[*BCM*] direct action idea for anyone avail 10/28 11 AM

[Lee Peters]

Tom,
My response may not equal yours in depth, but....

When you jump into the idyllic mill pond on an August afternoon, it is just 
you, your swimming skills, knowledge of the water feature and your physical 
condition.

As one rides the perilous section of Huntington Ave, they are relying on 
their control of their bike, the equipment, physical ability, understanding 
of the law, AND the alertness of another driver, condition of his vehicle, 
and his understanding of the law & willingness to follow it.  On the street 
a relationship is formed between two operators of vehicles.  A person on the 
bike relinquishes some control to others in that particular landscape.  It 
is perhaps the amount of control that is addressed by decreasing 
vulnerability.   Through a design change, ie. making a slight separation 
drawn with reflective paint, or a row of curbing a' la Amsterdam, or through 
a reduction in speed of the cars, perhaps the biker gains a greater feeling 
of control in the situation.  One can earn a college degree in bike riding 
and not feel comfortable on Huntington Ave.  So the answer becomes, "I am 
not biking anymore." for many.

So I like your analogy, but to finish it you may need to include the 
neighborhood bully, who flunked manners & etiquette, weighs 3500 lbs, is 
drunk, sitting in the tree above, and ready to leap on top of you in a 
cannonball position. (the most beautiful dive there is).

And Pete, CM is a disorganized blob of jelly....it is what makes us 
beautiful.

I am going to be there today, no costume, but loud with the air horn!!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Revay" <trevay at massbike.org>
To: "Boston Critical Mass" <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 1:31 PM
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] direct action idea for anyone avail 10/28 11 AM


On 10/28/2005 at 12:21 PM Lee Peters wrote:

>Perceived danger may equal fewer bikers.

Based upon this logic, one should conclude that, since drowning is the 3rd 
major cause of unintentional death in the US, and the 2nd major cause of 
death for people aged 5-44, there should be few swimmers.  As a response, no 
pool should ever be deeper than, say, three feet.

But there are many swimmers, and many deep-water and difficult places to 
swim.  Why?

It's because a lot of effort is expended to teach people water safety, not 
limited to well-publicized courses from the Red Cross and YMCA that have 
taught many thousands of people how to swim.

Furthermore, people who can't swim are expected to stay out of places that 
are dangerous until they learn how.  If these people are children, it's 
their parents responsibility to keep the kids safe from drowning, and almost 
all parents do.

Why should a simple enough technique like traffic cycling, that requires no 
more knowledge than it takes to pass a driving exam, and few skills beyond 
the ability to pedal and control the bike, be any different than swimming?

............................Tom
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