Conference noted::bicycle

    Aren't the simplest solutions the one's that are the hardest to
    find? Probably the deterrent for the consideration is $$$. Parking
    violation revenue, decreased gas consumption, moving violations
    reduced, etc... Don't even want to consider the city/state graft
    connection to construction and materials!
    
    Pretty neat, though. I'll vote for it!
    
    Chip

    	Chip,
    
    	Right on. Another fella and I were talking the other day
    	about this very thing. There's too much money being made
    	on autos, gas, insurance, etc., for cycling to be feasible
    	for the masses. When they (politicians) find a way to
    	make as much money off cycling as they're makings off
    	autos, there'll be a change.
    
    	I think that's the reason why we don't see solar energy
    	really taking off; the policiticians haven't really found
    	a way to make us pay for it.
    
    	Scott

    RIGHT ON, Scott! But we can never under-estimate these balloons.
    The certainly have the will, they will certainly find a way. Hey,
    that's it, maybe "a weight loss due to cycling" tax. Progressive,
    of course. Weigh stations in town vs. interstates. Yeah, that's
    the ticket. Or maybe a cadence meter. You know the more rev's the
    revenue?
    
    I hope this note isn't bugged?
    
    Hell, they'll never catch us anyway!!!!!!!!!
    
    Chip

    I for one can think of lots of ways they'll be able to make money
    here.  You know, the bicycle license, bicycle registration, mandatory
    registration which includes collision, comprehensive, personal injury
    protection.  I can just see it now - you're under 25 and have a
    24 tooth freewheel on a racing frame - that's considered the sports
    model - that'll be $1,500 for your insurance this year. Oh, and
    lets not forget the mandatory bicycle inspections.

    AND the emisions check.  The faster the average speed of the bicycle
    the greater the volume of CO2 expelled by the operator.
    
    Then there's the water shortage:  No extra water for thirsting cyclists
    not on emergency business.  No washing of your bike in your driveway.
    
    The refuse tax: If you use tubulars, you must be one of those
    disgusting individuals who carelessly discard your flats.  Someone
    has to pick them up, so we'll tax you.
    
    ed

    Pretty limitless possibilities. The animal rights activitists will
    regulate suede seats. Mandatory helmet laws (smart anyway) with
    fines (not smart). How about fire and theft - wow what a possibility!
    Imagine, titles, mandatory odometers in case you want to sell the
    bike (no tampering). Surcharges for speeding, accidents, etc...
    
    Chip

    And road blocks to find those riders who get too high on endorphins!
    
    ed

    	Wow, what a nightmare...
    
    	Bicycle taxes...  I suppose I'll have to start documenting
    	my visits to bike nashbar,  business traveling expenses...
    
    	I've heard several conversations, (many were alcohol induced)
    	where individuals boisterously declared: the "eventual and
    	neccessary transition from fossil fuel burning machines, to
   	more beneficial systems for the immediate travel needs of
    	civilized societies."
    
    	That's a close quote, as everyone within earshot had a strong
    	opinion concerning the aforementioned quote. It was quite a
    	statement to make that night, as most of the local party-
    	goers arrived at the party on some sort of spoke-wheeled,
    	human-powered device. (Even a unicycle...)
    
    	Then came the hard part, pedaling home without being spotted
    	weaving down the road on a recently overhauled Raleigh, with
    	the words "Urban assault vehicle" painted on the top tube.
    	PWI...  Pedaling while intoxicated? Pardon me ossifer... (hic)
    	But do you h've a (hic) spare water b'ottle you can (hic) spare?
    	Exclu'se m(hic)e...
    
    	Pardon me sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to step off
    	of the bike.  Stand up straight with your toes on the white
    	line, and hold your arms straight out from your shoulders...
    
    	I wake up every time in a cold sweat. (Brrrrrr...)
    
								Face.

    Re .8
    
    This reminds me of an article I read in the newspaper a while ago
    whereby some guy lost his automobile licesnse since he was "driving"
    his mobilized wheelchair while intoxicated.  It's kind of scary
    when you think about it.

    RE - .9
    
    	What's a nightmate?
    
    	Were the words "urban assault vehicle" emblazoned across the
    
    	back of the wheelchair?
    
    	Wheelchairs won't save the world though...
    

    I can see the why they're so dangerous. If the sheer impact of being
    struck at high velocity doesn't kill you'll be crushed by its immense
    weight. YA RIGHT!
    
    Chip

    Clarification of .9
    
    Obviously a nightmate is a typo for nightmare.
    
    Sorry for any confusion this may have caused you
    
    	-Nancy

    	RE .12
    
    	Oh, excuse me then...
    
    	I make too many assumptions! My interpretation of "nightmate"
    
    	was slightly naughtier than your explanation.
    
    	Thank you...
    
    							Face.
    
    	(Topic? What topic?)

    I just received my CYCLIST rag this Saturday and went nuts when
    I read an article on cities/towns that outlaw cycling! No less
    than 22 states have cities or towns that actually prohibit the
    use of certain streets by US! And, get this, there's a town in
    Illinois (seems to be the most FACIST in this arena) where any
    and all cycling is against the law! If this isn't the typical
    knee-jerk reaction by civil authorities due to their inability
    to control and enforce traffic laws by singling out a minority
    group (cyclist vs. motorists), I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!
    
    If anyone is interested in the article I'll gladly reproduce it
    here. Also, there is a legitimate cyclist lobbying group called
    LAW. I have the address if anyone is interested. I can't remember
    what the acronym stands for other than the W for WHEELMEN. Please
    no editorials (Wheelmen vs. Wheelpersons).
    
    Pretty scary stuff. Particualarly when bicycles were around much
    earlier than automobiles and paved roads were initially constructed
    for the benefit of bicycles in this country!
    
    Anyone have any "civil-orientated" horror stories to relate in this
    area?
    
    I'll tell you this much, if my city ever tries to pass an ordinance
    restricting access, I'll give 'em fight they won't believe. And
    if they do manage to establish that kind of insanity, I'll go broke
    paying whatever fines are connected to the facist lunacy.
    
    Sorry for getting so colorful, but this stuff scares me.
    
    Chip

    	If you have time, why not go ahead and reproduce the choice
    	parts of the article.
    
    	Thanks,
    	Scott

    I think there's some town on the north shore of Long Island where
    cyclists were banned, like St. James or some such - but that may just
    be a rumor.

    Some of these laws may be overraction to real stupidity on the part
    of "cyclists".  For example, I was knocked off my feet in downtown
    Maynard when a kid on a BMX zipped out from between two buildings
    right into me.  I've seen dumb actions on the part of kids riding on
    the streets, and all it takes is a bad accident to get the sedentary
    cigar-smoking town bureaucrats thinking of passing some laws.

    - Jim

    I agree, but the reaction is just as you described. Let's not forget
    that the ever popular comatose motor vehicle driver is a hell of
    a lot more lethal and involves himself in a heck of a lot more
    accidents. Do we hear any restrictions placed on the the automobile.
    Hell no! And why, many of you may ask. Why, it's quite simple, I
    retort. Motor vehicle generate state revenue, they carry people
    into their sleepy little hamlets to spend their money.
    
    Let's face it, we probably do as much damamge to ourselves as any-
    one else. We are probably not the minority those cigar smoking
    bureaucrats think we are. We probably should roar a little louder
    and support our neighboring cities and towns when they need it.
    
    Wow, I hate it when I get editorial!
    
    Chip
    
    P.S. The articles coming (forgot the rag this morning).

    Of course there are restrictions placed on automobiles.
    
    They are considered intruders when found sticking in your picture
    window or halfway into your basement.
    
    They are generally not welcome on sidewalks.
    
    They are not allowed to park 4 deep except in front of Legal Seafoods.
    
    And you can't park them within 100 yards of most digital buildings
    :-).
    
    ed

Re .18
        
    >  And you can't park them within 100 yards of most digital buildings
       :-).
    
    Does this put Digital in the same category as fire hydrants?

    	Please allow me to be radically idiotic here...
    
    	I don't believe that the bicycle in it's present form can save
    	the world. But I do believe that HPVs, or Human Powered Vehicles
    	can sure help.
    
    	Public transportation in this day & age would never settle for
    	anything less than motorized motion. But personal transportation
    	can sure use a BIG kick in the *** as far as economy is concerned.
    
    	Sedentary humans will probably never settle for anything less
    	than their present-day  gas-guzzling beasts of burden. So if any
    	progress is to be made, in my mind, the planet earth will have
    	to be stripped of all of it's resources, forcing mankind to
    	take action.
    
    	Until then, viva la pollution!! Hail the cancers that fill
    	our lungs, for carbon monoxide is the drug of modern society!
    
    	Long live the automobile? (Cough, hack, !@#$$%^&, tthhhpppptthh)
    
    	And may those elusive nightmate's find their true destiny.
    
    								Face.

    RE: .18  (restrictions placed on automobiles)
    
    You know the international signage for "NO ENTRY" - the white
    disk with a red border?  In the Netherlands, as in lots of Europe,
    there are plenty of roads marked off-limit in this fashion - mainly
    small lanes.  In the Netherlands, though, underneath a lot of those
    signs is an exception-clause sweet to any biker's eyes:
           \_____/
             | |
       ----------------
       |   BEHALVE    |  ... "except for bicyclists"
       |   FIETSERS   |
       ----------------   
             | |          -john

    VIVA THE NETHERLANDS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Chip

    Here's the article (excerpts) that I promised. Hang on to your brake
    hoods!:
    
     A conclusion has been drawn by the LEAGUE of AMERICAN WHEELMAN
    that the U.S. doesn't like us very much in their recent list of
    "Bicycle Bans, Restrictions and Discriminations."
    
      Despite the fact that cyclists have the same legal right to the
     roads as do motorists in all 50 states, local governments regu-
     larly respond to car/bicycle conflicts by banning bicycles. As
     a result, you can't ride on Sheridan Road in Winnetka, Illinois,
     you can't ride in downtown Paw Paw, Michigan or Par Forest,
     Illinois, you can't ride Main Street in Fort Collins, Colorado,
     you can't ride north-south streets in Avon Lake, Ohio or east-
     west streets in Bay Village, Ohio. You can't ride anywhere in
     Sag Harbor, New York and you can't even walk your bike in down-
     town Morris, Illinois.
    
      Okay, so who needs Morris, Illinois? It is the precedent that
     counts, says the LAW. Bans are spreading. Already many well-
     established century rides are in doubt for 1989. Napa, Solano
     and San Benito Counties in California have tried to ban all
     centuries, The Skyline Drive Twin Centruty in Shenandoah Nat'l
     Park was cancelled in 1988 becuase of Park Service requirements
     designed to make the ride impossible, the famous assault on Mt.
     Mitchell is doubtful for the same reason and the Annual American
     Lung Association ride in Yosemite National Park has been limited
     to 30 people. (That's right, 30.) In fact, the Park Service has
     threatened to close the main access road to Yosemite to bicycles,
     claiming that large bicycle rides are "incompatible with proper
     use of the park." Fresh air and healthy exercise don't belong in
     the great outdoors, apparently, and certainly not on public pro-
     perty. Meanwhile, 22 states continue to restrict bicycles to side-
     paths (where sidepaths exist.)
    
      The problem is similar to that faced by off-road cyclists: when
     two groups are in conflict, the easiest response (from the gov'ts
     point of view) is to ban the smaller group. It can be difficult
     to reconcile the competing rights of citizens, but that is what
     we thought we paid the government to do. At any rate, the solution
     is also the same: to demonstrate that the smaller group isn't so
     small and will fight hard for its rights. The LAW is fighting the
     good fight both in Washington, D.C. and locally, and would no doubt
     appreciate your support. Write: League of American Wheelmen, 6707
     Whitestone Road, Suite 209, Baltimore, Maryland 21207.
    
      Ironically, the LAW was one cause of this whole mess. It was found-
     ed in 1880 - before automobiles - to lobby for paved roads for
     cyclists. It succeeded, but he newly paved roads made the auto
     more practical, and you know the rest.
    
    Chip

>Note 978.23               Can Bicycles Save The World?                  23 of 23
>WMOIS::C_GIROUARD                                    52 lines   8-FEB-1989 07:26
>                             -< BANNING CYCLISTS >-
    
>      Despite the fact that cyclists have the same legal right to the
>     roads as do motorists in all 50 states, local governments regu-
>     larly respond to car/bicycle conflicts by banning bicycles. As

    
    I wonder if the problems associated with bicycles are really
    problems caused by carelessness on the part of bike riders that
    that just don't have an respect for rules and regulations.  If 
    this in fact is the case then perhaps the way for us to clean
    up this mess is to require bike riders to be licensed.  I think
    that it would be a whole different story trying to ban licensed
    riders from various roads and localaties.  How about taking a
    survey to see how many of us feel that licensing would be a 
    beneficial way of controling the actions of the few that end up
    restricting the many.  If we all feel that this might be a good
    solution we could provide that feedback to the L.A.W. representatives
    in all of our clubs for their consideration.  Show of hands?
    
    					Jerry
    
    

    I have a mixed feeling here. I agree their is some merit. At least
    the cyclist who are the idiots may get some attention/punishment
    for their stupidity. But, there's that ever present danger that
    the 'ol civil/state governments will take liberties with author-
    ity and "fee" the shit out of us. 
    
    I do like it, but I'm not sure that the expense will be an attraction
    to a lot of people. E.g. why should I have to pay because of some
    other jerk?, its another squeeze for bolstering the state's economy,
    etc... I'm sure it's only attraction will be as a survival measure.
    Like they're out to outlaw us, ban certain access, diminish rights
    of the road. I'm mixed up. However, LAW may be able to sort it out.
    
    Chip

< Note 978.25 by WMOIS::C_GIROUARD >
                                -< YA, BUT... >-

>    I do like it, but I'm not sure that the expense will be an attraction
>    to a lot of people. E.g. why should I have to pay because of some
>    other jerk?, its another squeeze for bolstering the state's economy,

Life is full of instances where the innocent pay for the abuses of a small 
minority.  That's life.  If we were to be licensed, we might have a better 
philosophical base from which to argue, i.e., that we are helping to support 
the facilities, rules/regs governing bodies, etc, that we are using.  I 
imagine there's a feeling that we get for free the benefits we get from riding
on the roads.  While most of us drive and pay license fees and gas taxes and 
we all pay taxes in general that help support the road system, a specific use 
tax in the form of a bike license might also help us get a better hearing when 
these conflicts come up.

I think I'll vote for...

Kevin (I don't mind paying for what I use...)

    When I was in grammar school, the cops would come by every year
    to teach us about bicycle safety.  It was usually a big school
    assembly.  At that time (late 60's) they told us we could bring
    our bikes in to be registered.  They would do a bicycle safety
    inspection, and if you passed, your bike was registered.  It was
    supposed to encourage bicycle safety, but it was not mandatory.
    
    None of us ever went in to register our bikes.  It was never clear
    to us what the benefits were.  And they'd flunk all of us because
    we didn't have a front white light for riding after dark.  If you
    recall, bike light technology was pretty ugly and big and bulky,
    and expensive for someone who was growing up in the 60's.
    
    So, yes, I think that requiring you pass driver's training, just
    like motorcycle and automobile drivers do to get a license is a
    good thing.  I'm not sure about the bicycle safety inspection aspect
    of it.  I'm not sure about arresting little kids who ride their
    unlicensed unregistered bikes on a very low traffic dead end street
    with no sidewalks.  Remember, you regulate some, you regulate all.
    
    Elaine
          

    Little kids die on bicycles. I think there are some suitable answers
    to some of these questions. Please believe me. I do know what you're
    saying and  agree. The more I think about it the more I agree with
    the worth of regulation, regarless of expense (and I don't mean
    bleed me).
    
    I have drafted a letter to the LEAGUE of AMERICAN WHEELMEN and will
    send it off today. I will be sure to publish the response in this
    NOTE as soon as I receive a response. I'm not entirely sure exactly
    what I will receive. Basically, I queried about current activities
    and the possibilities of participation/assistance.
    
    Stay Tuned,
    
    Chip

.28 >    Little kids die on bicycles. 

Little kids die on stairs too, but no one is advocating the elimination
of two story buildings.

In the interest of safety we could regulate walking; it's more dangerous per
mile than biking.

I think the laws that already exist should be more heavily enforced.
This will cut down on the wrong way, unlit, and otherwise unsafe sector
of the cyclist population.  After all, the goal is to get people to
ride more safely, not to keep them from riding or make them wait in
lines at the registrar.


There are some who feel that registering bicyclists would help pay for their
road use.  Does anyone know the budget for the DPW road repair group?

I'll bet that if you add up the costs of maintaining the roads, subtract the
income frome fees and taxes, and weight according to the relative wear and
tear of tires upon pavement, you would find that the auto traffic is
subsidized from general funds.

In rec.bicycles they came up with the figure of $2,400 a year per car.
Perhaps if bicyclists were registered they demand a rebate.

-Jeff

    On behalf of Bike Monthe (May) The Seven Hills Wheelmen (Worcester,
    MA) will be sponsoring an safety clinic on May 13.  We will work
    with the Worcester police and parks and recreation of Worcester
    to education children and adults on the proper use of bicycles.
    We will be distributing LAW material and material from another
    organization which is an off-shoot of LAW. Local bike shops will
    be encouraged to participate, especially to hand out discount coupons
    for helmets.  We expect this to be a fun, informative day which
    will make our club feel good about giving something back to the
    community.  If we are to become more accepted in society, we must
    be willing to work to make it happen.
    
    I have seen riders in my club as well as other clubs that need
    instruction.  How may riders stand in the road at intersections
    waiting for the rest of the group to arrive?  How many ride through
    stop signs?  How many don't signal for turning or slowing down?
    
    steve
    
     

    	Perhaps rider education could help bicyclists to save the world?
    
    	Maybe, perhaps I'm just a pessimist. Bicycles all by themselves
    
    	won't save the world, it's up to the people riding them to save
    
    	this polluted place.
    
    	I know, I know, what topic?  Ok, Ok...

    
    	I just took up riding this summer, and I must admit that
    	I am still fuzzy of some of "the rules of the road" for
    	bicycles.  Even though I have read several books on riding,
    	I still find myself in situations where I am unsure of the
    	proper action.  Perhaps some kind of training or licensing
    	of new riders would help to make the roads safer for everyone.
    
    don lewis

>  Even though I have read several books on riding,
>  I still find myself in situations where I am unsure of the
>  proper action.

    Have you tried Effective Cycling by John Forrester or
    The Complete Book of Bicycle Commuting(?) by John Allen.

    These books give more detail than the typical sport rider book.
    They are a bit political, but do a good job at describing
    where to be on the road with a bicycle.

    -Jeff

    

I have been reading all of the replies in this note. Intersting
to say the least... 

One thing bugs me though. 

Why should we the bicyclists take all the heat and all the
corrective action for these problems?! 

How many times have you been riding completely legally and safe
along a road just to abused by some idiot who has a thing against 
bikes? You get yelled at (GET THE (#&(*&(* OFF *MY* ROAD!), or 
some one leans on the horn. I have even had people open doors at 
me throw things etc. I have been riding in cars when other 
no-bikers fuss and fume about "why are those stupid bikes on roads 
that were *obviously* meant for *only* cars?!" 

It seems to me that a large proportion of the officials and 
people who have a bad attitude towards bikes don't understand 
them. Period. Further more thay don't want to. They just want rid 
of the annoyance.
    
I *rarely* see people doing dumbs things on bikes on the road. I 
see people doing dumb things in cars every day. My feeling is all 
the education and effort bicyclists can do will help a little. 
But until we can educate and turn around the car drivers who have 
the attitude problem (in my opinion) we will get nowhere. 

JC

    I have to admit that idiots are fairly evenly dispersed among drivers
    and cyclists. The issue here is how do we fairly deal with both
    sides. Certainly, banning access to streets or cycles all together
    is pretty facsist. Since anarchy is not allowed in this country
    (at least cyclists aren't allowed to practice it!) common sense
    would dictate a rational approach. Like getting involved, under-
    standing what is currently happening in D.C. and what various
    lobbying groups need. the first thing is try and reach some
    negotiated ideas, the second is to legally address what we feel
    are unfair practices through legislature, the third is guerrilla
    warfare and lastly we seize control of some state (say, Colorado
    or Arizona - somewhere we can do it all year long) and secede
    from the union.
    
    Seriously, this is no laughing matter. We all need to get on the
    wagon. It's only a town away!
    
    Chip

    re .33
    	
    	Thanks, I'll give those books a shot.
    
    don

    Re; .30: Where in Worcester?
    
    Chip

    	RE: Where is Worchester?
    
    	978.30 indicated "MA," which is Massachusetts, or more
    	lovingly referred to as Taxachusetts.
    
    	Scott (Yea, I work here, but I live in Nude Hampster)

    
        It will be in one of the city park, I have forgotten which one.
        I will post complete description of the day after our next club
        board meeting.
    
        steve

    Thanks, Steve. Thanks for letting me know where Worcester is. I've
    only been there a kazillion times (ha, ha - ya I was being sarcastic)
    Sorry.
    
    Chip

	re: all
    
	At last, I'm hereby entering the complete article that I
    	referred to in the Base Note.
    
    							    Mike
    
    
    			Can Bicycles Save The World?
    			============================
    
	"Great Britain isn't as advanced as we are," wrote an
	American student in 1967. "Probably half the people still
	ride bicycles."	The student was wrong about bicycle rider-
	ship in Britain-only about one in every four Brits owns a
	bike, and most ride for	leisure, not as alternative trans-
	port. But the American student's observation reflects the
	prevailing attitude in industrial nations that bicycles are
	somehow second-class vehicles, dwarfed by the power and
	convenience of automobiles. A bike, of course, won't win
	any contests of speed or long-distance commuting, but in an
	age when the implications of pollution threaten the health
	of the world, human power is looking better and better.

	Bicycle lovers have longed for the day when their machines
	would regain the respectability lost after horseless car-
	riages took over the streets. They have proselytized about
	the joys of bike riding: the closeness one feels to nature
	when pedaling through the countryside; the exhilaration one
	feels at making it up a long hill or skillfully maneuvering
	through a busy intersection. Biking, they contend, is the
	one exercise suitable for just about everyone. When you ride
	a bike, the bike bears the weight of your body, allowing you
	to exercise your muscles without taxing your joints. Many an
	individual suffering from arthritis or knee trouble has
	turned to the bicycle for relief.

	Bicycle activists have mobilized in most North American and
	European cities, lobbying transportation departments for bike
	lanes and trying to rustle up support from nonbicycle riders.
	Despite these efforts, however, transportation planners have
	remained notoriously unsympathetic to the needs of bikers. It
	is a stance we may all come to regret. Consider these facts
	published in a recent article by the Worldwatch	Institute, a
	major think tank for environmental conservation:

	o Gasoline and diesel fuel emissions are major contributors
	  to acid rain and the depletion of the ozone layer. They
	  are also linked to about 30,000 deaths each year in the
	  United States alone. Interestingly, the worst pollution
	  comes from short car trips, because a cold engine is par-
	  ticularly inefficient, releasing a high percentage of un-
	  burned hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. Many of these
	  short trips could easily be done on a bike. 

	o If just 10 percent of the Americans who commute to work
	  by car rode their bikes to work, or to a train or bus
	  that would take them to work, more than $1.3 billion
	  could be cut from the U.S. oil import bill. (Oil imports
	  account for nearly a quarter of the country's $171 billion
	  trade deficit.)

	o Most cities devote at least one third of their land to
	  parking lots and roads. In the United States this com-
	  prises more land than the entire state of Georgia.

	"In their enthusiasm for engine power," writes Marcia D.
	Lowe, author of the Worldwatch article, "transit planners
	have overlooked the value of human power. With congestion,
	pollution, and debt threatening both the industrial and
	developing worlds, the vehicle of the future clearly rides
	on two wheels ..."

	Although there are more than twice as many bicycles (800
	million) as cars in the world, most of them are used for
	transportation only in countries like China and India. A
	few industrial nations have embraced the bicycle as a work-
	horse: The Netherlands, for example, has more than 9,000
	miles of bicycle paths,	and one city in Japan has actually
	built a 12-story bicycle parking lot, using cranes to lift
	and park up to 1,500 bikes at a time. In the Unites States,
	however, bicycles are viewed essentially as pleasure machines,
	to be dusted off during the summer months for Sunday rides in
	the park.

	But what would happen if we began to use bicycles more fre-
	quently? If, say, we hopped on a bike to go get a gallon of
	milk or to visit friends on the other side of town? What if
	we saved the car for big hauls and long trips? Before this
	can happen, of course, much must be done to make bicycle rid-
	ing safe and pleasurable. Biking may be wonderful exercise
	and environmentally sound, but few individuals will be wil-
	ling to pedal down roads where cars and trucks zoom past them
	with inches to spare, leaving the biker to wobble in a blast
	of air. Until roads are built with bike lanes or at least
	wide shoulders, few people are likely to get in the habit of
	biking. Even with those	improvements, it will take a shifting
	of attitudes to get most people	to take up two-wheel travel.
	People will need to believe that even one less trip in the
	car adds up to something, that riding a bicycle	is, like re-
	cycling paper or conserving electricity, an endeavor worth
	pursuing. Deciding to ride a bike is taking on responsibility.
	Not everyone will choose to do so, but for everyone who does,
	the world, rest assured, will be at least a little better off.

							  JANE BOSVELD

    	RE: 978.37 and .38
    
    	Sorry, fella, I must need new glasses. I read Chip's
    	response as "Where is Worcester?" Oh well, just
    	one more indication of how old I'm getting. I do
    	have a real excuse, though. I was sicker than a dog
    	this weekend, and I musta fried part of my brain
    	with the fever.
    
    	Scott

    I did receive a great deal of information from LAW. In fact, I joined
    the group (mailed in my dues) Saturday.
    
    They are into a lot of different things including having a full
    time lobbyist/advocate in D.C. for various things. They also
    keep you abreast of their activities (in D.C. and out). They
    provide "ride" packets (how to organize, etc...) plus other
    offers and CYCLING USA magazine sub. They are looking for
    volunteers for various things as well. If anyone is interested in
    any of this just let me know.
    
    Chip