CCM Site Quote List

What if we fail to stop the erosion of cities by automobiles?... In that case, we Americans will hardly need to ponder a mystery that has troubled men for millenia: What is the purpose of life? For us, the answer will be clear, established and for all practical purposes indisputable: The purpose of life is to produce and consume automobiles.

[A person...] on a bicycle can go three or four times faster than the pedestrian, but uses five times less energy in the process. He carries one gram of his weight over a kilometer of flat road at an expense of only 0.15 calories. Equipped with this tool, [a person...] outstrips the efficiency of not only all machines but all other animals as well.

[A] really good stock market, cheap gas, mass denial, and atrocious land use planning [creates road rage in] a country full to the brim with fat-ass'd whiners as dependent on cars as junkies are on smack, who bray about their "rights," their toys, and their so-called individualism--it makes them into insufferable, immoral, arrogant fools who are the butt of jokes worldwide. What the U.S. needs right now is another gas crisis, although I fear that would put too many drivers right over the edge, and that they would assault bicyclists and pedestrians en masse.

I've very much enjoyed being a part of Chicago Critical Mass. Ever since Gin handed me a flier on the bike path four years ago, it's been a wonderful experience. I've especially enjoyed this listserv and all the viewpoints expressed. I feel like CCM has had a large impact on the way I think and act.

Riding a bike is illustrative of how one chooses to live in this world, treat the earth, and is one of the greatest symbols of respecting not just your own body & self but for all other individuals around you. Cycling is smart, intelligent, and respectful - among many other things.

One after another, flying overhead, passing through the blue sky, bikers leaned down and started slapping hands with me. Some of the skin was soft, some of it hard. Some of the hands were white, and some of them were black. Some were the hands of men, and some were of women--but none of that mattered. Everyone the same touched my palms and fingers, shouting and celebrating to reclaim the street, to make it human again.

It's time to level the playing field for bicycle commuters. Across the country people are working to create more livable communities that include reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality and increased neighborhood safety. Bicycles offer a wonderful alternative to driving.