“An hour spent gardening is more likely to result in injury than the same time spent cycling. So remember, next time you step outside to clip the hedge, beware of the risks you are running!” –CTC’s policy coordinator Chris Peck
“Cycling is becoming a legitimate form of transport”–Tim Pallas, Minister for Roads and Ports, Victoria
Do you ever experience this? You go for weeks on end without any serious trouble on the road, and then in the space of one ride it seems that every second motorist you meet is trying to kill you.
“It’s a kind of escape for us, a chance to break away from the daily reality of prison.” –Daniel, participant in the prisoners’ Tour de France.
“Whenever you decide to drive or take public transport, you will feel a deep sense of regret at the first cyclist you see enjoying their ride.” –John the Monkey
I’ve been pondering the urgent and focused responses of governments and people to the outbreak of “Swine Flu”, and contrasting the handful of tragic deaths from H1N1 virus with the enormous number of equally tragic deaths due to road trauma. Where is the urgent response to this leading preventable cause of death?
“Seventy five percent of all journeys in Britain are under five miles in length; half are under two miles; and thirty two per cent under a mile… Of all journeys undertaken by car, sixty one per cent are under five miles in length; and a similar proportion of all short journeys currently take place in cars.” –Bikes Not Fumes, p. 11, CTC 1991
“No lock can stop all thieves, but all locks are better than no lock at all” –@KarlOnSea
With just under an hour to spare recently, I conducted an interesting little experiment: How much extra distance does riding on a shared path add compared to the adjacent on-road route?
“We take for granted the dominance of the car in our transport system but the might-is-right attitude is downright undemocratic, and proclaims that as a society we believe someone in a $40,000 car is more important than a person on a $200 bike.” –Debra Mayrhofer, New Matilda
“When the economy’s bad, people drink. When the economy is good, people drink. When the economy’s bad, people still need to do something. So they ride their bikes.” –Tom Girard of Zane’s (quoted in New York Times)
A quick whip-around of news reports and blog posts on the subject of Ride to Work Day.
Two Melbourne cyclists died in road collisions last Thursday. Both deaths were avoidable.