The Globe's Horrific Drivel on Cyclists

Will someone please explain to me why this vapid, POS anti-cycling article made the print on the Globe's Op-Ed page today? Taking the entire piece to actually say anything concrete about what we should do differently about cycling in this state, here's what it comes up with:

You know that deep happiness when the car that swerved in front of you on Route 128 gets a ticket a mile later? That’s the secret. That’s how you make a driver Be Kind and Share the Road. No billboards, no campaigns are necessary. Just tickets. Beautiful, green, made-from-100-percent-consumer-waste tickets.

First, what's the point? Cyclists can be annoying at times, but they're really just a scape goat. More cyclists reduce traffic, they don't make traffic worse. More cars make traffic worse.

Why is the Globe printing this drivel? Was there some kind of shortage of submitted opinion pieces? Shouldn't the Globe be using this space to print articles that feature, oh, say, some facts? That's perhaps the most frustrating thing about this utterly meaningless article -- it doesn't look at the issue in anyway that offers analysis, insight or anything tangible. It may as well be a 600 word essay titled "I hate cyclists," featuring only the words "Cyclists suck," repeated over and over again.

If anyone wants any insight from this article, it's trying to wrap your head around why the author, Monique Doyle Spencer, is so prejudiced. Is it, perhaps, because she's in her dinosaur-juice vehicle stuck in traffic, while bikes actually move somewhere during rush hour? And if that's frustrating to her, why not take the T? Or, heaven forbid, ride a bike? Something tells me the endorphins she'd get from the exercise may just calm her inane histrionics down.

Meanwhile, why does the Globe feel so compelled to pit commuters against each other? Why is the reporting on cycling as a commuter option so prejudiced? Don't people have better things to do with their time, other than griping about the very same issues with non-car-riding commuters that people are perfectly willing to ignore when it comes to driving -- traffic, accidents and annoying drivers? We give a free pass for everything that's wrong with commuting in an automobile, from maintenance costs to deaths, while fixating on only the bad stuff when it comes to anything but driving. It's insanity and it needs to stop.

Tomorrow's Podcast: Bikes in Boston

Mike, Lynne and I are on with Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes, tomorrow at 2:30 to talk about biking in Boston and how to improve it, as well as the city's future plans. Biking to work and around town is great for numerous reasons - almost zero carbon footprint, lessens traffic and it's great exercise. Looks to be an interesting show.

Listen live at 2:30 or go to LeftAhead.com anytime afterward.

A New Era of Transportation?

Mike, Lynne and I yakked it up on today's podcast with bike experts Cara Seiderman and Ken Fields of Cambridge, who are bike policy experts representing both government and citizen organizations. Among today's topics, we discussed the importance of people using bikes to meet at least some of their transportation needs - most times people leave the house, they're going 5 miles or less. Why not pedal with your own two feet? It's good for you body, great for the roads, even better for your wallets and fantastic for the environment. Seriously, we all complain about having no time to do things like exercise - why not exercise during your commute?

Of course, that's only a tiny piece of the conversation we had with Cara and Ken. We talked education policy, both to promote biking and biking/car safety. We talked about the potential synergy between public transportation and biking - together, quite possibly just as fast as your normal commute, at a much reduced cost. Cara had important things to say about public transportation in general, while Ken talked about how almost any community can become more bike-able, even the places we'd least suspect (like Lynne's Lowell). All it takes is a willingness for citizens to be engaged and push for smart, cost effective and often cheap policy. So, please, listen.