proper maintenance. Nobody reports them, and if you do
they come and put a safety cone over it. Often you find cars blocking
the path or some major repair is going without proper alternatives.
But that's the American way, though some say that's the model
pioneered by Los Angeles. New York is not like that. But even in the
southern sprawls there's hope: the MIGHTY BIKE. It may just be the
vehicle of liberation, I mean liberation from the cage.
I'll like to make this analysis given by TRANSPORTATION CHOICES. To
your surprise we cyclists may not be the friendliest people out there.
We are second best, but that's only my humble opinion. Here it goes:
1- PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ADVOCATES are the friendliest people out
there. They love people, even some of the trashy people who populate
our decadent transportation system. Picture people who love Greyhound
buses.
2- CYCLISTS --which include all two wheeled vehicles, "out of the
cage": We like people but just to a point. We pick and choose who to
talk to. We hate people who stink. Notice we don't need much
infrastructure. We are the freest people by far.
3- DRIVERS: They hate people. Some are willing to consider other
transportation choices and thus could be part of the solution. They
are not as much "drivers" as "driven" by the system, if you know what
I mean.
4- SUV DRIVERS: They hate people with a passion. They are a threat
even to common drivers. Tinted windows mean "don't mess with me." On
top of that, they oppose every effort toward modern transportation
systems. Funny thing is they deny Climate Change to avoid
responsibility and supported the war in Iraq based on trumped up
charges. Why would they even care the Iraqis lacked "democracy"?
Predictably they came up with a Gated Community around Baghdad.
5- PEDESTRIANS: They are not very clever by refusing to take advantage
of the wheel. A cyclist is much cooler and has a "beast of burden" at
his disposal. Often they are public transportation users. Elderly are
OK though --except when they vote and ignore the issues.
I think I said enough. The Wise Man leaves something to the
imagination.
On Jun 2, 3:26 pm, "TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher"
<nolionnoprob...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 5- PEDESTRIANS: They are not very clever by refusing to take advantage
> of the wheel. A cyclist is much cooler and has a "beast of burden" at
> his disposal. Often they are public transportation users. Elderly are
> OK though --except when they vote and ignore the issues.
I want to talk today about the saddest people in the transportation
scheme. It's the PEDESTRIAN/PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOLKS. I thought
about it when my bike had a flat and waited for a bus for almost an
hour. Luckily I met a lady from Paris (originally from Ivory Coast)
and we had the most interesting conversation. She told me the French
as standoffish but not be because they are arrogant, just because they
are shy. She may be wrong but I spoke to her about the revolution and
gave her a flier (Welcome to the Jungle) which she may find useful
while visiting America. Anyway the bike didn't fit in the rack of the
bus and I was forced to walk for an hour in extreme heat! I thought of
jumping off one of the bridges (just to cool off) but I remembered
that's illegal.
Yes, being a pedestrian/public transportation user has its share of
reward and punishment. But that's only my humble opinion.
That's because for us --beach bums-- life's beach. It can not be sold,
it can not be sold. Have you tried the paddle board? Let me know so I
can use it for my own boards.
> On Jun 3, 7:05 am, "racer...@yahoo.com" <racer...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I must agree, I can carry quite a bit on the bicycle, and use a backpack to lug the big things like gallons of milk, dog food, and kitty litter.
> > Normally, I use a removable trunk rack that grips the seat post, and this carries quite a bit. It sports bungee loops on the sides. When it's time to go for a ride for fun (well, even commuting in the rain is a "ride for fun"...
> Yes! Yes it is. I am your brother.
> > ..., come to think of it, but I hope you get my point) I take the rack off and use the little "tool bag" with a spare tube and levers. "Riding naked" with no rack is joy, as the bicycle flicks about with its lowest mass.
> IME, riding with a naked (or even nearly so) but permanently mounted
> lightweight rear Tubus rack offers essentially the same nimbleness.
> I also have a permanently attached front rack - a big one (Surly Nice
> Rack). That really sucks the handling out of things. Pisses me off
> because the worst of the unnecessary weight is the stupid universal
> mounting hardware required for mounting the Surly Rack to the Surly
> touring bike!
> For ultimate naked bike throwing around, I leave the LHT at home and
> ride my full-rigid Stumpjumper.
> > For carrying the biggest loads, I like the single-wheel BOB trailer best, and the thing is big enough to heft a beer keg, nimble enough to avoid the face-eating zombies that seem to be blocking the bicycle lanes recently.
> I pull a big wagon with one hand behind me to the side. No good for
> long runs, but the store's only a few blocks away.
I saw the brochure and it looks super good. Waterproof for sure, so
the first rain won't ruin your picnic. Don't know the price. "Made in
America" perhaps.
A family having a picnic with bikes. Something to behold but we do it
all the time. Does anyone care about "made in America" anymore.
Perhaps it's not practical.
I want to clarify that in no way I imply the French character is
better than the American character. The problem is the system that I
charactize as "fuck or be fucked." Case in point is that cars won't
yield to pedestrians and when one does the other comes behind and
blasts the horn! It happened to me two days in a row. The situation is
so dire that I find "throwing myself" at cars that won't give me the
right of way. I was screaming today "go" at my girlfriend who
hesitatated to practice this suicidal strategy. It's like you are an
insect or a monkey which proves my case that this is a jungle.
On May 30, 2:20 pm, "TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher"
<nolionnoprob...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> But that's the American way, though some say that's the model
> pioneered by Los Angeles. New York is not like that. But even in the
> southern sprawls there's hope: the MIGHTY BIKE. It may just be the
> vehicle of liberation, I mean liberation from the cage.
> But that's only my humble opinion.
I don't want to brag about my humbleness, but everytime I get it
right. Well, it's perhaps the Wisdom of the Jungle gives me this sense
of sharp awareness of the world that facts follow my humble opinions.
Case in point is New York (City) above.
Now it has been proven that living in New York makes you live longer.
Perhaps it's because the monkey is out of the cage, perhaps it's
because they are rewarding positive behavior ("positive conditioning"
I think it's called) that people are eating better, banning smoking
and thus living longer. The saying "I love NY" now has a deeper
meaning. We may have to add "but I hate America" --at least the
America that hates people.
(I QUOTE)
Want to Live Longer? Move to NYC
While life expectancy in many parts of the United States is dropping,
it has increased by 10 years in Manhattan since 1987. Researchers
largely attribute that rise the fastest in the nation to a
crackdown by the New York City health department on unhealthy
behaviors.
Manhattanites can now expect to live to the ripe old age of 82, and
the average life expectancy across all five New York City boroughs is
80.6 years. That's three years beyond the national average, and a
striking turnaround since the city's low point in 1990, when life
expectancy there trailed the U.S. average by three years.
The numbers come from researchers at the University of Washington's
Institute for Heath Metrics and Evaluation, who recently estimated the
life expectancies in all 3,147 independent American cities and
counties each year from 1987 through 2009. Even with New York's
success, the IHME team found life expectancy in the country as a whole
lengthened just 1.7 years per decade, a slower pace of progress than
in the world's most long-lived countries. (The United States ranks
50th in that regard, according to the CIA World Fact Book.)
So, why is New York doing so well, and how can other U.S. cities get
their residents' longevities up to speed? [Infographic: A Day in the
Life of the Average American]
According to the British medical journal The Lancet, most gains made
during the 1990s aren't replicable elsewhere. The city ramped up its
life expectancy by reining in homicide rates and HIV/AIDS-related
mortality, both of which had weighed down the average at the beginning
of the decade.
However, gains made after 2000 reflect true improvements in individual
health. Mirroring the national average, some 87 percent of deaths in
the Big Apple result from noncommunicable diseases preventable
ailments such as heart disease and lung cancer but the number of
yearly deaths from those causes is steadily falling. The IHME
researchers determined that more than 60 percent of the increase in
New Yorkers' life expectancy since 2000 can be attributed to
reductions in heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke.
Lead researcher Ali Mokdad said the reduction is largely thanks to
aggressive efforts by city health officials to simply take away
unhealthy choices from residents. The health department has, for
example, banned trans fats, prohibited smoking in public spaces and
hiked taxes on cigarettes. It has also rolled out hundreds of miles of
new bicycle lanes, mandated the use of calorie labels on menus in
chain restaurants and plastered posters up in subways with information
about the risks of obesity and the benefits of preventive health
services. [What Are the Leading Causes of Death?]
At the moment the city is considering a partial ban on large servings
of sugar-sweetened drinks, which would go into effect next year.
For way too long, public health departments have defined their
responsibilities as essentially infectious- disease control rather
than improvement of health of the population," New York City Health
Commissioner Thomas Farley told The Lancet. In 21st-century New York,
the real concerns are tobacco, poor nutrition and inactivity, so the
health department has made them their new focus, he said. "It's not a
given that we're going to continue to have high rates of smoking and
high rates of [noncommunicable] diseases; those are as preventable as
infectious diseases were 150 years ago."
WORD FROM THE WISE: WE NEED TO BE OUT OF THE CAGE AND SOCIALIZE.
REWARD GOOD BEHAVIOR, PUNISH BAD BEHAVIOR. RIDE BIKE!!! Notice how the
rest of America sucks while those who can afford it move to Gated
Communities, thus leaving communities --which they consider the
jungle-- fall apart. I'm telling you, "MY COMMUNITY IS FULL OF
SHIT" (that's dog shit and cat shit and people give a shit) and that's
very bad. And it could be worse. While my community has people going
around, most communities have no people in sight. It's like a disease
has hit town and everybody is dead. And that disease --my dear
friends-- is FEAR. Maybe the political system is falling apart too.
Are these ghostowns governed by anyone? I can only think of a cure:
MAKE PEOPLE RIDE BIKES AND ENJOY LIFE.
> On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 06:41:06 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach
> Cruiser Philosopher" <comandante.ban...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >On May 30, 2:20 pm, "TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher"
> ><nolionnoprob...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> But that's the American way, though some say that's the model
> >> pioneered by Los Angeles. New York is not like that. But even in the
> >> southern sprawls there's hope: the MIGHTY BIKE. It may just be the
> >> vehicle of liberation, I mean liberation from the cage.
> >> But that's only my humble opinion.
> >I don't want to brag about my humbleness, but everytime I get it
> >right. Well, it's perhaps the Wisdom of the Jungle gives me this sense
> >of sharp awareness of the world that facts follow my humble opinions.
> >Case in point is New York (City) above.
> >Now it has been proven that living in New York makes you live longer.
> Statistics can prove most anything one desires.
Well, you may claim the opposite too. Statistics confirm or deny the
claims of many. For example, they claim we have a bike sharing program
--similar to Paris and London-- but the statistics would show that no
more of a handful of people would take advantage of it from one end to
the other. Why? Because there are no bike facilities at all and you
are forced to ride on sidewalk. Again, that's why I propose bicycle
counters. Then we can have real statistics.
> >Perhaps it's because the monkey is out of the cage, perhaps it's
> >because they are rewarding positive behavior ("positive conditioning"
> >I think it's called) that people are eating better, banning smoking
> >and thus living longer.
> Perhaps it's a projection.
True, perhaps it's common sense too. I was hardly aware that NYC was
also trying to improve people's behavior, so everything came together
to prove me right. And this is proof of my humbleness. I don't need to
brag that I'm a prophet of something of the sort.
> > The saying "I love NY" now has a deeper
> >meaning. We may have to add "but I hate America" --at least the
> >America that hates people.
> Or the America you love to hate.
Are we OK with saying that "I hate people who hate people?" I think we
should. They try to make your life miserable in every possible way, so
they get my hate. I don't believe the claim that Christians love their
enemies either. Maybe some Buddhists can, but I'd not accept it at
face value.
> >(I QUOTE)
> >Want to Live Longer? Move to NYC
> >While life expectancy in many parts of the United States is dropping,
> >it has increased by 10 years in Manhattan since 1987.
> Ever wonder how they arrived at that figure?
They are not trying to lie to you. The statistics don't lie unless
they are manipulated or wrong and we have to prove it.
> > Researchers
> >largely attribute that rise the fastest in the nation to a
> >crackdown by the New York City health department on unhealthy
> >behaviors.
> >Manhattanites can now expect to live to the ripe old age of 82, and
> >the average life expectancy across all five New York City boroughs is
> >80.6 years. That's three years beyond the national average, and a
> >striking turnaround since the city's low point in 1990, when life
> >expectancy there trailed the U.S. average by three years.
> Here's a quote from another site:
> "Babies born in New York City in 2009 can expect to live a record 80.6
> years, nearly three years longer than in 2000 and more than two years
> longer than the current national average of 78.2 years.
> Life expectancy for 40-year-old New Yorkers rose to 82 in 2009, a
> 2.5-year increase from 2000 slightly more than double the increase
> for middle-aged Americans on the whole. Life expectancy for
> 70-year-olds in New York also increased by 1.5 years, compared with
> 0.7 years for the country on average. Go figure."
> That suggests that if you are 40 years old now, in New York City,
> you can expect to live to be 82 (if you're in Queens or Manhatten,
> whereas the Bronx is not your best choice of boroughs) as of 2009,
> however if you were born in 2009, you can expect to live to be 80.6
> which seems a bit odd. [cf Institute's table for comparison.]
So things are getting better according to this other statistic. Gee,
there's no doubt about it now.
> >The numbers come from researchers at the University of Washington's
> >Institute for Heath Metrics and Evaluation, who recently estimated the
> >life expectancies in all 3,147 independent American cities and
> >counties each year from 1987 through 2009.
True. As a matter of fact, I will be visiting New York, so I'll get to
experience friendly people. But it won't be NYC so perhaps they have
incorporated the SUV/Gated Community culture.
> > Notice how the
> >rest of America sucks while those who can afford it move to Gated
> >Communities, thus leaving communities --which they consider the
> >jungle-- fall apart.
> Have you looked at google's bike path maps?
> They list bike friendly roads.
Oh wait, here they lie of the time. That path that it shows may be
leading into a trap. That's why the knowledge of the asphalt jungle is
valuable. Never trust "their bike facilities." Never trust the jungle
for that matter.
> > I'm telling you, "MY COMMUNITY IS FULL OF
> >SHIT" (that's dog shit and cat shit and people give a shit) and that's
> >very bad. And it could be worse. While my community has people going
> >around, most communities have no people in sight. It's like a disease
> >has hit town and everybody is dead. And that disease --my dear
> >friends-- is FEAR.
> Is it communicable?
Yes it is. You must be placed in quarantine until it goes away.
> > Maybe the political system is falling apart too.
> >Are these ghostowns governed by anyone?
> People would be my guess.
Yeah, but the people in power are different animals though. It got
nothing to do with people riding bikes or walkable communities. They
do a job and get paid handsomely.
> > I can only think of a cure:
> >MAKE PEOPLE RIDE BIKES
> Force them, eh.
Lead them. London implemented a policy to restrict car access AND
create a bicycle program. Once you restrict parking or access to an
area, people would get the message that the bike is the way to go.
> >AND ENJOY LIFE.
> Reminds me of something a friend's father once said
> when one of the kids didn't want to go somewhere.
> "You will go
> and you will have a good time."
I'd say, "You go and find out."
> >But that's only my humble opinion.
> How do you define humble?
Humbleness is a nonprofit attribute that special people posses. Gandhi
had it. Reagan didn't.
So now we know what the problem is, and what the solution is. What are
we waiting for?
> On Jun 15, 4:58 pm, mind <being@.... --- -- .> wrote:
>>> Now it has been proven that living in New York makes you live
>>> longer.
>> Statistics can prove most anything one desires.
> Well, you may claim the opposite too. Statistics confirm or deny the
> claims of many. For example, they claim we have a bike sharing program
> --similar to Paris and London-- but the statistics would show that no
> more of a handful of people would take advantage of it from one end to
> the other. Why? Because there are no bike facilities at all and you
> are forced to ride on sidewalk. Again, that's why I propose bicycle
> counters. Then we can have real statistics.
>>> Perhaps it's because the monkey is out of the cage, perhaps it's
>>> because they are rewarding positive behavior ("positive
>>> conditioning" I think it's called) that people are eating better,
>>> banning smoking and thus living longer.
Perhaps New York offers better possibilities of getting needed health care to the lesser among them than other cities. Can anyone comment on this possibility?
> TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher wrote:
> > On Jun 15, 4:58 pm, mind <being@.... --- -- .> wrote:
> >>> Now it has been proven that living in New York makesyoulive
> >>> longer.
> >> Statistics can prove most anything one desires.
> > Well,youmay claim the opposite too. Statistics confirm or deny the
> > claims of many. For example, they claim we have a bike sharing program
> > --similar to Paris and London-- but the statistics would show that no
> > more of a handful ofpeoplewould take advantage of it from one end to
> > the other. Why? Because there are no bike facilities at all andyou
> > are forced to ride on sidewalk. Again, that's why I propose bicycle
> > counters. Then we can have real statistics.
> >>> Perhaps it's because the monkey is out of the cage, perhaps it's
> >>> because they are rewarding positive behavior ("positive
> >>> conditioning" I think it's called) thatpeopleare eating better,
> >>> banning smoking and thus living longer.
> Perhaps New York offers better possibilities of getting needed health care to
> the lesser among them than other cities. Can anyone comment on this possibility?
Interesting subject. Here in Florida they have been cutting down
services while avoiding prevention.
On Jun 16, 2:16 pm, reader <be...@apolka.net> wrote:
> TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher wrote:
> >So now we know what the problem is, and what the solution is. What are
> >we waiting for?
> You might be in fear.
> And you might hate.
> Aside from those emotions,
> I'm not sure what else you are waiting for.
> I'm not waiting nor expecting
> nor trying to change anything in particular
> at the moment.
The Wise Man removes the obstacles on his path so he can continue to
meet his destiny. Sometimes the destiny is just roaming free and
that's OK too. The Wise Man always has a Plan B. There are no
sidewalks and distances are too long, then he rides a bike. Maybe not
necessary in New York City, but very important in the urban sprawl.
Let's talk in practical terms:
THEY BUILT THE SYSTEM TO DEFEAT THE PEDESTRIAN, BUT THE BIKE CAN
DEFEAT THE SYSTEM.
But that's only my humble opinion.
(I have deleted much of what you say because the Wise Man talk little
but delivers a punch. I may get back to it later when I got some more
time)
On Jun 16, 12:39 pm, mind <being@.... --- -- .> wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Jun 2012 07:36:32 -0700 (PDT), "TibetanMonkey, the Beach
> Cruiser Philosopher" <thetibetanmon...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >Are we OK with saying that "I hate people who hate people?" I think we
> >should. They try to make your life miserable in every possible way, so
> >they get my hate.
> If you hate people that hate people
> then you hate yourself. You are they
> who are making your life miserable
> in every possible way, you
> get your own hate.
> It's a mirror.
It won't matter to the system what a Wise Monkey thinks. But FUTURE
GENERATIONS will be harsh passing judgement on this blind, selfish,
greedy generation which readily trashes the planet. But this
generation will be gone by then, so may it not matter either. Nothing
matters in this world.
There's no right and wrong. Riding a bike or driving an SUV is the
same. Terrorists and victims are all the same. This is a post-
ideological era. There's only two types of people under Globalization:
Those with the money and those without it, which is to say winners and
losers. Buddha, Gandhi and Capone are on the same level. Actually more
people may be trying to imitate Capone than Buddha and Gandhi.
Sometimes I think of our masters --assuming we have masters-- as a
mafia.
> >> >Are we OK with saying that "I hate people who hate people?" I think we
> >> >should. They try to make your life miserable in every possible way, so
> >> >they get my hate.
> >> If you hate people that hate people
> >> then you hate yourself. You are they
> >> who are making your life miserable
> >> in every possible way, you
> >> get your own hate.
> >> It's a mirror.
> >It won't matter to the system what a Wise Monkey thinks.
> There is something called reify or reification.
> In a sense, you are correct.
> In another sense, incorrect.
> >But FUTURE
> >GENERATIONS will be harsh passing judgement on this blind, selfish,
> >greedy generation which readily trashes the planet.
> That will be true, for some future generations.
> Other future generations will realize how necessary
> this phase of Earth's growth was.
> Without going through this phase, Earthlings
> would not have been able to colonize the galaxy.
> Perhaps you are a starfish,
> or perhaps a dragon.
I was already quite comfortable as a Wise Monkey though.
Anyway if you think about it --that's my job as philosopher-- we may
judge this generation as committing "generational holocaust" toward
future generations. Never mind it's their own children and
grandchildren who will have to fight like rats for survival. That's
the way it will be. They drive big trucks with casual disregard for
the future. But they deny the projections given by the scientists so
they are free from guilt.
> >> >But FUTURE
> >> >GENERATIONS will be harsh passing judgement on this blind, selfish,
> >> >greedy generation which readily trashes the planet.
> >> That will be true, for some future generations.
> >> Other future generations will realize how necessary
> >> this phase of Earth's growth was.
> >> Without going through this phase, Earthlings
> >> would not have been able to colonize the galaxy.
> >> Perhapsyouare a starfish,
> >> or perhaps a dragon.
> >I was already quite comfortable as a Wise Monkey though.
> >Anywayifyouthink about it --that's my job as philosopher-- we may
> >judge this generation as committing "generational holocaust" toward
> >future generations.
> Oh.
> I thoughtyousaid, "FUTURE GENERATIONS will be harsh ... "
Yes, they will pass harsh judgement BEFORE falling, then nobody will
say anything as the animals can not pass judgement. Maybe another
species will become smart in the future and learn from our own
mistakes. WE HUMANS ARE TOO ARROGANT TO LEARN ANYTHING. We even block
our common sense so we deny the animal even as we behave like them.
For example, ONLY PIGS AND HUMANS ARE KNOWN TO BE LAZY AND ENJOY THE
FILTH. But you don't find pigs in the wild, just wild boars, and they
love to ROAM FREE, a concept I humbly propose.
> > Never mind it's their own children and
> >grandchildren who will have to fight like rats for survival.
> I suppose some future generations might do that.
> Other future generations, most of them probably,
> will live much better than we do, just as most now
> have indoor plumbing, electricity, and such.
> More and more will have more and more
> rather than less and less, asyouseem to say.
You assume that "more" gives you happiness but when it means the
trashing of the planet, then it means "less."
> >That's the way it will be.
> Feel free to create as bleak or as scary a scenario
> for your internal movie or dialog or narrative
> asyoucare to scare yourself with
> or to get angry or frustrated
> about in your bouts.
Only because I'm in the cage doesn't mean I'm having bouts. I also
have fun writing. Of course, not everybody can get my humor but that's
not my problem.
> >They drive big trucks with casual disregard for
> >the future. But they deny the projections given by the scientists so
> >they are free from guilt.
> As least they will be free from something.
> Doyouever wonder or question
> whyyoutend to project gloom and doom
> instead of a happy ever after?
Learn from the Kingdom of Bhutan. They give you a happy picture.
> >And then we take a spaceship and go and live in Mars. Just kidding.
> In my history, we all began,
> in galaxies far away, long ago.
> We were stardust then, and golden.
> After billions of years we emerged
> from vents beneath oceans on Earth,
> eventually making our way from fire to
> fire using tools to change our ways.
> Eventually we shall again be stardust,
> and golden, long after the Red Giant has
> consumed what was once our home.
> We shall be the elements themselves,
> carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, CHON,
> basically, as we have been since the fusion
> of elements began, deep within.
> - nights of the realm
Forget about the Red Giant. We could be having a lot of fun before
that happens. Go for a bike ride or a walk in the woods. Then grab a
partner and look for the Tantric meaning of the Big Bang. Expansion,
then contraction. It's all part of life.
> > Fear is what keeps the masses from ever riding a bike on a road.
> > Intimidation is what you often face when cars pass you and blast the
> > horn or roar the engine. And humiliation is what you find when cars
> > cut you off right in your face.
> Don't forget nails, bike flats, poorly maintained roads, mechanical
> failures (so it's wise to carry tools and a spare inner tube in your
> backpack), 100+ degree temperatures, rain, pit bull dogs. I carry a
> can of Bear Spray so if those two pit bulls ever chase me again, 9
> miles from home... heh.
I hope those red light cameras flashing all the time (150 bucks per
flash) will gain us new converts. It ain't taming traffic that much
but it's something that deters driving, at least among the poor.
And you know the saying, "You got nothing to lose but your chain!"
