Should Bikers make a Statement on their back?

On 15 Jan 2006 08:56:06 -0800, "Johnny Sunset"
wrote:


oilfreeandhappy wrote:
I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

Is it a distraction to the motorist? Is it better to avoid the
potential confrontations, because the cars are bigger? Or is it cool?
What are your thoughts?

How is anyone going to see my back when I am riding one of my bikes?

So print it in a UV-reflective ink and let the Doppler effect shift it
back into the visible spectrum.
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On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 16:00:49 GMT, "Sorni"
wrote:

If I /were/ to get a t-shirt made up, it would simply say "3 Feet!" with a
big ol' arrow pointing to my left. (Someone should make /jerseys/ like
that. I'd consider buying 'em.)

I made up some shirts once that had (on the front) "You only wish your
imagination was this good." Unfortunately, the person who wanted them
discovered that the target audience was too dense to figure it out.
OTOH, "You are not imagining this" on the back of a shirt would not be
guaranteed to get a positive response; consider the eaxperated
hyperachiever in the BMW who, having just fought his way through an
hour's worth of commute from the Deep Suburbs, encounters the Final
Insult; some *&^%$#! cyclist in HIS LANE keeping him from speeding
down the final stretch to his destination. The slogan I suggested, on
that cyclist's back, could be all it took to make him go Postal.
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The transportational cyclist's message is conveyed contextually, not
textually. The more one resembles a crackpot, the more the message is
squandered.

History is made by people standing up and making statements
- Our country wouldn't have been founded.
- We'd still have slavery.
- There would be no seat belt laws.
- Civil rights would only be words.
- There would be no EPA

I agree that riding does send out a subliminal message. However many
motorists think: "the poor person can't afford a car", or "he/she must
have gotten their driving license suspended"...

On 15 Jan 2006 10:25:19 -0800, "oilfreeandhappy"
wrote:

I agree that riding does send out a subliminal message. However many
motorists think: "the poor person can't afford a car", or "he/she must
have gotten their driving license suspended"...

In most cases, all it takes to have this not be the case is to *not
appear to fit that profile*. Yes, around here I have encountered
neocons who thought that (for instance) anyone on a bike who looked
like a Latino was either a wetback, couldn't afford a car, had a car
that couldn't pass emissions inspection, or had too many tickets. And
to them, anyone wearing riding shorts was a fitness freak, and anyone
else was a treehugger. This is not the targey audience for a pro-bike
message; these people *will not listen*. And for the potential
pro-bike folks who are uninvolved now, nothing will speak louder than
seeing more people out there on bikes *having fun*.
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Definitely not. Riders' backs should have their messages restricted to
the purely commercial- the post office, entertainment media, cell phone
companies, that sort of thing.

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 18:10:24 -0800, SocSecTrainWreck wrote:

Definitely not. Riders' backs should have their messages restricted to
the purely commercial- the post office, entertainment media, cell phone
companies, that sort of thing.

Yes, you should definitely help support our downtrodden corporations by
paying $70+ for a pro team jersey, or one with cartoon characters or
corporate logos.

Seriously, a club jersey with advertising from local businesses may help
personalize you as a local rider and community member, so you seem less
like "the other" to abusive drivers.

Other than that, anti-establishment messages, even mild ones like "one
less car" may be too strident and inviting of abuse from the malcontents
you're bound to meet on the road. As others have said, the best statement
you can make is to simply be out there, as a normal person. So try to
look like one.

Matt O.

On 15 Jan 2006 10:25:19 -0800, "oilfreeandhappy"
wrote:

The transportational cyclist's message is conveyed contextually, not
textually. The more one resembles a crackpot, the more the message is
squandered.

History is made by people standing up and making statements
- Our country wouldn't have been founded.
- We'd still have slavery.
- There would be no seat belt laws.
- Civil rights would only be words.
- There would be no EPA

"Seat belt laws" belongs between slavery and civil rights? You have got a weird
perspective on American history and society.

I agree that riding does send out a subliminal message. However many
motorists think: "the poor person can't afford a car", or "he/she must
have gotten their driving license suspended"...

That's only if you LOOK like a bum or a drunk on a bike. Most of us here don't
have that problem.

Dude, get over yourself.

Ron20

oilfreeandhappy wrote:
After about a month, I've gotten no negative reaction to the statement
I'm wearing. No honks, no acknowledgement whatsoever.

I agree with what you are saying and I ride a bcycle to work 90% of the
time but-
-you are not 'oil free'. Many things you use everyday are a petroleum
product
-unless people just cannot get around in a car, they won't do it just
cuz it's a good idea. You have to look at the way the US was formed
post auto, it's very structure, you see that people aren't going to get
out of the cars until there is a crisis. Unless it's as easy to walk to
your car and drive, people are not going to use alternative forms of
mass transit.

I think your point of view is laudible but unrealistic. A major change
in the very US societal structure, with people being 'based' around a
central point, like the relatively small EU, needs to happen before we
get outta our cars. More likely is alternative fuels, but keeping
autos, unfortunately.

On 14 Jan 2006 19:47:18 -0800, "oilfreeandhappy"
wrote:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about
bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation.

I think riding a bike *is* promoting alternative transportation.

JT

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