area where you're one of the few. When I ride, I feel like Jack Burns, Edward
Abbey's fictional creation, an iconoclast and an anachronism living by principle in a
world seemingly devoid of reason.
Jack road a horse; I'm riding a bike, but the principle is the same.
As I cruised down the bike lane with the cool morning wind hitting my face, I
couldn't help but feel liberated as I considered all of the advantages I had over
those physically, psychologically and financially trapped in automobiles. There's
power in knowledge and knowledge will set you free.
While people scoffed at me and gave me those "get out of MY way" looks, I
confidently peddled along knowing that while gasoline may never be completely
out of our future, it's certainly going to be harder to get to and too expensive for
things to remain the same.
I was ahead of the curve and planned on staying there, riding my bike,
growing good food and spending as much time by the river and in the woods as
possible. One thing I've learned about life in Germantown, Tennessee is
this. If you're raising eyebrows and doing the opposite of what everyone
else is doing, the chances are good you're doing the right thing.
I ride my bike to the grocery store, to the gym, to the library, to the drug store
and to the park, and it makes damn good sense to do so.
What's amazing to me is that more people aren't on bikes. When you think of
all the advantages, there's a compelling case to be made for making the
bicycle your most frequently used form of transport. Here are the top reasons for
riding a bike:
1. No gas required
2. You don't have to buy insurance at inflated rates (state sponsored
capitalism)
3. There's no age requirement
4. You can always finding parking
5. Parking is free
6. Low cost of acquisition
7. Low maintenance cost
8. Bikes are easy to equip for off road use, and you take bikes lots of
places cars can't go
9. You don't have worry about being pulled over for DWI after a couple of
cold ones at the local pub
10. You don't have to support the guvment by buying a registration
11.You'll stay fit
12. Since the bike keeps you fit, you don't need to waste money on a gym
membership
13. Since bikes help keep you fit, you'll probably also lower your
healthcare costs
14. Bikes are easy to upgrade
15. No pollution
16. It's a refreshing wake up for the morning commute
17. No license required
18. No vehicle inspection except by you!
19. You'll look smart and
20. You'll be doing the right thing
Get a bike. Ride it and be the change you wish to see in the world.
"Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the
orld." -Grant Petersen
"The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine." -John
Howard
"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the
human race." -H.G. Wells
"Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia". -H.G. Wells
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