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<DIV><<making mental note not to honk or yell at any female bikers on
Huntington Avenue>></DIV>
<DIV>yer a saint, Kate! I usually kindly offer the same
instruction about traffic laws but not nearly so calmly and collectedly...</DIV>
<DIV>----------------------------</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 7/31/2008 11:25:23 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
ziegler.kate@gmail.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV>I just want to say, firstly, that I've really enjoyed all of the
discussion that's been going on the past few days. There have been a lot of
interesting perspectives brought forward, and though I don't necessarily
subscribe to all of them personally, I think sharing and seeing all sides is
essential.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That being said, I was really struck by someone else bringing forward the
idea of systemic change - this really is the heart of the issue, as I see it,
and I think between all of our individual road rage and buggaboos on a daily
commuting basis, the larger systemic picture gets lost too often. Still, this
is the argument I tend to take on when challenged - the problem is not
specifically motorists or cyclists, but the system in which we all operate.
The basic system and culture needs to be changed to alleviate the tensions of
biking in a city as unfriendly to bikes as Boston. Yes, I run red lights - I
slow down first, and look, but I would much sooner keep moving that have
traffic honking and swerving around me when the light turns green. Yes, I move
between lines of traffic, because I've been rear-ended when stopped in a lane.
Yes, I ride more than three feet away from the curb, often taking a lane, even
in moderate traffic, but if I'm moving at a reasonable speed I will always do
so, to avoid dooring and debris. Would I opt to ride differently and follow
the rules if it were safe for me to do so? Of course.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On a study abroad experience in Geneva, Switzerland, I biked everywhere.
Geneva has raised bike paths, bike traffic signals and bike turning lanes. You
can rent bikes for free with a 10 franc, refundable deposit. Women bike in
their heels and men bike in their suits. While certainly this is a
European-style ideal, it makes a world of difference - and running a red light
from your bike lane most often would mean collision with other cyclists, not
collision with cars.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Another city that has made some radical changes to promote cycling and
human friendly spaces in general is Bogota (I'm dying to go!) - this video
with the former mayor highlights a lot of the changes made, and explains the
challenges and obstacles in doing so. <SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><A
title=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGycx75mqRk
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGycx75mqRk"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGycx75mqRk</FONT></A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">On
a slight tangent, I had an interesting altercation on my ride to work this
morning - On the underpass on Huntington, going under Mass Ave, a woman
pulled next to me, rolled down her window, honked and yelled that the road is
not a bike lane. As is my standard reaction, especially in the morning commute
downtown, I kept my eye on her car and of course caught up to her a few lights
down. I got off my bike, crossed in the crosswalk and stopped at her car
window, and began to explain (calmly, I'd like to emphasize - I always try to
be polite and calm, as people are usually so startled at being recognized from
inside their rolling castles that being angry would only escalate) that
traffic law both allows and requires me to ride in traffic, not on the
sidewalk, and that I'd like to apologize for any inconvenience to her.
Mid-speech, she rolled up her window, locked her door and RAN A RED LIGHT to
get away from me. I've never seen such a thing, in all the people I've stopped
and all the biking I've done. And really, I can think I'm that intimidating.
Any similar experiences, anyone?</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Back
to my argument for systemic change (and I think Courteous Mass is a great
addition to Critical Mass in awareness-raising!), this is also and interesting
video on bike-friendly cities: <SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><A
title=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwwxrWHBB8
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwwxrWHBB8"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwwxrWHBB8</FONT></A></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Peace
and safe riding,</SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Kate</SPAN></SPAN></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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