Electric Bikes
Northwest

Occupy Traffic

While egalitarianism clearly is out of favor in today's society nevertheless on a bicycle all cyclists need to pedal.

Rain falls on all cyclists, pedestrians ignore chiming bells, dogs chase, mud splashes on to all cyclists' shoes, drivers on occasion hurl invectives and bicycle helmets do flatten all hairdos—without regard to individual protestation, merit, wealth, corruption, position or presumption.

Balancing on a bike does of course restrict glamorous pursuits such as talking on a cell phone or sipping coffee while under way, although some cyclists do juggle valiantly. As cyclists we also have to look elsewhere for the excitement derived from e.g. chasing around the block for a parking spot or gas station ambiance.

No fuel is required beyond what the rider ingests. No overseas military entanglements are required to secure a steady supply of toast, orange juice or potatoes—although we can obviously no longer assume that yet another war cannot be launched and subsequently 'rationalized' as bringing freedom and democracy to e.g. a hapless toast producing country.

On the humble bicycle we interact primarily as Humans, not as one Ford versus one Mercedes. Cyclists move about at a slow, but remarkably unimpeded and efficient, pace. And we do so on a contraption that brilliantly weighs a mere fraction of the rider (while the typical car may weigh the equivalent of 25 drivers). Only the cyclist her or himself must take credit for or bemoan the actual progress of the ride, not an engineering department in Detroit or Stuttgart.

Some drivers are of course cyclists so they are In The Know as well. Others may not have an inkling that they are missing out on nothing short of the Mystical Experience of Actually Riding a Bike. If they did then the cyclist who just swished by them, as they sit stuck behind the wheel in bumper to bumper traffic, shall rather inspire awe and envy than irritation, viz.:

This experience is found more in the area of poetry than prose, more in art than in science, more with singing in the shower than with watching TV news. It can be put in words but perhaps no more effectively than having beautiful music, a gorgeous sunset, or how your dog looks at you put in words. Riding a bike is play, pure fun, and a game. It holds true for someone who has not ridden a bike in a while, and miraculously remains the ever blooming experience of the daily rider. (Abstract from The Mystical Bicycling Experience Revealed).

Copyright © 2011 EbikesNW

February 2012

By Eric Sundin