I think if we had more participants, we'd make a
bigger impact, but that's something we'll have to keep
working on. Regarding sitting in traffic, even as a
small group, we move thru traffic faster than the
average car.

One thing we might be able to help accomplish is the
hastening of bike lanes being built - tee-shirts that
say "Where's the bike lane?" as someone suggested,
would be great on our rides.

I have a suggestion for the HawaiiBicyclists
breakfasts on Wednesdays - instead of trying to get to
town early enough in the traffic (as I've been unable
to do!) how about an occasional pau-hana at Kakaako
Kitchen or Java Cafe? Easier than the morning commute,
and by sitting after work and chatting awhile, we
might actually miss rush hour.

Aloha,

Linda


--- Nick Blank <nblank@...> wrote:
> Aloha.
> I had my first CM ride last Friday to satisfy my
> curiosity and get a feel for the group. My
> impression was that there are a growing number of
> cyclists who ride for utility and fun and don't
> need, to or care, to pull on jerseys or click into
> Speedplays.
> Street bikers, not road bikers.
> I drive more than I ride, but I can understand
> the traffic rider's frustration with cars and their
> need to express it. When I ride, I have the luxury
> of planning my route to avoid traffic, or not,
> sometimes depending on my mood. Traffic offers a
> different mindset to engage the public outside of
> the metal box and demonstrate how a bicycle can
> share the road. (I tend to be overly attentive to
> the difficulty many drivers in dealing with a
> bicycle in their lane.) Alternatively, a quiet ride
> around Tantalus is meditative as a solo, and social
> when shared. Those who ride daily in town have
> little choice but to put up with driver who seem,
> and may be, inconsiderate, but are more likely to be
> lacking skills to deal with a bike because they
> never ride one. (I suspect many of them should have
> left earlier to get where they are going and are
> looking for someone to blame for being late. And
> there you are.)
> Yet the intention of Critical Mass seems
> inappropriate in Hawaii. I can't shake the feeling
> that the negative impact of forcing car traffic to
> yield to a loosely gathered group of bikes on a
> Friday rush hour is counter productive. As a driver
> at those times, I would be more moved and impressed
> to see a solo rider making me feel stupid and
> wasteful as he or she slips easily past the
> gridlock. (I feel great when I meet them at the next
> light and smile while taking in the sights and
> enjoying being outside in Hawaii.)
> Simple, noninvasive, alternative transportation
> with minimal infrastructure expenditure.
> If that rider were in comfortable attire and not
> breaking a sweat it might even look like a viable
> alternative to sitting in a car, staring at the
> taillights in front of me, and possibly eating
> something I shouldn't. I believe that if the public
> sees more of what they perceive as the ideal cycling
> commuter, the more support the traffic cyclist will
> generate.
> Critical Mass may satisfy some riders desire for
> automotive backlash but some effort in alternative
> demonstrations may help the cause rather than
> suppress it.
> I welcome your input, Nick. nblank@... -----
> Original Message -----
> From: Edward Huls
> To: hebshi@... ; alexnberra@... ;
> andywins@... ; Brian Hann ; Bruce Miller ;
> bunjamin@... ; cwade@... ;
> Chris(Qigong) ; csayers@... ;
> running_n_being@... ; Chuck Priest ;
> charles_rc@... ; C_tyrrell@... ;
> cheeverhawaii@... ; risingsonn@... ;
> devinoishi@... ; dmaupinsrf@... ;
> dougthacker@... ; Dwayne ; ecocomm@...
> ; Eve DeCoursey ; edecoursey@... ;
> Thundrclub@... ; Glenn Ohigashi ;
> graygrisham@... ; dangdang_69@... ;
> mguardino@... ;
> hawaiibicyclists@yahoogroups.com ; James-velo
> Carlson ; massagehi@... ;
> karkosza@... ; mikulina@... ; Jeff
> McNeill ; email@... ;
> gemface@... ; harwood@... ;
> jlinz@... ; John P. Wendell ;
> jgoody@... ; jkelley@...
> Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 1:46 PM
> Subject: [hawaiibicyclists] CM Today!...
>
>
> Fellow velocipedists~
>
> Because myself and Aaron Hebshi have been, all
> this week, fighting the good fight to preserve the
> Young St. Bikeway & Beautification Project, we've
> let slip the fact that today is the last Friday of
> the month! ~ this translates to a Critical Mass (CM)
> bike ride today with all of us gathering with our
> bikes on the steps of the State Capitol Bldg. @
> around 5:00ish...
>
> Please ride down and join us and show suppot for
> bicycling in Honolulu ~ now more than ever, as
> opposition factors are attempting to sabotage our
> efforts to create more and safer bikeways in our
> fair State, we want to show Unity and the force of
> numbers thru peaceful, calming, and
> environmentally-friendly bicycling...
>
> April saw 30+ riders show up for CM ~ last month
> May, we had 15 ~ let's jack it back up for this
> month of June, by all of you showing today!...
>
> Peace ~ Edward/Mo'PoB(More People on Bikes) ~ One
> Less Car ~
> --
>
>
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