So cycling is political act??

[lph]

I can get preachy about bike commuting, because I think it really really REALLY is a good thing, for so many people and for society as a whole. But I know it annoys people, especially the ones who already have a bad conscience about driving too much or exercising too little, so I make an effort and restrain myself. We bought a car 10 years ago ourselves, and didn't automatically morph into brainless pudgy idiots frittering away our income in gas money after all, but we did get the freedom to haul large objects and go skiing and hiking in different areas without having to borrow or rent a car.

It can be a fine line, sometimes, being enthusiastic about one's own choices without being too denigrating about others. I can usually get away with just saying how much I dislike driving, and getting stuck in traffic, without too much of the "how can you bear this everyday??"-tone

[owlice]

But I know it annoys people, especially the ones who already have a bad conscience about driving too much or exercising too little

Or maybe they don't have a "bad conscience." Maybe they live too far from work to commute/have to ferry children and/or others hither and yon/are unable physically to cycle/don't have safe bike commuting roads between home and work/transport work equipment/etc.

The Washington Post has a "Dr. Gridlock" column, and some years ago, a letter appeared in it from a woman who walked to work and advocated (quite self-righteously) that everyone live near enough to one's employment so as to walk to work. I am rarely prompted to write to newspapers, but did in this case, asking what she suggested for my family, since my husband (at the time) worked in Suitland, our son was at that time in a (special ed) school in Rockville, and I worked downtown? (For those not in the DC area, imagine a clock with my work near the center, which is 22 miles from my house outside the Beltway at 1 o'clock, my husband's work at five o'clock and the kid's school at 11 o'clock and even further outside the Beltway. And this was better than the subsequent school, which was in Baltimore and gave me a 100-mile round trip commute on the days I dropped our son off at school and then drove to my job in DC!)

I'd love to commute to work by bike, but for what it would cost me in other things -- such as a much higher mortgage -- it's not going to happen now, and I don't feel bad about that. (I'll envy those who can, though!) Life is full of trade-offs. I'll read of everyone else's commuting exploits instead, thoroughly enjoy them, and holler "You go, girl!" in my head as I do!

[lph]

Or maybe they don't have a "bad conscience." Maybe they live too far from work to commute/have to ferry children and/or others hither and yon/are unable physically to cycle/don't have safe bike commuting roads between home and work/transport work equipment/etc.

No, I actually mean the ones who tell me that they have a bad conscience. I'm not assuming everyone who doesn't bike commute has a bad conscience, honest

People who haven't even considered bike commuting, or who are unable to seem rarely to be bothered by my agitating for more bike commuters.