what would leslie do...

leslie, dood i asked if you would pose with my bike...i didn't know you were going to straddle it ;-)
Originally uploaded by faster panda kill kill.

riding a bike can be one of the simplist things a man, woman or child could do. humans have been on two wheels for a long time. when you ride your bike, u use your own power and strength and determination to reach your destination. along the way, you are given a chance to go at a different pace than the rest of the world. you can take your time and notice people, the wind, the sounds of the city, the quiet along a trail and smell fragrences of each season. or you can speed through town at a good clip feeling more alive and aware with all of your senses on high. you sweat. you get dirty. in and out of traffic, off to a more quiet street, through a neighborhood, up the hill and down the other side, back into traffic....you flow. this, and more is riding a bike.

i hope that more people can experience the simple act of riding a bike under their own power. running an errand, a trip to the grocery store, a commute to and from work, a slow ride with your dog, pumping your best friend to the pool, biking with your kid to school, riding from your house and escaping to the trails and woods.

we have a good bike community in austin. i feel fortunate and lucky to be a part of it. biking means lots of different things to each of us. but i think for each of us, its a way to live our life on our own terms. in some small, but significant, way. there are many varied reasons for a person to ride a bike. i'm not one to scoff at any of them. to get some place, recreation, riding a bike is your job, training, blowing off steam, being a rebel, being individualistic, etc. i have a soft spot in my heart for the transportation cyclists. those of us that make the bike a daily part of our lives. for our own transportation to and from work, school, as a job, for errands...it becomes like a another body part. you are never far from your bike. the bike is comforting. its freedom. in fact, it becomes a highlight of your day. the ride to and from your destinations is the adventure. you can't wait to get outside and on the road to the next place or simply to home.

i really dont know why im writing this down. i meant to write about the mandatory helmut law. it goes to vote Thursday, this week. this law will take something very simple and make it difficult - without any real improvement to the overall safety and bike awareness for cyclist and motorists in austin. it will make riding a bike without a helmut an offense that could have you pulled over by the police. fined, bike confiscated, arrest? i'm not sure what happens really.

to be clear: im not anti-helmet. im anti-MANDATORY helmet LAW. i am very much pro-biker of all kinds, safety and bike community. but i'm not a pro-bike racer. i just like to play like one in my imagination. i would rather our efforts as a 'bike friendly city' are towards safer and improved roads and streets, a positive approach towards bicycle safety and traffic awareness classes and information, incentives to folks for riding their bikes and a 'share the road' campaign that involves bicyclists of all kinds and ages throughout the city.

please take some time to do a few simple things for your voice to be heard. thanks..

• e-mail via a online form the mayor and council
• sign the online petition. all you need is: name, DOB (or voter registration number) & address. you can keep your information private.
• please attend the city council meeting THURSDAY, AUG. 24 at 6PM. Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St. the more bikes we have - the more fun
• simon mentioned a bike-in movie and beer after the meeting to purge our brains of politics. more info when i get it
• 15 reasons to oppose a mandatory bike law by the league of bicycle voters
• maybe leslie will come out on a yellow bike. more animal hats for everyone.

a big thanks to the tireless efforts of the league of bicycling voters and all the others that have been involved and participated, gathered information and statistics and donated monetarily during this process. ride bikes...be safe friends.