I’ve concluded that when hard-up for a story or just in a lazy mood, many media outlets resort to poking sticks at the anthill that is bicyclists using roads. Bike to Work Week is apparently a red cape to that lazy bull.
We have another fine example of this genre over at the Strib again. The comments, especially, contain a fine run of the usual: Get on the sidewalks, what of the nice trails we paid for so you would get out of our way, you only obey laws when you feel like it, roads are less safe than trails. More haters on parade, egged on by even reasonable comments from people who know their bicycle laws.
I’ve written about this all before – Toys, Letters & the Bullying Response being the most notable case. As Bob Mionske has said, even if every cyclist stopped at every stop sign (which is a good plan, mind you), you’d still get the misguided squawking about bicycles not belonging on roads.
As bicycle advocates, we’ve got miles and years to go before we reach full acceptance.
