This is a shameless attempt to save the the most advanced civilization in
history from imminent self destruction by eliminating carbon emission,
dependence on foreign sources of fuel,obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Cycling accomplishes all those things at once and helps us develop a better
understanding of ourselves, each other and our relationship to the cosmos.

Oh, horse puckey!
I like to ride bikes, have been doing it all my life.
The rest of that crap is just a fringe benefit,
and the blogosphere gives me a chance to share my interior
monologue with virtual rather than imaginary friends.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Rationale and Reason of Biking

       The last post concerning the Bike Snob's new book led me to think of a day a while back.  I was speaking to a class of high school students on another subject and one of them mentioned that he had seen me ride my bike to school that day.  He was understandably curious because I was there to talk about how liberal arts education related to business careers.  I, dressed in slacks and a casual  blazer looked less like a cyclist than he did, and Byron
certainly didn't look like the bike his father bought to decorate the garage at home.
His curiosity was off topic, but understandable, so I asked the class in general to tell me how many reasons they could think of that would justify riding a bike rather than drive a car.
Their reasons were pretty predictable:
Save Money,
Car's in the shop,
Can't afford a car,
Wife has the car,
Driver's License suspended,
Reduce gas usage,
Reduce emissions,
improve environment,
loose weight,
get some exercise
...
There was quite a list and all of the reasons were some variation of the three themes,
 money, environment and exercise.
I told them those were all good reasons, but not mine.
They looked at the list on the board, whispered among themselves, shook their heads and looked puzzled.
 I finally said:
"FUN"
I like doing it!
Well that was it,  I was staring at a herd of deer struck with a spotlight.
Just like the average cyclist having a list of reasons for not commuting by bike, 
the non-cyclist would have to justify it through self-sacrifice or hardship.

I don't understand how we got here, but it seems to be the way people are wired.


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