Bikes!

Bike4

Last week was bike week! 

 

While I was a less-than-avid road cyclist before leaving for Copenhagen this past semester, the reality of making cycling a mode of transport in all of life's situations, seemed like a distant fantasy. My route to school included an intersection with a major highway, and even shorter trips held as much percieved danger--with my own accident which totalled both involved cars 5 minutes from home as proof.  But life in Copenhagen, where I biked to school and around the city nearly everyday, showed me that it is beyond a possibility, and absolutely within my power to make it a reality in Dallas, Texas--reigning 'Worst Cycling City'. 

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the first/last time....

A brief reflection on cultural re-entry:

 

the last time I'll miss the last bus home and have to walk 
beautiful night though its freezing/can't feel my toes. where is everyone else? (3am) 

the first time I rode a bike 
terror: skinny tires, clip shoes, handlebar brakes only--eep!  

the first time I took a shower
shower/bathtub: what do I do with all this space? 

the first time I did my laundry
hung my wet clothes on every chair and door handle. 

the first time I drove a car
terror: I could definitely die this way.

the first time I went to the store
proud*: brought my own bag for goods 

Back to Dallas!: A Plan for Action

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watch the first fifteen minutes to get the gist of Jan's wisdom. He says a couple profound things here: we never study man in the urban environment, though we have eons in hours spent investigating the love life of lions, or gorillas, etc. Why is that? We have a ministry of transportation/cars in every city, but nothing for man in the city. ...Why is that? 

big question: why have we so downgraded man to a secondary focus of development? and placed the car as king?