it is true... there are more people on bikes

"my god magnum!"

it is true
there are more people on their bikes
lots more people on their bikes

more people commuting
more people out getting exercise

the cycling population in the DC Metropolitan area has grown at a rapid rate
there are all sorts of people on all sorts of bikes riding in all sorts of styles in all sorts of directions
it is chaos

I am accustom to the chaos
the car chaos gives the bicycle no option
to demand order from the bicycle is like telling the ship to behave in the sea

with more bicycles we are seeing more bicycles in different places
larger roads that were less popular for cyclist before have become certain cyclists preferred route
sections of Beach Drive and Canal Road that seemed illogical are not being seen as logical... by some

do the bikes belong on these roads?
the cars are moving at highway speed?
does a bicycle fit into this equation

well... the answer is... yes
the cars need to bring back their speed
there needs to be a conscious effort to slow things down
I would love to see a PSA from Barack Obama telling people to do a few things... go to be thirty minutes earlier... get up thirty minutes earlier.... leave the house thirty minutes earlier... and travel to work in a calm safe manner.... and arrive on time

in actuality people are leaving with an irrational hope of getting to work on time
driving like an asshole does not get anyone anywhere any more quickly
it people just CHILL-LAXED a bit it would be a much healthier start to the day

instead...
people get all wound up
which ends up f_cking up the start of the day

the cyclist on the road in front of the car does not really slow anyone down
maybe it brings the driver down to the speed limit for a few seconds
but it seldom makes any dramatic alteration to the final arrival time
the time slowed behind a bicycle does not normally have a great effect on a car's position in the queue

I lack the energy to repeat myself
but I feel that there should be an effort to educate people about their ignorant efforts behind the wheel
people need some more method to their madness
understand the ineffectiveness of their action and their contribution to the worst case scenario
as well as their contribution to congestion rather than flow

people need to slow down
it would work in their favor

THE CAR COMMUTER CHALLENGE


I should link to Common Sense and Common Courtesy... but we will start with this