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<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#ff0000>sheesh, another one of these humorless responses...(a good one, by the way!)</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Dave (if I may call you Dave), or Mr. Gradijan,<BR><BR>I am not a resident of anything remotely resembling the Boston area, but<BR>the attitude you project in your recent piece for the Allston-Brighton<BR>TAB is unfortunately prevalent throughout the known universe, including<BR>St. Louis, Missouri, where it is my misfortune to reside, and to use a<BR>bicycle for transportation.<BR><BR>There are a couple of points in your piece that absolutely require<BR>comment.<BR><BR>First, it is generally not legal for anyone over the age of, say, twelve,<BR>to ride a bicycle on a sidewalk, except in a strictly residential area. <BR>Actually, it is more dangerous to ride on the sidewalk than on the<BR>street, because at intersections (and at driveways and alleyways), you<BR>need to interact with automobiles, and because you are not already on the<BR>street they do not see you.<BR><BR>Second, it is generally okay for cyclists to ride abreast unless to do so<BR>has the actual effect of obstructing automobile traffic. This would not<BR>apply, for example, where there is a second lane going the same<BR>direction. On a related point, because the outer lane is often not<BR>really wide enough to be safely shared by a bicycle and an automobile, it<BR>is sometimes the better part of valor (discretion, for those of you are<BR>not paying attention) for two (or more) cyclists to ride abreast, or<BR>something resembling abreast, in order to enforce on trailing motorists<BR>the understanding that they should use the farther left lane.<BR><BR>Third, if your argument that it is "unsafe" to bike on certain roads<BR>depends entirely on the premise that some motorists will be exceeding<BR>posted limits, or driving too fast for conditions ("winding roads"), then<BR>your argument is trash.<BR><BR>Fourth (or perhaps first, since you seem to believe that all bicycling is<BR>somehow recreational, and not transportational), bicycling is a<BR>completely sensible form of transportation for most purposes, certainly<BR>for distances under, say, ten miles in each direction. What sense does<BR>it make for a motorist to carry around a ton and a half of empty cargo<BR>space for local errands?<BR><BR>Or perhaps (as a transportational cyclist who has completely lost his<BR>sense of humor over these issues), I am completely missing your point,<BR>which is (or might be) that motorists should be more attentive in sharing<BR>the road with all users.<BR><BR><BR>R. Willis<BR>St. Louis, Missouri<BR>rawillis3@juno.com</FONT></DIV></DIV>
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