Sunday, November 11, 2007

[Cyclelicious] New comment on Why is sponsored research into cycling safety so f....

cafiend has left a new comment on your post "Why is sponsored research into cycling safety so f...":

My key word was "usable" cycling infrastructure. In other words, not the usual sidepath to nowhere, that amounts to a concentration camp for cyclists and forces them to use their bike as a toy, separate from the practical portion of their lives. The industry just wants to sell bikes, true. But they are the only deep pocket on the cycling side of the equation. Where else would funds come from? Advocacy groups? I can't afford to belong to one. When I did, they ignored my letters to them and barraged me with requests for more funds.

The best cycling advocacy an individual cyclist can perform is to go out there and ride, relentlessly. Recruit other people to ride.

Our local rail trail gets lots of traffic, even though it is lame. So the industry is right that if people believe they have a safe place to ride, they will do so. This may not appear as a jump in sales, because a lot of people own bikes already. And they aren't as in love with technology and new new new stuff as the industry has been trying to believe.



Posted by cafiend to Cyclelicious at 11/11/2007 07:35:00 PM