@le_bleu @mekkaokereke

That's if you're privileged enough to have the car as an option as well as the bike or your feet.

But those among us who are too young to drive, to old to drive, too poor to drive, or don't have the required documentation, don't have the option to change transportation mode.

It's your feet, your bike, or someone else's car.

And don't start me on public transit.

@eric @gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPduRHBhHI

Here‘s a 90min deepdive why John Forester‘s ideas are dangerous to cyclists and ruined cycling in the US for a lot of people.

@mekkaokereke few things radicalize a white American faster than the real-time realization that cops don't give a federal fuck about their stolen bike, and, in fact, the cop who showed up is visible annoyed about the proceeding paperwork.

I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other‍️️

Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.

Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.

I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from

"I'm not political."

To

‍️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"

To

‍️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"

@CelloMomOnCars @le_bleu

To be clear, I'm also talking very explicitly about people on bikes and seeing hostile infrastructure, wondering things like "Why did they build it that way?!" And "Who could possibly oppose a protected bike lane connecting this suburb to this part of downtown? Why would anyone not want that?" And coming face to face with explicitly racist city planning decisions, both in the past, and present today.

In some cases the main reason it's not easy to bike from your home to your train station, is because some racist person knows that Black people have bikes too, and doesn't want it to be easy or safe to get from their house to your house without a car.‍️

LOW LIFE: Revisiting Robert Moses’s Exclusionary Design Scheme At Jones Beach

The Magazine for Architectural Entertainment

(archive.pinupmagazine.org)

@CelloMomOnCars @le_bleu

To be clear, I'm also talking very explicitly about people on bikes and seeing hostile infrastructure, wondering things like "Why did they build it that way?!" And "Who could possibly oppose a protected bike lane connecting this suburb to this part of downtown? Why would anyone not want that?" And coming face to face with explicitly racist city planning decisions, both in the past, and present today.

In some cases the main reason it's not easy to bike from your home to your train station, is because some racist person knows that Black people have bikes too, and doesn't want it to be easy or safe to get from their house to your house without a car.‍️

LOW LIFE: Revisiting Robert Moses’s Exclusionary Design Scheme At Jones Beach

The Magazine for Architectural Entertainment

(archive.pinupmagazine.org)

@mekkaokereke @CelloMomOnCars @le_bleu There are people who simply hate bikes and cyclists. If you ride, you have unfortunately met them. They consider cycling advocates elitists. I sort of see where they're coming from, in that I might hate cyclists too if I commuted to work 90 minutes each way and was slowed at the end by a bike-lane-inspired lane narrowing.

I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other‍️️

Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.

Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.

I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from

"I'm not political."

To

‍️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"

To

‍️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"

@mekkaokereke every guy I know that rides (myself included) has also learned being a vulnerable road user really gives you a tiny window into how the world treats women. "you got hit by a car? what were you wearing? what were you doing at the time to deserve it?"

@mathowie @mekkaokereke yeah, I know multiple people who had that experience where a cop either invented or accepted a lie to protect a driver and realized that, yeah, if you don’t have a camera or find witnesses who’ll be taken seriously the official report will be a complete lie.

This story got a ton of attention locally and a lot of women/black folks were … unsurprised:

Just a moment...

(ggwash.org)

@mathowie @mekkaokereke yeah, I know multiple people who had that experience where a cop either invented or accepted a lie to protect a driver and realized that, yeah, if you don’t have a camera or find witnesses who’ll be taken seriously the official report will be a complete lie.

This story got a ton of attention locally and a lot of women/black folks were … unsurprised:

Just a moment...

(ggwash.org)

I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other‍️️

Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.

Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.

I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from

"I'm not political."

To

‍️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"

To

‍️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"