Comments on The Slow Bicycle Movement: Vote for the Manifesto! The Results Are In.

This not about the manifesto. All for that. I thi...

2009-10-26T20:28:34.229+01:00

This not about the manifesto. All for that.

I think the show bike idea might be part of the solution to the fact that compulsory helmets make bike share schemes, and the slow riding they bring, impossible in Australia.

If we can have a category of the slow bike, basically sit up bikes which are by nature safer and slower, then we can ask that the law for them be different, that on such a bike, under 25kms an hour, you don't legally need a helmet.

It might work if everyone gets behind it.

The film on my blog explains it all. http://datillo.wordpress.com

cheers. Mike Rubbo

vehicle naming is closely associated with road rag...

2009-06-05T13:33:38.658+02:00

vehicle naming is closely associated with road rage incidents, at least statistically - so I have to disagree with that one. Naming your bike is territorial, hence you feel obligated to bark at trespassers.

In a good healthy bicycle culture, all the bikes tend to look the same - usually painted black and worn from frequent use. Even better than that is shared bikes. It's not the bike - it's the experience.

david > In distance, yes, but not in time ;-)

2009-06-05T07:01:35.225+02:00

david > In distance, yes, but not in time ;-)

Hmm. Wouldn't that be walking the bike 48% of the...

2009-06-05T06:13:33.109+02:00

Hmm. Wouldn't that be walking the bike 48% of the time and saying, "Wheee!" 47% of the time? ;-)

"Hills and/or gradients may be walked." Well, whe...

2009-05-01T10:11:08.710+02:00

"Hills and/or gradients may be walked."

Well, where I live, we'd walk our bikes 95% of the time. That'd be slow biking ;-)

It is my firm belief that a bicycle should also ha...

2009-02-13T19:26:36.491+01:00

It is my firm belief that a bicycle should also have a cupholder. My late 70s 5-speed step-through Takara has fenders, chainguard, basket, bell, and cupholder. One has to ride slowly over the bumpy Atlanta streets in order to avoid splashing one's coffee - or if it does splash, slowly enough to prevent the wind from blowing it onto one's business clothes.... ;)

So true. I love cycling slowly and exploring my co...

2009-01-30T23:35:52.382+01:00

So true. I love cycling slowly and exploring my community. :)

Another: stop and smell flowers occasionally.

nice idea. but no helmets. they're not necessary a...

2008-12-12T10:55:03.345+01:00

nice idea. but no helmets. they're not necessary and there is nowhere in the world where helmet usage has resulted in fewer head injuries. Nowhere. www.cyclehelmets.org

But Slow Cycling is the best safety measure ever concieved.

Please lay an extra bike on any random can kicking...

2008-12-12T00:22:46.038+01:00

Please lay an extra bike on any random can kicking needy kid...and a helmet.

"Please ride the bike you have, in the clothes you...

2008-11-18T14:54:15.500+01:00

"Please ride the bike you have, in the clothes you like, at the speed you enjoy." This is it. This is all that needs to be said. So inclusive. Thank you, SBM.

Hi!I agree with all that. I bike there because is ...

2008-11-10T20:57:50.821+01:00

Hi!
I agree with all that. I bike there because is better. And that´s it. It makes me happy.

And I have a new suggestion: Remember to whistle a song you like when ride. And be sure to wave to drivers that are stuck in traffic.

PS. Could Zakkaliciousness please include the YouT...

2008-10-20T20:14:38.056+02:00

PS. Could Zakkaliciousness please include the YouTube video "The Copehagen Cycle" on this blog at some future date? The one with the 1935 film music "Cykelsangen"? It's charming, and nothing I've seen conveys quite so well the carefree hedonism of slow cycling. Please...

Just one niggle: it should be sultry not sulty (th...

2008-10-19T18:48:58.946+02:00

Just one niggle: it should be sultry not sulty (though I have to add that men asking "Would you like to come for a slow bicycle ride with me?" in a sultry voice are liable to get their faces slapped or end up on the wrong end of a disciplinary hearing for sexual harrassment).

I think the "please" preface sounds a bit too diffident for a list of principles. But that being said, I'm all in favour of those which encourage politeness and consideration for other road users. I cycled to work for a year in the Netherlands and was greatly impressed by the good manners of the swarms of cyclists who pour down the city streets and across intersections at rush hour: thousands and thousands of them, yet hardly ever a collision or a cross word. And Dutch motorists likewise: quite amazing care and consideration shown to cyclists at road junctions. Back here in the UK it's a war situation by comparison: the cyclists often every bit as loutish and testosterone-fuelled as the car-drivers. If slow bicycling is not a movement for civility then it's nothing.

I think our manifesto should place an emphasis on ...

2008-09-28T03:07:35.307+02:00

I think our manifesto should place an emphasis on style and comfort/pleasure. Perhaps it could go something like this:

I ride the bike I have, in the clothes I like, at the speed I enjoy.

Accessories and self-expression are a must. (I don't think that chainguards or fenders need to be mentioned here.I think it's enough that people think about how they can customize their bikes. Specific suggestions for that should be mentioned somewhere else).

On my bike I am cool [headed] and I know that I belong on the street as much as any other vehicle.

Everyone should aspire to look this good when getting from Point A to Point B.

"If you break a sweat, you're pedaling too hard......

2008-09-27T05:28:55.763+02:00

"If you break a sweat, you're pedaling too hard..."

Or you've stepped outside in the Southeastern USA. :-)

Regarding slogans, this was posted on the Facebook...

2008-09-26T00:51:09.138+02:00

Regarding slogans, this was posted on the Facebook page: "Wow, you can see lots of stuff if you're not sniffing someone's Lycra."

i think the 'please' issue is a cultural one. In a...

2008-09-25T08:11:05.718+02:00

i think the 'please' issue is a cultural one. In a British context it is funny, self-ironic and yet polite.

If i say 'please be careful' to a friend it is because i wish for them to take care, because I am fond of them and do not wish to see them get hurt. for example.

could I also suggest - "if you're too short of bre...

2008-09-25T05:53:41.541+02:00

could I also suggest - "if you're too short of breath to sing, slow down."? :)

I agree about "please"--in this context it sounds ...

2008-09-24T18:41:01.423+02:00

I agree about "please"--in this context it sounds condescending or even a bit snarky.

I love these! I wish we could pick several and hav...

2008-09-24T16:38:11.923+02:00

I love these! I wish we could pick several and have a rotating manifesto!

Small correction: for the first one, "sulty" should be "sultry."

I suppose, once we've agreed the principles, we ca...

2008-09-24T16:08:33.590+02:00

I suppose, once we've agreed the principles, we can tweak the wording. Although phrasing it courteously can be cool, as long as it doesn't come across too patronise

yay!! very exciting to see all the great ideas. W...

2008-09-24T15:50:07.977+02:00

yay!! very exciting to see all the great ideas.

What's with the 'please's? Please and thank you are nice to say and I am a big believer in them but this seems to be the wrong place for them - maybe. It seems that all of statements that start with please would would perfectly well without the prefix and not sound so much like an instruction from my 2nd grade teacher. ;) -- just a thought