We'll take it slow. Slow, as in our first name. If you use our first name but abbreviate our last two names, you come up with Slow BS. That is unfortunate. People might get the impression that this is a humor site.
Here at Slow BS, we don't do humor. We are deadly serious.
But first, a public service announcement.
The good folks at Rails To Trails have an email campaign going to nudge the new administration towards helping us adopt a more healthy lifestyle. They want any new economic stimulus package that funds transportation to include bike paths, bike lanes and trails. Here is their petition.
Within days of the president-elect taking office, Congress will likely pass a new large-scale economic recovery package, aiming to create millions of jobs.
A significant percentage of this package may be allocated specifically to transportation infrastructure. This presents both a threat and an opportunity.
The threat: Unless we speak up, these transportation funds will go overwhelmingly to road projects - the same unbalanced strategy that has created our existing transportation problems.
The opportunity: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, in partnership with Thunderhead Alliance and America Bikes, has collected a list of hundreds of ready-to-go active transportation projects from communities across the country. These projects would create new jobs and revitalize communities by funding trails, bike lanes, sidewalks and other infrastructure.
This would meet the ultimate goal of the recovery package: creating immediate jobs. Additionally, such an investment strategy would provide both immediate economic benefits and lasting positive change.
The long-term benefits are many: promoting local businesses along active transportation corridors; reducing health care costs; and curbing climate change emissions and oil dependency. These projects would also establish the principle that active transportation infrastructure is a wise, efficient and desirable public investment.
Click here to sign the petition. Do it now. This is just win-win.
Now, back to our topic.
We think those guys in velcro doing a pace line through traffic at speeds that are horrendous - a crash could kill even with the little styrofoam helmets they all wear - are doing a major disservice to the public. We think most bicycle clubs, with their rankings that equate fast with "experienced" and good, are as well.
Most Americans, their rear flanks firmly glued to the seats of gas guzzling monsters for transportation, simply aren't capable of pushing a bicycle to 25 miles per hour (mph). And no American I know wants to be considered anything but good or better at whatever he or she is doing - certainly not "beginner" or "inexperienced."
Most Americans can derive pleasure, even save gas, by riding a bicycle. They can significantly improve their health by riding a bicycle.
They just need to learn that riding a bicycle is, well, exactly like riding a bicycle. You don't need sweat wicking, tight fitting, outrageously emblazoned bike clothes, funny looking helmets, and $3,000 carbon fiber frames with the best running gear from Shimano or Campagnolo.
You just need a bike and it is perfectly OK to ride it slow.
Studies (28 U.S.C. §1346(b)(1)) have shown that riding a bike slowly is better than not riding a bike at all. And we here at Slow BS believe that riding a bike slowly is better than riding a bike fastly. Here is why:
So, with all that in mind, we have come up with our own set of rankings for aspiring members of the Slow Bicycle Society. If you ride:
So there you go. That is what we are about. Use the navigation bar on the left to learn more about bicycles, the benefits of riding slowly, and where you can contact a representative of the Slow Bicycle Society wherever you might happen to live.
And remember, road signs that say "Slow Children Playing" don't mean that the children are "slow." Enough said?