Yehuda, that’s £1 a litre – that’s CHEAP in the UK now.
As a very rough mental maths conversion, standard petrol is around $10 / gal over here. Diesel is more expensive. And still everyone’s addicted to driving cars…
You’re right. Millions of people are somehow affording £6-40 for a gallon of fuel to drive 30 to 40 miles. Unless there’s gridlock and swingeing road charging in the UK, they’ll keep finding the money to drive. I did an intense 12 years of cycle campaigning here with my buddies. We made cycling in our town more convenient and there are more riders but it’s so easy to drive and park in the West Midlands compared to say London that there aren’t really huge numbers of cyclists. I devote my spare time to the Scout movement instead.
Its very much like smoking. No matter how costly cigarettes get people will find the money to buy them and do without somewheres else in their life. Many driving a car is an addiction like cigarettes. Yehuda should start AA – automobile annonomous?
Welcome to the bottom line: People, in general, are not interested in using their own muscles to power themselves around town. People are not interested in sweating. Situations like Amsterdam and Copenhagen are due totally to deliberate government interference in automobile ownership. People. Want. Automobiles. And they’ll find any and every justification to have one. If you want the best example of an unimpeded, free market, look at England, post WWII. Bicycles were incredibly popular until austerity ended and the average citizen could afford an automobile (thank you, Mini). At which point bicycles were dumped with incredible speed.
Yeah, it’s a bitch. We must never forget that (on a society-wide basis) we’re the oddballs, not the norm.
@ Syke: “Situations like Amsterdam and Copenhagen are due totally to deliberate government interference in automobile ownership.” True enough, but as I understand it, much of the reason for the popularity of the car is that in the UK (and Holland too) post WWII town planning went out of its way to prioritise motor traffic, which was seen as the future of modern life. So what we have now is a synergy of muddled futurology with laziness; for half a century cycling has been actively discouraged by town planning. The boot needs to be on the other foot just to restore the earlier status quo, let alone actively encourage cycling.
I’m with Alan – people will travel by whatever means is most convenient to them. In “situations” like Amsterdam, in fact most of the Netherlands, it’s most convenient to get about by bicycle, especially in cities, mainly because the infrastructure makes it pretty safe and comfortable.
Most of the Western world loves the car, and the oil companies love them loving the car, so a lot of the infrastructure creation has been endorsed and encouraged by governments strongly lobbied by oil companies. I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy or a monopoly or anything, but certainly in the early days of the car they were a new and wonderful form of independent transport. Look at 1950s America (as most of the world did) for the high days of cars embodying freedom.
It’s not humans’ nature to avoid sweating, only to avoid inconvenience. If it became significantly more convenient to get on your bike to get to work than to crawl inside your gas-guzzler, more people would do so. To achieve this, it’s partly infrastructure, partly a bit of persuasion.
So true. It really depends on the person and their life. Some people don’t have very far to go to get to work and to shop. Also parking is expensive and owning a car is expensive. Some cities, designed in the car-only days, don’t allow for any other options, some don’t even have sidewalks, but others do or are getting them.
In my opinion, it’s not necessary to “get people to cycle” as is often said, but to provide the opportunity to for all the pent up demand that is out there. The present system of car-only or mono-modal streets was intentionally designed that way as it was then believed that it was the best way to get around. Now, we know better.
That is not so far-fetched as it sounds. Any stockholder in a publicly-owned company has the right to attend the annual meeting and have a voice in making policy, etc. So if PETA wanted to stage one of their protests or otherwise disrupt things at the annual meeting, they wouldn’t need to crash the meeting — if they set up some “straw man” to buy and hold a small amount of stock, they’re actually invited to show up!
Ride, Yehuda ride on your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends you’ve got there on your trip.
Ride Yehuda ride on your mystery ship,
Be aware of the world others just might have missed
(Adapted from Blood Sweat & Tears – Ride Captain Ride)
It cracks me up to hear cyclist putting down motorist (calling them addicts? really?!?!?!?!?!?!?!). Some people simply need to drive a car to get around: Some live in areas that are too spread out to cycle everywhere, some have disabilities and physically cannot ride a bike, and some work in industries that require it. I love reading Yehuda Moon. But sometimes it makes me sad reading the comments and knowing so many people (cyclists) on the forum hate people for simply trying to live their day-to-day lives. For shame.
Valid point, true, and I don’t expect everybody to be riding. But there are enough people out there who are perfectly capable of climbing on a bike and burning a few calories on the way to work. And why don’t they? They *ARE* addicted, whether it’s to comfort, or convenience, or the ability to enclose themselves into a steel cocoon and become a faceless part of the herd for a part of the day — it makes no difference.
And when American kids are being brainwashed in the schools to believe that bicycling as a transportation alternative is inherently unsafe — jumping Judas, there are some school districts that absolutely *FORBID* students from riding or walking to school because of misplaced “safety concerns” — it’s time to stand up on our hind legs and show that the bigwigs at GM/Ford/Chrysler/Toyota/etc are not shepherds and we are not going to be sheep blindly following their lead.
Wow. You have some strange conspiracy notions. I’d love to see any proof you have that these companies have a say in the curriculum within public education. Also, I’ve personally never heard anything about bikes in any of the public schools I attended, good or bad, except for college where they give you extra incentives to commute by bike. Another thing, you cannot argue that a car is not safer than a bike on the road. Wanting to be safe is NOT an addiction… its common sense.
All I’m saying is I really despise the hatred and distain that cyclists seem to have towards motorists. I ride my bike to school every day and love it! But will not be able to get rid of my car for many reasons. I read this comic because I love riding my bike and I connect with many of the themes within it… other than the notion that motorist are evil.
This idea is often expressed be cyclists who want to be viewed as a vehicle on the road but refuse to follow its laws (red light come to mind). Many of my friends pride themselves on not owning cars but call me up for rides more often than not. The thing is you get in this world what you put in it and if you put in it distain and hate then of course all you will get in return is the same.
<!–EndFragment–>
Yehuda, that’s £1 a litre – that’s CHEAP in the UK now.
As a very rough mental maths conversion, standard petrol is around $10 / gal over here. Diesel is more expensive. And still everyone’s addicted to driving cars…
You’re right. Millions of people are somehow affording £6-40 for a gallon of fuel to drive 30 to 40 miles. Unless there’s gridlock and swingeing road charging in the UK, they’ll keep finding the money to drive. I did an intense 12 years of cycle campaigning here with my buddies. We made cycling in our town more convenient and there are more riders but it’s so easy to drive and park in the West Midlands compared to say London that there aren’t really huge numbers of cyclists. I devote my spare time to the Scout movement instead.
Its very much like smoking. No matter how costly cigarettes get people will find the money to buy them and do without somewheres else in their life. Many driving a car is an addiction like cigarettes. Yehuda should start AA – automobile annonomous?
In the UK, AA is the Automobile Association, a drivers’ club that now runs breakdown recovery services and offers insurance – theaa.com
Welcome to the bottom line: People, in general, are not interested in using their own muscles to power themselves around town. People are not interested in sweating. Situations like Amsterdam and Copenhagen are due totally to deliberate government interference in automobile ownership. People. Want. Automobiles. And they’ll find any and every justification to have one. If you want the best example of an unimpeded, free market, look at England, post WWII. Bicycles were incredibly popular until austerity ended and the average citizen could afford an automobile (thank you, Mini). At which point bicycles were dumped with incredible speed.
Yeah, it’s a bitch. We must never forget that (on a society-wide basis) we’re the oddballs, not the norm.
@ Syke: “Situations like Amsterdam and Copenhagen are due totally to deliberate government interference in automobile ownership.” True enough, but as I understand it, much of the reason for the popularity of the car is that in the UK (and Holland too) post WWII town planning went out of its way to prioritise motor traffic, which was seen as the future of modern life. So what we have now is a synergy of muddled futurology with laziness; for half a century cycling has been actively discouraged by town planning. The boot needs to be on the other foot just to restore the earlier status quo, let alone actively encourage cycling.
I’m with Alan – people will travel by whatever means is most convenient to them. In “situations” like Amsterdam, in fact most of the Netherlands, it’s most convenient to get about by bicycle, especially in cities, mainly because the infrastructure makes it pretty safe and comfortable.
Most of the Western world loves the car, and the oil companies love them loving the car, so a lot of the infrastructure creation has been endorsed and encouraged by governments strongly lobbied by oil companies. I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy or a monopoly or anything, but certainly in the early days of the car they were a new and wonderful form of independent transport. Look at 1950s America (as most of the world did) for the high days of cars embodying freedom.
It’s not humans’ nature to avoid sweating, only to avoid inconvenience. If it became significantly more convenient to get on your bike to get to work than to crawl inside your gas-guzzler, more people would do so. To achieve this, it’s partly infrastructure, partly a bit of persuasion.
So true. It really depends on the person and their life. Some people don’t have very far to go to get to work and to shop. Also parking is expensive and owning a car is expensive. Some cities, designed in the car-only days, don’t allow for any other options, some don’t even have sidewalks, but others do or are getting them.
In my opinion, it’s not necessary to “get people to cycle” as is often said, but to provide the opportunity to for all the pent up demand that is out there. The present system of car-only or mono-modal streets was intentionally designed that way as it was then believed that it was the best way to get around. Now, we know better.
This is like PETA owning stock in Tyson….. ugh.
That is not so far-fetched as it sounds. Any stockholder in a publicly-owned company has the right to attend the annual meeting and have a voice in making policy, etc. So if PETA wanted to stage one of their protests or otherwise disrupt things at the annual meeting, they wouldn’t need to crash the meeting — if they set up some “straw man” to buy and hold a small amount of stock, they’re actually invited to show up!
… or the AMA owning stock in Marlboro? oh wait they do.
Ride, Yehuda ride on your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends you’ve got there on your trip.
Ride Yehuda ride on your mystery ship,
Be aware of the world others just might have missed
(Adapted from Blood Sweat & Tears – Ride Captain Ride)
Not to nitpick, but the band was “Blues Image”.
picky picky picky…. but Bicycle Bill is 100% correct-o-mundo…
“We’re callin’ everyone to ride along to another shore
We can laugh our lives away and be free once more”
(Blues Image – Ride Captain Ride)
As the sun was setting
out on the peaceful sea,
73 men sailed off to history.
As the sun was setting
out on the peaceful sea,
73 men sailed off to history.
As the sun was setting
out on the peaceful sea,
73 men sailed off to history.
Priceless
The price goes up too slowly. It gives drivers time to adjust. If it went from $3.50 to $7.00 overnight it waould have a much greater effect.
It cracks me up to hear cyclist putting down motorist (calling them addicts? really?!?!?!?!?!?!?!). Some people simply need to drive a car to get around: Some live in areas that are too spread out to cycle everywhere, some have disabilities and physically cannot ride a bike, and some work in industries that require it.
I love reading Yehuda Moon. But sometimes it makes me sad reading the comments and knowing so many people (cyclists) on the forum hate people for simply trying to live their day-to-day lives. For shame.
Valid point, true, and I don’t expect everybody to be riding. But there are enough people out there who are perfectly capable of climbing on a bike and burning a few calories on the way to work. And why don’t they? They *ARE* addicted, whether it’s to comfort, or convenience, or the ability to enclose themselves into a steel cocoon and become a faceless part of the herd for a part of the day — it makes no difference.
And when American kids are being brainwashed in the schools to believe that bicycling as a transportation alternative is inherently unsafe — jumping Judas, there are some school districts that absolutely *FORBID* students from riding or walking to school because of misplaced “safety concerns” — it’s time to stand up on our hind legs and show that the bigwigs at GM/Ford/Chrysler/Toyota/etc are not shepherds and we are not going to be sheep blindly following their lead.
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Wow. You have some strange conspiracy notions. I’d love to see any proof you have that these companies have a say in the curriculum within public education. Also, I’ve personally never heard anything about bikes in any of the public schools I attended, good or bad, except for college where they give you extra incentives to commute by bike. Another thing, you cannot argue that a car is not safer than a bike on the road. Wanting to be safe is NOT an addiction… its common sense.
All I’m saying is I really despise the hatred and distain that cyclists seem to have towards motorists. I ride my bike to school every day and love it! But will not be able to get rid of my car for many reasons. I read this comic because I love riding my bike and I connect with many of the themes within it… other than the notion that motorist are evil.
This idea is often expressed be cyclists who want to be viewed as a vehicle on the road but refuse to follow its laws (red light come to mind). Many of my friends pride themselves on not owning cars but call me up for rides more often than not. The thing is you get in this world what you put in it and if you put in it distain and hate then of course all you will get in return is the same.
<!–EndFragment–>
As the sun was setting
out on the peaceful sea,
73 men sailed off to history.