Hello all,
As with many things in life, we get in return what we give.
If we expect courtesy on the road, then we must exercise the same courtesy t owards others, including cars and pedestrians.
There will always be jerks on the road, both on bikes and in cars. It's unfo rtunate that they tend to be among the more noticeable.
We must simply counteract this.
Lead by example. Be the first to extend courtesy towards other road (and off -road) users.
We will all benefit through peaceful coexistence.
Chris Wimpey
San Diego, CA
USA
-----Original Message----- From: wheelman@nac.net To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:03 pm Subject: Re: [CR]More on these bike films
I have to agree with Jerry Moos on his assessment of these films. First, the bicycle film festival has been going for years. I am on the invitee list to perform for the pre event show in the NYC version. They have grown but the films that romanticize the forms of cycling that show bad bicycle etiquette, cyclist confronting and threatening drivers and police and otherwise messing with traffic do none of us any good. This is all to promote their narrow view of cycling in their world.
Yes, I would like to cycle helmet free just for that feeling of freedom as I did when I was a child. Of course, somewhere along the line, I valued my head over that freedom. Glad I did as a car and I met last week and I g ot to evaluate my judgment to wear a helmet or not in a real world test. I am glad I went with the wearing of the helmet.
I have been riding a lot as of late and I can tell you, drivers are not always the enemy. There are bad cyclist as much as there are bad drivers. If you like these types of in your face films where cyclist confront drivers then go to You Tube and have your fill. There is a good one there with a woman in a mini van with her 6 year old child. You will see her being directly threatened by a rabid cyclist because he wants to block her path to prove a point about less cars on the road. Enjoy as you see this nut pull on her windshield wipers while screaming obscenities at her. Get your thrills as other cyclist surround the van, pound on it and then begin to rip at the mirrors and hood. Remember the next time you ride, if a driver is less than courteous to you, they may just have had a run in with one of these nuts.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ