Thanks Chris … I’ll add it to the Laughing post!

Pacpost, your approach is much like mine. I try to be the change I want to see in the world, and model good cycing behaviour, in the hope of showing others that many of us cyclists are sane, law-abiding people just trying to get to work and back. Don’t know if it will do any good – but it certainly can’t do any harm.

Thanks for the links – although I am sorry to say that the Tsakumi guy annoyed me slightly. Still, there are advantages to being a writer – I commented on his post, and immediately felt much better. He probably won’t publish it, as it was scarcely admiring – but at least it’s out of my system!

Road Lice, to keep believing in this wonderful city and country, I MUST believe that such as he are merely the lunatic fringe – NOT our tomorrow …

Hi Alex. I’ve just read it for the first (and I hope last) time. I keep telling myself I should not bother to respond to malevolent morons, but I can’t seem to help myself, so I did post a comment … now I hope he doesn’t hunt me down and knock me and my kids off our bikes … from what I read, nothing would give him greater pleasure than to use his great big car to smash a 9-year-old girl into the gutter, then perhaps get out and hit her and her bike with his kid’s baseball bat. He seems to be hell bent on teaching his children bullying, assault, battery and ultimately murder – and the smaller they come, the easier they are to knock down!

I learned long ago never to read Mr. Tsakumis’ site… But I went ahead and read that article anyway. In that post, he brags about hitting a cyclist’s bike with a baseball bat… Assuming this isn’t made up, I hope the victim reports this to the police so charges can be made.

I know I have my moments of anger, but with time I’ve realised (like so many others) that the only thing I do have control over is my own reaction. I get on my bike every morning knowing that I will encounter idiocy, from all sides: mostly drivers, but also fellow cyclists, bus drivers and pedestrians. We’re all a bit dumb sometimes. ;-)

I simply do my best to stay alert, and ride defensively. I’m also hoping that, by riding carefully and at a comfortable speed (i.e., not peddling like I’m Mark Cavendish trying to win a Tour de France stage), I’m countering the cliched image that many people might have of cyclists.

Of course, all these lovely thoughts get tested when I come across something like this:

http://alexgtsakumis.com/2010/10/07/48-hours-of-biking-hell-a-diary-of-cycling-insanity-in-vancouver-led-by-suzanne-anton/

I guess some people simply choose to go through life angry.

Anyway, to end this comment on a positive note, I really see the need for some sort of marketing campaign for Vancouver (and the region in general). Maybe something along the lines of what they’re doing in Sydney:

http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/08/get-home-faster-in-sydney.html

Yes, my favourite part is the mad racing from red light to red light – that cracks me up every time, because it highlights the insanity of city driving. All if needs is an average cyclist, cycling along in a relaxed and happy way, and catching up at every light – which is what I experience in traffic.

I just showed the cartoon to my 9-year-old, and asked her what SHE thought causes road rage. She said “probably because it’s not much fun to be in a car.” Out of the mouths of babes …