Apparently this has already made its rounds in the cycling blogosphere, but in case anyone missed this... interesting speech, here you go.
I suppose it just goes to show that while much progress is being made we've still got a long ways to go when it comes to people's perceptions of alternative transportation.
9 comments:
Great post, I hadn't seen this one but we can thank him for keeping the discussion on the table even if his perspective is very ignorant. The facts back up replacing short auto trips with bike trips and energy savings is only the beginning.
Our society needs to get off the couch or obesity and the related health issues will kill us assuming we survive the pollution our current transportation choices leave us. The three-tier argument is gaining ground and folks like him only throw ridicule at one leg of the bicycling benefits stool and perhaps not even the most important one; obesity is the elephant in our societal living room and it's not just a financial crisis, it's killing people. When we expand the discussion to include these three benefits, the value of the simple bicycle will be undeniable.
wow. that's all i can say. wow.
Ha!Ha! Thats really funny! I loved the black and white photo! Nice touch! Hilarious! What hold on, that was real you say? No way! If thats real..... Your Dooooomed!
Sorry, Sorry, but you've suddenly made me really happy about our bicycle apathetic government in the UK.
Maybe if he rode his bicycle more, his puffy cheeks would deflate a bit??
There will always be cynics who try to belittle good ideas. It comes from ignorance and fear. While that *may* be OK for an average citizen, it's decidedly not so when the person is in a position of power.
The good news is I think this guy has a small audience and his point of view reflects poorly on him versus the effective use of bicycles.
I must admit that the imagery is well executed. Showing ancient bicycles helps him tell his fiction. It would have been great for another legislator to offer a rebuttal complete with far more relevant & accurate imagery. Commuters in Portland in all kinds of weather, families off to school, cargo bikes fully loaded, etc. Interviews with your the demographic groups that are less likely to ride would be especially effective.
Funny thing is, I stopped driving so much and riding my bike more and my mechanic was astonished by how little I've used my car.
So there you go. It solved my fuel crisis. ;)
Wow! So sad is right! Our Xtracycle has made our car almost obsolete - it sometimes goes two weeks at a time without leaving the curb. Every day, riding my bike home from work, I pass a long line of cars waiting for the light to change, each one loaded with one person impatiently tapping the wheel. In our little city, I would guess that 70 to 80% of the commutes are easily bikeable.
A million bucks a year is peanuts, and a thousand times better investment than just about any other transportation option, as far as bang for the buck goes.
Amazing. Thanks.
With all the money you guys are spending in Irak you can at least spend 1 tiny million on Bikes.
"Some say..."
Sure sign that a Republican talking point is soon to follow.
What a tool.
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