Folks, this one is somewhat political. Now relax. I don’t mean Democan/Republicrat political, or Libative/Conservaral political either. I mean, it’s political in the sense that we live in a society. Our society is composed of groups. Those groups have interests, and when those interests come into conflict, it gets political.
I’m addressing those of us who are cyclists. We have certain interests. We are interested in access to the road, to facilites, to land. This bring us into certain friction with other groups. Who? Think about motorists and golfers.
Let me take you back a bit. I started riding in this area a bit more than 25 years ago. Back then a grown man, on a bicycle, in tight clothing, was not a common sight. I got buzzed occasionally. I suffered some horn honking, pretty regularly. And on about one ride in four, I’d end up talking with a deputy, who wanted to know what I was doing. Things have changed.
Now here comes the political part. We, road cyclists, are becoming fairly numerous in these parts. We’re starting to get ourselves organized. (See Southside Cycling Club) As such, we start becoming ever more noticeable to our motoring brethren.
Most motorists see us as a problem. The general perception is that we are “slow and in the way.” I’ve heard the complaint, “Those bicyclers are always running through stop signs and lights, and they ride way out in the road, and you can’t get around them, and they get mad and flip you off if you try to.”
We are just now starting to get enough of us, organized enough, to have some real political clout. But!!! (And it’s a big “BUT”) We are also starting to become a bit more of a topic in the public consciousness. And we are precieved as an irritant. Generally, when minority interest groups do that, they tend to get stomped flat.
Think about it. We now enjoy a certain privilege. In Georgia, we are considered to be operators of vehicles. That means we are entitled to use most of the roads in the state, and are guaranteed the same protections and privileges as other vehicular users. This could change in an instant!
Imagine this: What if we were suddenly restricted. If we could only use certain secondary roads? What if we could only ride during certain hours of the day? What if we were restricted to groups of five or less? What if we were completely banned from riding on public roads? Every one of these things has happened, or is happening, in some places in this country. And yes, it can happen here!
There is a certain “Catch 22” to all this. The rigorous statement of that law is, “They can do anything to you that you can’t stop them from doing.” Do you begin to see where we are going with this? In a society, any time a visible minority interest group gets big enough, and becomes annoying enough, the majority interests tend to stomp on them. The only thing that restrains this is for the minority group to become organized enough, and numerous enough to have sufficient political power to defend themselves.
North Georgia Cyclists! We are almost there. Both “theres.” We are really starting to upset a lot of folks who are not among us, and we are almost organized and numerous enough to stand up for ourselves. We could lose it! There is a very narrow window we must pass through. If we succeed it will be by some very right action in the next year.
What must YOU do?
- Be cool. Do not annoy the motorists! Ride with courtesy. Respect the Law. Keep that middle finger folded around the bar. Return courtesy and kindness for insult. Remember, there are more of them than there are of us. At this point in time, they have the money, the voices, and the votes.
- Join South Side Cycling Club.
- Get every rider you know to join South Side Cycling Club.
- Recruit as many riders as possible, get these folks out on bikes.
- Attend an Effective Cycling Class. Become a more competent and confident road cyclist. Learn how to ride on the road, safely, and intelligently.
- Get as many riders any rider you know to sign up for Effective Cycling Classes.
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