Wojtek wrote:
<> I totally sympathize, but.... I do not think there are laws requiring <> helmets while riding bicycles in the US. I do not know about EU, but <> it seems that few people over there wear them anyway. So it seems <> that these guys are trying to protect us from a non-existing threat, <> no?
Not familiar with all the laws. ISTR that it was required in NYS when I lived there, but could have just been for kids? It's required for kids here.
As for driving, man, I have been commuting by car through suburbania for the last couple of week. UGH! What stress! That shit totally stresses me out. I will taken getting run off the road by bastards calling me a MAssachussetts Yankee any day. If this job didn't pay 35% more than my old job, I might have reconsidered! Alas!
So, I leave early to avoid the rush. But man, do I miss the energizing ride to and from work every day. You always felt *good* after ward. It was even fun when it rained in the summer and I'd just keep riding. Once I get a better feel of the geography and map out all the places where I can get respite from bad weather in case of sudden storm, I'll be driving 10 miles in or bussing 15 miles in and then riding the rest of the way. Fuck this car driving shit. I may be able to do the train if I can find a reasonable way to get from last train stop to my workplace.
Speaking of the bus, I did want to say, though, that even in this area, it's quite possible to be carless as long as you also have a bike. Were I to rely on buses for this commute, it would take me 2.5 hours for a 22 mile commute.
This is a heavily suburban area. All it would take is an extension of the light rail and a few express buses to major areas... and it would be pretty simple to traverse a region that is probably 40 miles x 30 miles in terms of major employment/shopping/attraction centers. The biggest bitch is the time factor. And, if you are toting kids, I could see it would be a nightmare. The other thing si the weather - walking in the rain, tornadoes, flooding, lightening storms.
Americans remain major assholes about ride sharing. I've signed up for that service 5 times in the past few years. I never find anyone else looking for rides. Stupid. I guess it's because you don't really want to ride share with people you don't know. But dang.
the other thing about driving is it makes me want to ditch my 20 year old Nissan and get.... a rag top. Damn!
<> When I was riding a bike on a daily basis (back in Europe) - I never <> wore a helmet. In fact, nobody did. I do have one now, even though I <> rarely bike nowadays, mainly because they are cheap - I can get one <> for about $20. So it is a small price to pay "just in case". I also <> noticed that geezers tend to have a very different risk perception <> than young punks - the latter tend to think they are indestructible <> and take more risk than it is reasonable, the former tend to think <> they are more frail and thus tend to take more precaution than it is <> reasonable. <> <> While we are at that, I was swayed by Vanderbilt's argument that more <> safety measures sometimes make driving or biking less safe because <> they create a false sense of safety that often leads to more risk <> taking. This, however, pertains mainly to motorized transport, which <> is the main cause for the lack of safety of everyone else - cyclists <> and pedestrians. I liked his book - he writes rather well, but at the <> end I was a bit disappointed, since he took driving as a given (as <> most Americans do) and never explored alternatives to it. <> <> <> -- <> Wojtek <> <> "An anarchist is a neoliberal without money." <> ___________________________________ <> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk <>
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