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July 8 2010

Wheels

8226:

I’ve noticed that transportation is, by far, a surprisingly emotional topic of conversation for people. Bikes, cars, trains. Why are we so passionate about our wheels? Why do we love, hate, envy, despise them so much?

What do you think? I think it boils down to pure us-versus-them. Those people, we figure, that aren’t in my shoes, aren’t traveling the way I am, don’t know the pain of my plight. Traffic is hard for everybody, but we mostly care about how hard it is for us.

One of the thing I notice about having become a cyclist in the last few years is how, even though as a driver I considered myself fairly laid back, I still felt frustration much more than I do as a cyclist, and there’s something about the direct interaction with the elements that makes me both more generous and more assertive on a bike. I’m willing to brake and stop, though I’m not able to do it every time; and I’m not shy about thanking people for their brake, because they do that for me too. It solidifies my belief that traffic is a system operating best when everyone is assertively pursuing their self-interest while expending the least effort to act predictably. Unnecessary risk is counter to this. (But I will cross that blinking green if a gap emerges before the walk sign comes up if it’s a small intersection. Now I have to work on not squirming to cross on the blinking hand. Countdowns would be spectacular.)

Comments

  1. translinked reblogged this from underground-signs and added:
    What do you think? I think it boils down to pure us-versus-them. Those people, we figure, that aren’t in my shoes,...
  2. counti8 answered: Cars have been sold to us through associating them with values and markers of status. Alternatives question the logic of their proposition.
  3. craightonberman answered: There’s not enough true “mixed use” transportation types—so you get “car-people”, “bike-people”, “train-people”… we need a better blend!
  4. underground-signs reblogged this from 8226
  5. aurashkhawarzad answered: Transportation is related to personal mobility (aka freedom). Cars are of the manifest destiny/self-reliance mindset within our culture.
  6. ddddarby answered: Our wheels are extensions of ourselves: they’re legs and arms that make us superhuman.
  7. 8226 posted this