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Re: Biker radicals



In article <DByy0v.EM3@festival.ed.ac.uk> cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm) writes:
>Of course, you're quite right, American car drivers would never stand
>for it. They never stop whining about being delayed precious seconds
>by cyclists, they'd bust a blood vessel if they were automatically at
>fault after running the bastard into the ditch.

Yeah, tell me 'bout it.  You should have heard the hue and cry when
they debated raising the Federal gasoline tax a whole nickel -- that's
five cents, $0.05, or about 3p at $1.60/£1.00 exchange rate -- per
four-quart -gallon-.  That would have brought said petrol up to maybe
$1.30 per gallon (87p to you), at the time (in 1992).

I recall the first time I visited Ireland, and computed what they were
paying for a gallon over there (of course, it's sold by the liter in Yurp).
It was around $4.50.  Basically, if you have a car there, you don't drive
by yourself -- you ask if anyone needs a lift (and please, avoid asking
if somebody would like a "ride," it has a different cultural connotation 8-)).

(Some Irish girls I met on Martha's Vineyard this past summer saw a
commuter parking area, from which shuttle bus service would take passengers
into town.  The area was signposted, "Park And Ride."  Their response
was, "Wha'?  Stop an' shift?  Jayzzz ...!" 8-) )

Until we cut down on the number of cars, relative to the number of bikes,
I don't expect major progress in bikes being treated as vehicles, though we
might score a few victories around the fringes.  Our town has put three
cops on mountain bikes -- that's marginallly significant.  And sales of bikes
are brisk, and have been for a decade or so.

There was a fat guy who screamed out the window at me in Framingham, Mass
on Sunday evening, cigarette hanging from his mouth, because I had the 
unmitigated gall to move to the center lane as we were approaching a red light 
that he had to stop at, anyway.  I didn't cut him off, but I moved into that 
lane because the right lane was turning-traffic only, and the traffic was
permitted to turn right on red there.  So I didn't want to block the lane,
since I was going forward -- I was doing the right thing, in other words.

But he didn't like that I was "out in the road."  Well, too bad.  I didn't
slow him down, I didn't run the light, I just did what he was doing, only
I wasn't assaulting anyone while doing it.

And if he could be "encouraged" or "compelled" to come out 
and ride with me, and see the kind of guff that we who are obeying
the law have to put up with from the likes o' him, I think behavior
might change.

But he's has his pickup, he has his cheap gas and oil, he has his butts, he 
has his obnoxious behavior.  So what's the problem, right? 8-/

>Chris Malcolm    cam@aifh.ed.ac.uk         +44 (0)131 650 3085

...................Tom
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    Falstaff sweats to death.
    And lards the lean earth as he walks along.
        -- _Henry IV_, part 1
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