I want to see more about the “setting a bad example by not wearing a helmet” part of this strip. I have been called a hypocrite by a close friend because I advocate bicycle commuting but I don’t wear a helmet on short trips (work, restaurant etc).
yah, I get the “Where’s your helmet?” from a few people too. But yesterday when I was riding home from my successful engagement at the Farmers Market with my loaded down Xtracycle (Big pump, bucket full of balloons and markers, and other stuff) I was passed by a sneering Spandex on a frivolous spidery bicycle who sped past me. Well, OK, his bike weighs 20 lbs, mine weighs 70, BEFORE I pack it with the stuff I carry. I don’t often get the chance to ride for fun these days. It is usually business, or shopping! And normally I wear my hat. though since I have a light on my helmet, I wear that when I go to work at 2 AM….
Rick, keep doing what you’re doing. Ride Rage may only want to see “comix about riding a bike” within a narrow set of expectations, but your comic really reaches not only those cyclists like myself who have found the many variations of the bicycle to be suitable for many kinds of transportation and recreational purposes – i’ve got room in my cycling life for road bikes, city bikes, fixies, commuters, mountain bikes, bmx, etc. – but also to the wide range of issues facing cyclists of every size and shape. If you’re not seeing the relevance in advocacy strips, you’re ignoring all of the hard work that advocates do every day to keep cycling safe, legal, and fun for everybody, including those who don’t care.
Rick, keep doing what you’re doing. Ride Rage may only want to see “comix about riding a bike” within a narrow set of expectations, but your comic really reaches not only those cyclists like myself who have found the many variations of the bicycle to be suitable for many kinds of transportation and recreational purposes – i’ve got room in my cycling life for road bikes, city bikes, fixies, commuters, mountain bikes, bmx, etc. – but also to the wide range of issues facing cyclists of every size and shape. Ride Rage, if you’re not seeing the relevance in advocacy strips, you’re ignoring all of the hard work that advocates do every day to keep cycling safe, legal, and fun for everybody, including those who don’t care.
I’m impressed to see vehicular cycling brought up in the strip. The last panel is great too. My favorite pastime is to envision a honking motorist as a misguided goose. Geese are territorial and make a lot of noise, but it’s just as easy to wave and smile and it might confuse them!
Over the years I’ve discovered just about anything that can or can’t be done, anything that can be lost or stolen, anything that can be damaged or broken, can be blamed on one thing and one thing only…
Clowns.
That’s right, clowns are the cause of all the earth’s problems in one way or another.
This singular fact has made it infinitely easier to reason with the general populace.
Like the oh so helpful driver reminding me there’s a sidewalk for me to ride on, to which I’ve replied “Can’t ride on the sidewalk, clowns will eat me”.
And when they’re so concerned for my safety that pass as closely as possible as fast as possible and yell out barely intelligibly to wear a helmet, to which I’d inform them at the red light they had to race me to “Can’t wear a helmet, clowns stole it.”
So you see, any problem one may have can be safely and effectively blamed on the bane of everyone’s existence… clowns.
I still waiting to use the Clowns response to drivers who tell me to move it to the sidewalk. So far I just ignore them. Actually, it’s been their passenger that has yelled out.
Jeff in Wichita
“Over one in ten cars are blue.
Let the man draw a blue car without everyone going off the deep-end”
You need to go back a couple of months to see what Isaac is talking about! RIP Fred, till then Rick Keep up the great work!
Hopefully Yehuda or Joe will take these kids OUT and show them the proper riding techniques.. they aren’t always intuitive (like taking the lane!) and I hate to see these kids get hurt. I’m glad that Yehuda is schooling them so far though… got to get the new gen riding smart!
I wish I could take a Road I class here… the only ones in the state who can teach it are on hard to reach islands with serious accessibility issues. *sulk* *in AK*
Time to start the “re-education” process. When I was a youngster we actually HAD bicycle and pedestrian training in grade school. Somewhere in my collection of crap I actually have the certificate that I got from the local PD for completing the “Safe Cyclist Course”…in the 4th grade! If we would put more emphasis on real world skills and less on self esteem I wonder if the world might be a kinder and gentler place?
As a US citizen living in Toronto, I’m always interested in things that demonstrate Canada/USA cultural differences. This whole “children cycling to school” thing seems to be a biggie.
Here, we’re used to governments encouraging people to do things like living a healthier, greener lifestyle. So it is no surprise that 32% of children walk or cycle to school, and the government has proposed plans to increase that to 50%.
So far, whenever I’ve mentioned to anyone that there are local government officials in the USA that discourage children from cycling to school, the reaction has been one of incomprehension and disbelief.
I’m going to a party with some very smart people tonight. I’ll see what their collective wisdom can come up with on this issue.
@ Marrock: Was that a deliberate reference to Bart’s “Can’t sleep; clown’ll eat me!” when Homer built him that creepy clown bed? If so, nice reference.
The problem around here is more dogs than motorists in blue cars. Blue pickups is another story. Not only that, but more than one in every ten dogs that drive, drives a blue vehicle.
Being a former lbs co-owner, I am heartened by the fact that motorists are concerned about the freak at the bike shop having too much sway over their children.
I’m with Ride Rage. I want to think about the fun and exciting challenges of riding and need no reminders of the dangers. Militant advocacy hasn’t worked.
hey, ride rage and mark h–you want empty, vapid comic strips? check out the family circus. they never say ANYthing alarming or challenging. you’ll love them, and wear a smile every morning, if you paste it on.
this is yehuda, remember? ya think he’s gonna change his stripes? NO.
woot, go yehuda. The best way to combat the rookie cyclists out there with no understanding of road safety is to teach the younger generation now.
So is Yehuda going to give them a full Road I class so they do lane positioning right?
Is it just me, or is Yehudas left hand a little low, as if his elbow is somewhere around his waist?
I love that the car license plate starts with EFN …efn cars.
That’s Rick’s style. Look at past strips. It has caused some, “whose hand is that” comments. Maybe it’s a mutation caused by the “magnetic hubs”
I want to see more about the “setting a bad example by not wearing a helmet” part of this strip. I have been called a hypocrite by a close friend because I advocate bicycle commuting but I don’t wear a helmet on short trips (work, restaurant etc).
yah, I get the “Where’s your helmet?” from a few people too. But yesterday when I was riding home from my successful engagement at the Farmers Market with my loaded down Xtracycle (Big pump, bucket full of balloons and markers, and other stuff) I was passed by a sneering Spandex on a frivolous spidery bicycle who sped past me. Well, OK, his bike weighs 20 lbs, mine weighs 70, BEFORE I pack it with the stuff I carry. I don’t often get the chance to ride for fun these days. It is usually business, or shopping! And normally I wear my hat. though since I have a light on my helmet, I wear that when I go to work at 2 AM….
mark
OMG!!! Please make the advocacy strips stop and get back to comix about riding a bike!!
Wake me when this is over.
Rick, keep doing what you’re doing. Ride Rage may only want to see “comix about riding a bike” within a narrow set of expectations, but your comic really reaches not only those cyclists like myself who have found the many variations of the bicycle to be suitable for many kinds of transportation and recreational purposes – i’ve got room in my cycling life for road bikes, city bikes, fixies, commuters, mountain bikes, bmx, etc. – but also to the wide range of issues facing cyclists of every size and shape. If you’re not seeing the relevance in advocacy strips, you’re ignoring all of the hard work that advocates do every day to keep cycling safe, legal, and fun for everybody, including those who don’t care.
Rick, keep doing what you’re doing. Ride Rage may only want to see “comix about riding a bike” within a narrow set of expectations, but your comic really reaches not only those cyclists like myself who have found the many variations of the bicycle to be suitable for many kinds of transportation and recreational purposes – i’ve got room in my cycling life for road bikes, city bikes, fixies, commuters, mountain bikes, bmx, etc. – but also to the wide range of issues facing cyclists of every size and shape. Ride Rage, if you’re not seeing the relevance in advocacy strips, you’re ignoring all of the hard work that advocates do every day to keep cycling safe, legal, and fun for everybody, including those who don’t care.
The Blue Car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over one in ten cars are blue.
Let the man draw a blue car without everyone going off the deep-end.
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=colors&story=colorSUV
I’m impressed to see vehicular cycling brought up in the strip. The last panel is great too. My favorite pastime is to envision a honking motorist as a misguided goose. Geese are territorial and make a lot of noise, but it’s just as easy to wave and smile and it might confuse them!
Break out the John Forster, its Effective Cycling time!
Over the years I’ve discovered just about anything that can or can’t be done, anything that can be lost or stolen, anything that can be damaged or broken, can be blamed on one thing and one thing only…
Clowns.
That’s right, clowns are the cause of all the earth’s problems in one way or another.
This singular fact has made it infinitely easier to reason with the general populace.
Like the oh so helpful driver reminding me there’s a sidewalk for me to ride on, to which I’ve replied “Can’t ride on the sidewalk, clowns will eat me”.
And when they’re so concerned for my safety that pass as closely as possible as fast as possible and yell out barely intelligibly to wear a helmet, to which I’d inform them at the red light they had to race me to “Can’t wear a helmet, clowns stole it.”
So you see, any problem one may have can be safely and effectively blamed on the bane of everyone’s existence… clowns.
I still waiting to use the Clowns response to drivers who tell me to move it to the sidewalk. So far I just ignore them. Actually, it’s been their passenger that has yelled out.
Jeff in Wichita
“Over one in ten cars are blue.
Let the man draw a blue car without everyone going off the deep-end”
You need to go back a couple of months to see what Isaac is talking about! RIP Fred, till then Rick Keep up the great work!
My favorite thing Iv had yelled at me was “SAVE THE PLANET MOTHERFUCKER”
a friend also had this yelled at him, so the guy must like the phrase.
Hopefully Yehuda or Joe will take these kids OUT and show them the proper riding techniques.. they aren’t always intuitive (like taking the lane!) and I hate to see these kids get hurt. I’m glad that Yehuda is schooling them so far though… got to get the new gen riding smart!
I wish I could take a Road I class here… the only ones in the state who can teach it are on hard to reach islands with serious accessibility issues. *sulk* *in AK*
Time to start the “re-education” process. When I was a youngster we actually HAD bicycle and pedestrian training in grade school. Somewhere in my collection of crap I actually have the certificate that I got from the local PD for completing the “Safe Cyclist Course”…in the 4th grade! If we would put more emphasis on real world skills and less on self esteem I wonder if the world might be a kinder and gentler place?
Aaron
As a US citizen living in Toronto, I’m always interested in things that demonstrate Canada/USA cultural differences. This whole “children cycling to school” thing seems to be a biggie.
Here, we’re used to governments encouraging people to do things like living a healthier, greener lifestyle. So it is no surprise that 32% of children walk or cycle to school, and the government has proposed plans to increase that to 50%.
So far, whenever I’ve mentioned to anyone that there are local government officials in the USA that discourage children from cycling to school, the reaction has been one of incomprehension and disbelief.
I’m going to a party with some very smart people tonight. I’ll see what their collective wisdom can come up with on this issue.
@ Marrock: Was that a deliberate reference to Bart’s “Can’t sleep; clown’ll eat me!” when Homer built him that creepy clown bed? If so, nice reference.
Go kids! Good for Yehuda teaching how to ride on the street to the next generation of cyclists. Bikes belong in the street.
The problem around here is more dogs than motorists in blue cars. Blue pickups is another story. Not only that, but more than one in every ten dogs that drive, drives a blue vehicle.
Being a former lbs co-owner, I am heartened by the fact that motorists are concerned about the freak at the bike shop having too much sway over their children.
I’m with Ride Rage. I want to think about the fun and exciting challenges of riding and need no reminders of the dangers. Militant advocacy hasn’t worked.
hey, ride rage and mark h–you want empty, vapid comic strips? check out the family circus. they never say ANYthing alarming or challenging. you’ll love them, and wear a smile every morning, if you paste it on.
this is yehuda, remember? ya think he’s gonna change his stripes? NO.
@ Isaac
Yes a blue car!
@Jeff in Wichita
But one of them hit fred…
@John A. Ardelli
Actually, I was thinking more of Stephen King’s “It” than the simpsons, was never really much of a fan of that show.
@Kevin Love:
oh, canada. what career paths can you recommend for potential US expats in Toronto?