Please Stop Biking

If you’ve been paying attention, you know how often I extoll the virtues of biking and bike commuting … fresh air, exercise, stress relief, freedom from gas, and a smug sense of superiority. Well, that’s ok, but enough is enough.

PLEASE STOP BIKING

The Minuteman Bikeway, my main commuting route, is starting to look like I-95 during rush hour. We even have delays due to disabled bikes and strollers. And the bike parking area at the transit station is full by 8 in the morning. (Well, not completely full, but the good spots are taken, and only the weird impossible-to-use double-decker bike racks are available.)

Moreover, some of my fellow bikers occasionally flout (not flaunt) various local ordinances (not ordnance). This sometimes creates ill will among motorists who, if nothing else, have momentum on their side. I prefer not to antagonize such people, but they don’t always grasp the subtle nuance between “some cyclists are scofflaws” and “all bicyclists are lawless marauders.” A driver threatening you with a large, heavy automobile is not unlike someone flaunting ordnance.

So, I ask again …

PLEASE STOP BIKING!