This is some of the best bike hating ever

[avalonracing]

I don't know if this was posted yet but check out WSJ Editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz on New York City’s new bike-share program.

http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-death-by-bicycle/C6D8BBCE-B405-4D3C-A381-4CA50BDD8D4D.html#!C6D8BBCE-B405-4D3C-A381-4CA50BDD8D4D

I think this woman would have a stroke if a Critical Mass Ride went by.

[Tony T]

BikeSnob (http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com) had a lot to say about her:

Extra, Extra: Wall Street Journal Wins At Stupid!
Up until now, the media has been using the conventional weapons of stupidity in their War Against Bikes, but on May 31st the entire world sat up and noticed when the Wall Street Journal escalated matters by dropping this devastating atomic firebomb of nuclear retardation:


DR:--"We now look at a city whose best neighborhoods are absolutely, you know, begrimed, is the word, by these blazing blue Citi Bank bikes."

BS: Over the past 50 years New York City has been "begrimed" by blackouts, near bankruptcy, the crack epidemic, terrorist attacks, and most recently a Giant F'ing Hurricane--all of which seem to have gone unnoticed by Mme. Rabinowitz, who must have been spending the past half-century shopping, not tipping her doorman, and subsisting on scoops of cottage cheese served in leaves of iceberg lettuce."

DR: --"If you get into a taxi now you'll see in your face you'll see signs saying 'Be very careful...if you open the door you could hit a bicyclist.' Where is the parallel warning to people saying, 'If you are a cyclist you are required to...the rules of the road are yours."

BS: Hey, Dorothy, it's EXACTLY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE F'ING HANDLEBARS:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hPJxTDC0LfI/UayljelvTVI/AAAAAAAAsb8/Fss0EyCFY0U/s1600/easter+egg.jpg

[cmg]

she's hilarious. even the interviewer laughs during the discussion.

[holliscx]

Gonna take a wild gander Ms. Rabinowitz likes her sugary sodas in excess of 16 ounces

[jghall]

She's only mildly opinionated huh.......

[chuckred]

She's not a member of the liberal elite !

[ariw]

I saw that video posted with a note saying that it was NOT produced by the Onion :)

-A

[Kebuchan24]

I could only watch half the video before I had to turn it off. Now, I think I will make sure my ride today makes a detour to my cities downtown area :cool:

[avalonracing]

"I represent the majority of citizens"

She sounds more sure of her self and self-empowered than when a congressman tells us what "The American People" want. (Which, strangely, always happens to be what said congressman seems to want).

[BumbleBeeDave]

What's really sad to me is that while she most likely does NOT represent the majority of New Yorkers, she probably DOES represent a decent sized minority.

BBD

[MattTuck]

I've never been a big fan of NYC.

But I'm currently working my way through Ric Burns' New York (American Experience)

http://www.amazon.com/movies-tv/dp/B000BITUF2

I have a whole new perspective and appreciation of New York City now.

If she thinks Bloomberg is an autocrat, she should go back and look at some of the mayors in the past.

[DRZRM]

"The bike lobby is all powerful..."

Awesome!

[avalonracing]

"The bike lobby is all powerful..."

Awesome!

Yes, most people think laws are being made and money is changing hands in back room deals with billionaires and beholden politicians but it is the Secret Bike Lobby" that really controls most of the power and wealth in this country.

One only needs to look at the highway system and obesity rate to see the tremendous influence of the all-powerful Bike Lobby.

[gavingould]

NYC: We put the garbage on the sidewalks. NO BIKES!

[54ny77]

couldn't watch more than 30 seconds of it. painful. i bet her husband is still working full time 6 days a week (and on the 7th, spending at least 3/4 of it on the golf course with his pals).

[fiamme red]

"The bike lobby is all powerful..."

Awesome!I haven't watched the video, but it's true that the bike lobby (i.e., Transportation Alternatives) does run the NYC DOT in a sense, since the DOT and TA have basically merged into one body in the past few years.

[torquer]

Yes, most people think laws are being made and money is changing hands in back room deals with billionaires and beholden politicians but it is the Secret Bike Lobby" that really controls most of the power and wealth in this country.

One only needs to look at the highway system and obesity rate to see the tremendous influence of the all-powerful Bike Lobby.
The SBL is just the latest incarnation of those infamous shape-shifters, the Illuminati.
Be afraid, very, very afraid.
http://www.barnorama.com/wp-content/images/2012/03/Signs-%20Illuminati-Real/15-Signs-%20Illuminati-Real.jpg

[Rueda Tropical]

"I represent the majority of citizens"

She sounds more sure of her self and self-empowered than when a congressman tells us what "The American People" want. (Which, strangely, always happens to be what said congressman seems to want).

You mean what the the people who are bankrolling the congressman really want.

[redir]

A totalitarian government I tell ya!.

Of course she does have a point about how some cyclists ride in NYC. Sometimes we bring this wrath upon ourselves :(

[SamIAm]

Leaving this woman aside for the moment. I have never ridden a bike in NY, how much experience does one need to do it safely?

[avalonracing]

The SBL is just the latest incarnation of those infamous shape-shifters, the Illuminati.
Be afraid, very, very afraid.
http://www.barnorama.com/wp-content/images/2012/03/Signs-%20Illuminati-Real/15-Signs-%20Illuminati-Real.jpg

My GOD!
The red indicates a planned bike route, correct?

[slidey]

<1 min through the interview (I was only listening), I had to actually see to convince myself that this wasn't yet another amazeba**s excerpt from the vomits of that s*it-spinning witch, Ayn Rand! :mad:

[Ardan MacNessa]

Leaving this woman aside for the moment. I have never ridden a bike in NY, how much experience does one need to do it safely?

You gottah look at this video of Bike Lane NYC LOL....

http://youtu.be/bzE-IMaegzQ

[goonster]

I have never ridden a bike in NY, how much experience does one need to do it safely?
It's just not that big a deal.

No special experience is required to be a pedestrian, cyclist or motorist in NYC. Same as any other major city. Thousands and thousands of non-natives visit or move to NYC every year without extensive training. Most of them live to tell about it.

[redir]

You gottah look at this video of Bike Lane NYC LOL....

http://youtu.be/bzE-IMaegzQ

Hahahaha holy cow that was funny. He's a regular stunt man that one. :eek:

[christian]

It's just not that big a deal.

No special experience is required to be a pedestrian, cyclist or motorist in NYC. Same as any other major city. Thousands and thousands of non-natives visit or move to NYC every year without extensive training. Most of them live to tell about it.Nods head. Actually way better than cycling in Chicago, for instance.

[torquer]

My GOD!
The red indicates a planned bike route, correct?
Come to think about it, that would make for a sick crit course!
White House portico primes, anyone?

[Louis]

"The bike lobby is all powerful..."

Awesome!

Lance is behind it all. Bloomberg's just his puppet.

[SamIAm]

It's just not that big a deal.

No special experience is required to be a pedestrian, cyclist or motorist in NYC. Same as any other major city. Thousands and thousands of non-natives visit or move to NYC every year without extensive training. Most of them live to tell about it.

Good to know. I was just there a few weeks ago and I gotta say it looked fairly intimidating and I am well used to sharing the road with cars. Its probably one of those things you just need to do in order to better understand.

[54ny77]

the key to successful riding in nyc is to play both offense and defense. having eyes & ears in back of head helps too.

for comparison, i've had at least 10x as many incidents--and far worse in terms of hostility & actual confrontation--on the roads of southern california over the years. in the past decade, it's gotten really, really bad, from l.a. to south orange county (which is my reference point).

for some reason bay area far better in terms of tolerance/patience of drivers (at least it used to be when i lived there; it's been at least a decade since i've been on a bike up yonder, so my reference point is probably stale).

[echappist]

I've never been a big fan of NYC.

But I'm currently working my way through Ric Burns' New York (American Experience)

http://www.amazon.com/movies-tv/dp/B000BITUF2

I have a whole new perspective and appreciation of New York City now.

If she thinks Bloomberg is an autocrat, she should go back and look at some of the mayors in the past.

Great documentary. And some of the most autocratic aren't even mayors or elected officials.

[Tony T]

Great documentary. And some of the most autocratic aren't even mayors or elected officials.

Robert Moses. Had more power than the mayor. Bklyn lost the Dodgers to LA because of him.

[1centaur]

Just to show that people are not all bad, Dorothy Rabinowitz did amazing work writing about the false accusations of child molestation that had led to false imprisonment for many years for day care operators, including at Fells Acres in Massachusetts. Martha Coakley (sp?), the AG here who was beaten by Scott Brown for Kennedy's seat, refused to accept their innocence and kept at least one of them in prison in order to please certain quarters for her own career, IMO. Ms. Rabinowitz's writing and conviction were so strong they helped shut down the witch hunt culture of those days. I will forgive her the bike attitude.

[pbarry]

Robert Moses. Had more power than the mayor. Bklyn lost the Dodgers to LA because of him.

You got it. Caesar, Attila, Napoleon, Hitler; none of them had control of the reins of power for as long as Moses, nor controlled as much currency. NYC would not be the city it is today without him. But, like LA and the number of new cyclists in the U.S. because of his success, there are many who lay in RM's wake.

Good loong read:
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Broker-Robert-Moses-Fall/dp/0394720245

[pbarry]

Just to show that people are not all bad, Dorothy Rabinowitz did amazing work writing about the false accusations of child molestation that had led to false imprisonment for many years for day care operators, including at Fells Acres in Massachusetts. Martha Coakley (sp?), the AG here who was beaten by Scott Brown for Kennedy's seat, refused to accept their innocence and kept at least one of them in prison in order to please certain quarters for her own career, IMO. Ms. Rabinowitz's writing and conviction were so strong they helped shut down the witch hunt culture of those days. I will forgive her the bike attitude.

Rabinowitz wrote some excellent articles that [unfortunately and belatedly] lead to some justice for the accused/sentenced. Her current fervor could be directed in a better way, like when Strava members on Bikeshare bikes do bad things.. Surely, her acumen is used by her editors for net hits.

[victoryfactory]

As an NYC resident it's been apparent for years that the bicycle has
for some insane reason become a proxy battlefield for political control
of the city. It's our own nyc version of the left vs right polarization
that we see everywhere in our politics. But bikes? Yikes.
Bike lanes, bike share, speeding tickets in Central Park....
The anti Bloomberg people have been out of power so long and are so
desperate to replace him that they have chosen the bicycle as their point
of attack. It's laughable, desperate and troubling.
The borough president of Brooklyn even went on a campaign to eliminate
bike lanes through part of the city because his voting constituants
there didnt want to look at Lycra clad bikers as it upset their religious
beliefs!
HA! Bring on the Taliban.

Too opinionated for a bike forum? sorry.

VF

[avalonracing]

The borough president of Brooklyn even went on a campaign to eliminate
bike lanes through part of the city because his voting constituants
there didnt want to look at Lycra clad bikers as it upset their religious
beliefs!
HA! Bring on the Taliban.


If that is true he should be shamed and/or laughed out of "office".

[echappist]

You got it. Caesar, Attila, Napoleon, Hitler; none of them had control of the reins of power for as long as Moses, nor controlled as much currency. NYC would not be the city it is today without him. But, like LA and the number of new cyclists in the U.S. because of his success, there are many who lay in RM's wake.

Good loong read:
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Broker-Robert-Moses-Fall/dp/0394720245

great book. took forever to finish. I saw the Ric Burns documentary when i was 3/4 through the book, and it really made things sink in. Remarkable just how long it took to bring him down.

[djg]

Also in the WSJ, Jason Gay's alternative P.O.V.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324798904578527592558673764.html

DR has not always been such a crank, but her little interview is beyond, or beneath, idiotic.

[Ti Designs]

Does anyone ever accept responsibility for anything anymore?

Let's start with the video about riding in the bike lanes. Yeh, they can be obstructed. How is that different from the roads that drivers drive on? There's a double parked delivery van, does that mean you can drive on people's lawns? The fact is cyclists have gotten away without following laws that they now feel it's their right. It's not. Getting ticketed for not riding in the bike lanes is called enforcement. If there was an obstruction there that caused you to ride outside of the bike lane, take a picture and contest the ticket. If not, shut up and follow the rules.

And now on to the drivers... Does anyone really think that cyclists are causing traffic jams? If you replaced all the bikes in any given city with cars, THEN you would have serious problems. I think they should have a no bike day, where all the people who commute by bike use a car instead. That might get the point across. There's a company I know of that has a parking garage, and one of the parking spots is taken up with a bike rack because one person who works there commutes by bike. So far there have been 60 written complaints that a bike is taking up a parking space. I happen to know that her car would also take up a parking space, but this fact goes unnoticed. If two people who worked there rode their bikes to work, there would be a net gain of one parking spot. This would probably lead to complaints that the bike rack has the shortest walk to the building...

Why does driving a car make people feel the need to spew bad advice to other users of the road? I know the law in my state very well, I also know that two cyclists riding side by side still only takes up about 1/3rd the space of your average car. The law is no longer "single file" any more than it requires drivers to have someone walk behind them with a red lantern. The thing that really gets me is the net time loss drivers suffer by waiting to pass cyclists - zero. They honk, they yell, the pass when it's not safe, and they catch the traffic in front of them. Why?

[shovelhd]

Because wherever they are going to do what they have to do is more important than a stupid cyclists life.

[avalonracing]

A lot of nice points there TiDesigns.

[malcolm]

Rabinowitz wrote some excellent articles that [unfortunately and belatedly] lead to some justice for the accused/sentenced. Her current fervor could be directed in a better way, like when Strava members on Bikeshare bikes do bad things.. Surely, her acumen is used by her editors for net hits.


We are all multifaceted. In this case she comes off pompous and arrogant, which overshadows any point she may have had to make.

I did learn something though. I never knew the bike lobby was the next NRA or big pharma.

[echappist]

The thing that really gets me is the net time loss drivers suffer by waiting to pass cyclists - zero. They honk, they yell, the pass when it's not safe, and they catch the traffic in front of them. Why?

there was one time i was on a one-lane road, headed down hill where we can see that there's a red. There may have been 1.5 car-lengths between me and the car in front, and we were going at the same speed (~26mph). This other car just had to pass me so that he could get to the bottom of the hill first.

I saw that the car was an upscale car and that the driver was an elderly person (so i know that chances of physical confrontation was low), so at the light, i rolled up to him and said, "Sir, I am terribly sorry for have inconvenienced you by 10 milliseconds; if you would like, send me a bill and i'll reimburse you for it." The guy probably expected me to lash out, but instead made an unplanned right turn and skulked away...

---

also, Jon Stewart's take on this:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-6-2013/full-pedal-racket---citi-bike

[avalonracing]

also, Jon Stewart's take on this:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-6-2013/full-pedal-racket---citi-bike

Don't bury that Daily Show link, it's a good one!

[fiamme red]

Never mind.

[goonster]

Moar Dorothy! (http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/06/dorothy-rabinowitz-lets-loose.html?mid=twitter_nymag)

[bikingshearer]

The bike lobby is all powerful? Most garden clubs have more juice in their communities than the average bicycle advocacy group.

Lady, pull your Pulitzer Prize out of your azz and listen to yourself. You make Anne Coulter sound like the voice of reason and restraint.

As for her saying the she, not Bloomberg, represents the majority of New Yorkers, I have it on good authority that the results of the last mayoral election do not back her up on that. On the other hand, the anecdotal evidence (meaning other interviews on the Daily Show clip) would suggest that she is pretty much sympatico with most of the female, between 85 and dead, schwartze-fearing denizens of the Big Apple on this issue.

[Tony T]

Moar Dorothy! (http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/06/dorothy-rabinowitz-lets-loose.html?mid=twitter_nymag)

Read about it on Bike Snob (http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2013/06/its-friday-yay-no-quiz-only-anger.html)

[Grumbs]

[QUOTE=Ti Designs;1363730]Does anyone ever accept responsibility for anything anymore?

Let's start with the video about riding in the bike lanes. Yeh, they can be obstructed. How is that different from the roads that drivers drive on? There's a double parked delivery van, does that mean you can drive on people's lawns? The fact is cyclists have gotten away without following laws that they now feel it's their right. It's not. Getting ticketed for not riding in the bike lanes is called enforcement. If there was an obstruction there that caused you to ride outside of the bike lane, take a picture and contest the ticket. If not, shut up and follow the rules.

Except there are different laws and rules for cyclists, and where there aren't there should be. A bicycle is very unlike a car: weight, size, lethality, etc. Bicycles are much more like pedestrian traffic than they are like motor vehicle traffic, and the attitude, at least in my city ( and I believe it's a correct one) towards foot traffic is it can do whatever it wants when there's no other traffic around. There are no rules or laws enforced to keep people from stepping off of the curb when there's no traffic. Does anyone really think there should be? I'm sure someone does, but whatever.

Motor vehicles are potentially dangerous for their drivers and those around them. This is why they are licensed and insured, and this is why there are rules and laws restricting their operation. The same cannot really be said about bikes. Sure, you can fall off your bike, but I bet its much easier to fall on roller skates and off of skateboards...and swing sets.

[shovelhd]

Ann Coulter is the voice of reason and restraint.