In the middle of the journey of my life, I am--as always--a woman on a bike. Although I do not know where this road will lead, the way is not lost, for I have arrived here. And I am on my bicycle, again.
Every few years, someone resurrects the urban legend that cycling causes erectile dysfunction, or even sterility, in men. I wonder whether any of them envisioned this.
Seriously, you have to wonder what else that kid tried to do with one hand!
I have known more than a few cyclists who were devotees of Star Trek. However, according to a study conducted by Patricia Mokhtaraian of Georgia Tech, their love of the series, in all of its incarnations, probably doesn’t extend to a seemingly-fantastical mode of transportation featured in it: teleporting. Professor Mokhtarian, in fact, used teleportation as a baseline for “assessing whether an individual views travel purely as a disutility.” In non-academic terms, she gave people the hypothetical choice between teleporting and whatever mode of transportation they use to get to work or school. This study was conducted in Portland, so some experts would caution against extrapolating attitudes in society as a whole from it. Then again, even in such a city, where commuting is, one assumes, less stressful than it is in, say, New York, just over half of respondents said they’d rather be teleported. The most interesting part of the study, however, is one that, in my opinion, could be used to understand or even predict larger trends. While there is indeed a fairly even split between those who would and wouldn’t choose to arrive at home or in their schools or workplaces a nanosecond after they took their first step, the divide grows or shrinks dramatically depending on the mode of transport. In this regard, two methods of getting to where you’re going are practically inverses of each other: While 73 percent of those who drive to work would choose teleportation, should it ever become available, only 27 percent of pedestrians would make such a choice. Oh, another two methods are like photo-negatives of each other: While 65 percent of public transport users would have themselves beamed in, only 34 percent of cyclists would. All of this makes intuitive sense. Most people who walk or ride to work in a city are doing so by choice and enjoy the open air and exercise. I suspect that the higher satisfaction rate among pedestrians may be due to the fact that someone who can’t drive (for whatever reasons) or doesn’t have public transport available is more likely to be pedaling than walking to work. I am not familiar with Portland, but in New York and most other large cities where I’ve spent time, people who walk to work almost always live within a few blocks of their workplaces. All I know is that I’ve never heard a cyclist—not even one who’s a hard-core “Trekkie”—say “Beam Me Up, Scottie!” during a ride.
Although his actual birthday was the 15th, Martin Luther King Jr. day is being observed today in the US. Like most other holidays, it's been observed on Monday for the past few decades. I guess it makes more sense for offices, banks and such to close for three consecutive days than on a day in the middle of the week. And, tell me, who doesn't like three-day weekends? But I think this is one holiday that shouldn't be only for watching basketball games or taking advantage of sales. I always try to pay homage to Dr. King, whom I regard as one of the few true American heroes. I mean, for this alone, I'd give him a holiday--and even the Nobel Peace Prize:
Who could hate after seeing someone so enjoying himself?
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