Cycling or Cyclists?

Richard Masoner of cyclelico.us recently posted something about the "dangerisation of cycling" that was prompted in large part by a paper by Glen Koorey of New Zealand. I'm glad he did, and that he encouraged his readers to read the whole thing rather than just the snippet he used regarding "dangerisation".

 

This paper seems to me a very balanced and informed piece of work that made me re-think how I see cycling advocacy, at least in some ways. The pdf of this paper is here. Rather than re-hash it, I just wanted to give it big "Amen, brother" and pass it on. If you're into cycling or advocacy or both, I think it is worth a little of your time.

 

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Every time I resolve to just stay clear of such matters and "just ride my bike", I get sucked back in. At least this time it was by a reasonable voice in these days of rampant hyperbole.

The Sign of a Good Friend

When you are a boy, it is really pretty easy to tell your friends from your enemies. Your friends only pretend they're gonna hit you in the stones. Like this:

 

 

 

 

Totally good buds, you can tell. Right? Back me up here, fellas. OK, the one kid is a bit of a jerk, but still. Every kid has one friend like that and at least they're on your side...

One thing I found interesting was that when I showed the video to my son, he knew immediately what was going on there. Mrs. Rantwick and my daughter, had to really watch closely to figure out what that kid was doing. Ah, boys. I sure like being one.

One other gender based question/observation: have you ever seen any of the women in your lives give the fuel pump nozzle a little jiggle before removing it from the car? I don't think I have. It certainly doesn't matter to me whether they do or don't, but I know I always give it quick shake. I suspect (and think I've seen) other men do it too. Thoughts? Deep and meaningful sidenotes of your own? Rather obvious theories? Mad ramblings? All Welcome.

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K