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<DIV>I read Gradijan's rant and had a few good laughs - compared to Howie Carr's
open advocacy of felonious assault against cyclists it was benign and
balanced. What really frosts my patootie are all the Darwin Award
contenders out there who ride on the wrong side of the road, helmetless,
cruising through stop signs and red lights INTO CROSS-TRAFFIC FLOW, on
two-wheeled rejects from the dump-picker's ball. Oh, and doing all this at night
w/o lights, reflectors or light colored clothing. Their antics are what
puts ME in danger from the fulminating geniuses in their Dodge Ram Intimidators
with more testosterone than diesel in their tanks and chips on their shoulders
the size of Woonsocket.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Although I live out in East Bumtickle, I DO come into the metropolis often
enough to look at the Tab occasionally. It's no stretch to surmise that
the bulk of it's ad revenue comes from - guess what - car dealerships.
Now, THEY enjoyed Gradijan's tantrum, I guarantee it. And that's the crux
of my point - the cycling community doesn't need any more negative press.
Perhaps the ROI on Critical Mass just ain't there no more, folks. Let's
get imaginative in our strategy and tactics, and garner, if not positive press,
then at least press that forces people to think, not emote. For instance -
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Meals On Wheels lost over 30% of its volunteers to high gasoline prices
recently. I tried to volunteer my electric-assist utility bike &
myself to do deliveries, but the local coordinators were afraid of the thing
(attractive-nuisance-type liability, I think). So how about younger, more
fit folks than me volunteer to do it on "normal" bikes?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you're into civil disobedience that potentially saves lives, get
yourself a case of fluorescent orange spray paint and go out marking "pavement
defects" that could throw an unsuspecting cyclist into the path of an overtaking
semi. The charge is Defacing Public Property, I'm out on $500.00 bail for
my 3rd such offense in as many weeks, and will be going out again as soon as the
roads dry. One hint: walk or ride a beater you don't care about, because
your bike will be confiscated.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Organize a rush-hour race with your friends who drive within the 128
circumference. You on your bike, strictly obeying ALL traffic laws, will beat
your motoring buddy 9 times out of 10. Each cyclist follows the exact (non
limited-access-highway, of course) route her/his buddy drives to and from work,
even wearing the same type of clothes. Let Channel 5 and the Boston
Globe know in advance. Remember Richardson, Mehegan & Barnicle,
the Moe, Larry & Curly of Channel 5's Chronicle? They used to do this
race on an annual basis, using a car, a train or subway, and a bus.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That's just a few ideas. On a more serious note, instead of Critical
Mass creating more violent cyclophobes, we need a Cyclists' Defense
League putting them away. Raise money to equip club pelotons with
loaner comm gear and a tagging device (paintball gun?), to identify and mark the
vehicles that attack riders. Raise more money to hire top-notch legal
talent (or trade a Klein OCLV to a bicycling attorney in return for, say, 500
pro-bono hours). Raise consciousness by surrounding the house and/or
workplace of "enemies of cycling", i.e., Howie Carr, Dave Gradijan, politicians,
judges and any hemorrhoids convicted of assaulting a cyclist.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So much for my derailleur adjustment - I hope now we're not all still stuck
in Critical Mass gear.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dave Hammond</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=TSmith4918@aol.com
href="mailto:TSmith4918@aol.com">TSmith4918@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=list@bostoncriticalmass.org
href="mailto:list@bostoncriticalmass.org">list@bostoncriticalmass.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, July 19, 2004 4:05 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [*BCM*] Horrifying editorial
in the TAB</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 7/19/2004 3:54:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, <A
href="mailto:dabbotthammond@comcast.net">dabbotthammond@comcast.net</A>
writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
face=Arial>Righteous indignation, though warranted, will just make the
cycling<BR>community look like humorless, self-absorbed curmudgeons
(a.k.a.<BR>Lycrazoids), which does nothing to reduce the motorist assault
rate (petty<BR>and otherwise) against us</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV>dang, and all this time I thought the assault rate was due to road
rage and bad drivers...it never occurred to me (until now) that it was my
curmudgeonly attitude that attracted bumpers to me ass...now i see the
light! actually, DHammond raises a good point...shouldn't be too hard to
write something at least half as funny as the TAB editorial.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>and sorry, folks, for the humorless self-absorbed tirade I sent back to
the jerk...I will let him know immediately that I was speaking for myself
and most bikers enjoy a good joke about being sent to the bike rack in
the sky! after all it crosses our minds every time we get on the dang
things...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Tim</DIV>
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