Friday, April 30, 2010

Ah, That Forester!

The "father of vehicular cycling", John Forester, born 1929, is getting up there. Nonetheless, it would seem he has lost none of his ability to move people. I bike T.O. , a Toronto based cycling blog that I read often, has had a couple of posts about John Forester and Vehicular Cycling lately. For those of you who have been living and breathing the tenets of John Forester for decades, it may seem quite bizarre that these articles make VC/JF seem like something "new". The fact is, however, that for most recreational cyclists and the encouraging numbers of transportational cyclists taking to the road lately, he is. For a great many people, John Forester's ideas and the Vehicular cycling concept are still some pretty crazy talk, especially now that bike lanes and cycletracks and sharrows and such are becoming the most popular answers to cycling woes.

People sure do get passionate about this stuff, and John Forester has become a rather polarizing figure who people either love or love to hate. The first piece I noticed set the table for a critical analysis of VC stuff and the second piece started in with gusto. Of course there are plenty of people ready to blast those critics right back. Most of the comments, while heavily biased, have been pretty polite so far. I do wish, however, that people who ride bikes would try a little harder to ride and let ride... everybody has a right to their own opinion, so please go for a bike ride and settle your nerves before you type. Warring factions within an already tiny army begin to look kind of ridiculous after a while.


The people I like reading best in such matters are those that don't deal in absolutes and show some flexibility in how they think and open minds to how others might think. Treating others as you would like to be treated in print as well as on the road is an important first step. That sounds suspiciously like Civility to me. I like that word. It sums everything up pretty nicely.


Your Civil Servant,

R A N T W I C K

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Hey, Don't Forget...

The obstructionist art comment contest is still open and awaiting your stunning submission! Do you want to win $5 in Canadian Tire money? Huh? Click Here.


Yer Pal,
R A N T W I C K

Monday, April 26, 2010

I Prefer People

As much as I've enjoyed posting winter cycling videos, I sure do welcome the warmer weather. Warmer, of course, is nicer for riding, but I find myself especially appreciative of the return of people to my videos. To demonstrate:



That nice old character wouldn't show up on one of my winter rides, let alone wave. I've seen him a few times before. He's difficult to make out in the video, but he reminds me of this guy from "UP", except he's not so grumpy:


When it comes to what my camera can see and the videos I can present, people beat snow and salt trucks every time. That said, I've not yet set up my home-made camera mount on the summer fixed gear commuter. I really should get my act together... I'm just finding it hard lately.


Thanks for coming out, People!


R A N T W I C K