"You've got to fight for your right to bike to work!"

The Wall Street Journal has an inspiring article (hat tip to John at 8 Asians for forwarding to me) on Angeleno's are braving the mean streets of L.A. to get around to use, ehm.. BIKES AS TRANSPORTATION or stepping up to BAT as I say. And they are taking it on the chin, literally. There are a lot of scuffles and motorists act as if they bully us off the road we will get off of the road. Well get use to us, for those who say riding a bike is too dangerous, you're right but the only way it's going to get better is to be a bit of a pioneer. Isn't there a feeling of romance in that sentiment, to blaze new trails or paths. In the article this quote I love:

"Cyclists have equal rights, but in fact a lot of motorists think they should get off the road," says Lynne Goldsmith, manager of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority's bike program. Nearly everyone has a bike sitting in the garage, but people are starting to actually use their bicycles for transportation, ranging from short hops to the market to long-distance commuting, she says. "When we're used to seeing more cyclists, we will treat them better."

A friend of mine from college once had a debate about flag burning, he was for it, but for a very good reason. He says if we truly have rights to protect speech, the only way to know them is to exercise them. I took the position that we had the right, but we don't have to exercise them, since bleeding heart that I am, I said why offend someone with something so offensive. He wasn't arguing for constant flag burning, but he said it has to happen for us to know we have the right. The same is happening for bicyclists, we have to assert our rights to the road otherwise our claim will never be proven. Liberty in its many forms is never a give me.

So fight for your right to bike!