photo by bulius or shortformelissa, one of the two.. :)
There's a a bit of a discussion going on over at the Commute Orlando Blog that concerns the Orlando CM ride. According to what I read and Keri relayed to me via email, there are complaints being lodged against the ride (big surprise huh) and OPD is starting to face some pressure to start doing something about it. From what Keri mentioned, OPD is sympathetic to the ride and they do not want to shut it down. They are looking to make contact with participants/organizers of the ride as a way to reach out and form some kind of compromise and address some of the issues both cyclists and motorists are dealing with. If your want to check out the post in question, click here. I was given some contact info in case anyone wants to make contact and get the dialog running. Email me if your interested in that info...
What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments. Feel free to state any opinion, just dont be a dumbass about it...
2 comments:
I've always believed that CM was pro-bike, but not anti-car. It's a way for cyclists to let the rest of the community know that bikes are a legitimate form of transportation.
As an avid cyclist who loves his car, I sort of straddle the whole issue. I would love for other drivers to be aware of cyclists and their rights, but there has to be discourse. Not confrontation. It bugs me to see drivers ignorant of cyclists' rights, but it also bugs me to see cyclists intentionally put themselves in harm's way just to prove a point.
Every CM I've ridden, for every driver middle finger, there are 10 waves and smiles. The complainers are the ones who are vocal about it. We as cyclists need to make our voices heard, but inly through intelligent discourse. Shouting slogans and angering others who share the roads will only broaden the gap between bike and car cultures.
I really enjoy CM and would be willing to help out however I can.
There are so few negative responses from motorists and so many positive ones. If a few bicycle police are willing to come ride with us to help out, I'm for that. Let me know if there's something I can do.
cole@colenesmith.com
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