Reporting from the front lines --on a bicycle

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign]

After I learned that this bike organization got committed to a fight
over a mile of bike lane --he found heavy resistance from property
owners-- I decided to chip in and left my own comment...

THIS IS THE COMMENT I LEFT:

Some of the comments from property owners are selfish, some are true.
What are you going to do about a bike lane that disappears?

Better to put signs to SHARE THE ROAD WITH CYCLISTS or better yet:

1- Place liability on the car,

2- Place SPEED CAMERAS,

3- Place undercover police as cyclists,

4- Ban phones and other unnecessary gadgets.

It’s a good idea to TAME TRAFFIC to protect cyclists –and
pedestrians.

http://miamibikereport.com/2011/fdot-red-road-project/#comment-543

***

I may have been given the impression above that I'm against bike
lanes. I'm not. I'm just against bike lanes that go nowhere and I say
that they are substitute for taming traffic. Taming traffic is not
easy and it may amount to a civil war of sorts as the enemy is us.

Actually, after yet another close encounter with an SUV on Indian
Creek, I'm giving up this stretch from 71st to 41st ST as NO MAN'S
LAND. I momentarily got on the road with my monkey bike to avoid this
group of people on the sidewalk, and there came this animal blasting
the horn and squeezing me. Even Pine/La Gorce are very unsafe due to
undefined space and middle isles that squeeze you. After 47st ST the
parked cars force you to take the lane, and again, it sounds like a
suicidal mission. A bike lane is the only solution in this area.

A temporary retreat is a valid survival strategy. This guy I met at
MacCycle treats the roads as a "war zone." I asked him if he carried a
bazooka and we got a big laugh.

I also met this European guy renting a Deco Bike and told him of
"Revolutions for the Planet" campaign. He told me that in Paris they
come under attack too. I'm sure they are not as mean, but I don't
doubt that in Paris there are many animals too --without the heavy
armor. I got these T-shirt that I sell --and wear-- sometimes:

"Fart de Paris"

It's meant to say, nothing special about the French.

No further reports from the front lines.


-------------------------------------------------------------

http://webspawner.com/users/BIKEFORPEACE

http://webspawner.com/users/BANANAREVOLUTION

[Steven M. O'Neill]

His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the

Post by His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign
I may have been given the impression above that I'm against
bike lanes. I'm not. I'm just against bike lanes that go
nowhere and I say that they are substitute for taming
traffic. Taming traffic is not easy and it may amount to a
civil war of sorts as the enemy is us.

Bike lanes tame traffic!

Here's the results of a one-mile bike lane in my neighborhood:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/20110120_ppw.pdf

* weekday cycling tripled
* total commuter volume increased (cars + bikes)
* rush hour motor travel times decreased slightly
* at the same time speeding also decreased
* crashes and injuries are down for ALL modes

(Oh, and some local property owners are suing to have it
removed.)

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign]

Post by Steven M. O'Neill
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the

Post by His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign
I may have been given the impression above that I'm against
bike lanes. I'm not. I'm just against bike lanes that go
nowhere and I say that they are substitute for taming
traffic. Taming traffic is not easy and it may amount to a
civil war of sorts as the enemy is us.

Bike lanes tame traffic!
Here's the results of a one-mile bike lane in my neighborhood:http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/20110120_ppw.pdf

Yeah, but that bike lane is something you can take your kids too --
sheltered from traffic-- and it must take you somewhere. This lane is
next to traffic --not a chance you can take kids-- and it drops you
right in the middle of nowhere. They do it because the miles count
toward the city's "accomplishments." We got some unconnected bike
lanes like that around here and then people fight you when you ride
outside one. I bet you, the designers don't ride the lanes they
design.

This particular project touches me personally because my girlfriend's
obese son lives in that area, and we already gave him two bikes for
him and his kids, but THEY GOT NO SPACE. My girlfriend says NO WAY.

Post by Steven M. O'Neill
* weekday cycling tripled
* total commuter volume increased (cars + bikes)
* rush hour motor travel times decreased slightly
* at the same time speeding also decreased
* crashes and injuries are down for ALL modes
(Oh, and some local property owners are suing to have it
removed.)

They can be evil or selfish sometimes. Maybe they haven't heard of
Climate Change.

I'm for a combination of bike paths where families are concerned, bike
lanes where the general population is encouraged to come out, and the
open road for the pros. YOU MUST TAKE THE LANE, and let the car go
around you. Or quit and stay in your home.

Yes, the campaign of intimidation is working!

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign]

On Mar 22, 10:39 am, "His Highness the TibetanMonkey, aka Comandante

Post by His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign
Yes, the campaign of intimidation is working!

I don't want to wander too much from the subject but...

KABUL, Afghanistan – For seven years, Rahim Baz Mohammad was an Afghan
police detective on a spectacularly perilous beat — a province sitting
directly between the capital and Taliban strongholds to the south and
east.

His case files bulged with kidnappings and murders. Recent victims
included a government reform official shot to death in front of his
house. In another case, a deputy provincial governor was killed when a
suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden rickshaw into his convoy.

This month, after various threats on his own life by anonymous
callers, Mohammad turned in his badge and locked himself inside his
house.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110322/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan_assassinations

[Mortimer]

"His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit
Campaign" <***@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:38cad651-20fb-4571-a584-***@o15g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
After I learned that this bike organization got committed to a fight
over a mile of bike lane --he found heavy resistance from property
owners-- I decided to chip in and left my own comment...

THIS IS THE COMMENT I LEFT:

Some of the comments from property owners are selfish, some are true.
What are you going to do about a bike lane that disappears?

Better to put signs to SHARE THE ROAD WITH CYCLISTS or better yet:

1- Place liability on the car,

2- Place SPEED CAMERAS,

3- Place undercover police as cyclists,

4- Ban phones and other unnecessary gadgets.

It’s a good idea to TAME TRAFFIC to protect cyclists –and
pedestrians.

===

No. Place the liability on which ever road user (car/lorry, bicycle,
pedestrian) breaks the rules. Don't automatically place the liability on the
motorised vehicle. Enforce every violation of the HC, even when its carried
out by bicycles - this includes: overtaking a left-indicating vehicle on its
left, going through red traffic lights, going through zebra crossings with
people on them. Bicycles should not be exempt from obeying these laws which
would be penalty-point offences for car drivers.

Any traffic calming that is needed should be done *only* by cameras, never
by physical restrictions such as speed bumps or chicanes since these
penalise all drivers - it's just that they penalise speeding drivers more;
also they lead to congestion as one stream of traffic has to stop to wait
for another when the aim should be to keep traffic moving as far as
possible, though at a sensible speed.

The biggest change that I'd like to see is the banning of cycle lanes on the
edge of roads within the last few yards before a junction so that
left-turning traffic can position itself properly (ie right next to the
kerb) rather than having to turn left from a position where a bike is
allowed and even encouraged (by the presence of the bike lane) to overtake
it on the left.

Oh, by the way, I *am* a cyclist as well as a driver. However I'm one of the
minority who treats my bike as a human-powered car, obeying all the same
laws that a car driver does, and never trying to overtake a queue of cars on
the left. I always stop for red lights and zebra crossings with people on.

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign]

I have the great idea of making this the place for all to expose
brutality out there. I've been spit in the face by an enraged driver,
but nothing compares to a certain man here who's been hit by an animal
on a truck and abandoned to die, just because he was a cyclist. I
think we cyclists and journalists have something in common: WE LOVE TO
BE WHERE THE ACTION IS.

Now the news from Libya:

'A new group seized us, and they were rougher. They blindfolded us,
tied our arms and legs and beat us. They then stuffed us into an
armored car, where Lynsey was groped. She never screamed but instead
pleaded. A soldier covered her mouth, tracing his hands over her body.
“Don’t speak,” he warned. Another soldier tried to shove a bayonet
into Steve’s rear, laughing as he did it.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/world/africa/23times.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&no_interstitial

Isn't it a savage world out there?

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign]

I want to linger some more in the Libyan front where I hear these
comments:

"Libya produces 2% of the worlds oil yet the speculators have now
driven the price of a barrel up over $100 for the first time in 2
years. Pump prices here north of NYC are close to $3.80 per gallon.
These speculators are the true terrorists."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110323/ap_on_re_af/af_libya

***

WISDOM OF THE JUNGLE:

"If you want to fight terrorism, ride a bike!"

[His Highness the TibetanMonkey, originator of the Stop the Bullshit Campaign]

BEIRUT – Armed men wearing masks kidnapped seven Estonians who were
cycling in eastern Lebanon on Wednesday, bundling them into two vans
and driving away, a senior police official said Wednesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110323/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_lebanon_kidnapping