| (Long Distance) Ramblings |
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I like to ride my bicycle - for long distances. I have earned the California Triple Crown and finished the Furnace Creek 508. My goals include qualifying for RAAM and ...(read the blog to find out). "The bicycle has a soul. If you are able to love it as it deserves, it will give you emotions you will never forget." "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
"The important decisions in my life I make while out riding my bike."
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong
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Friday, August 03, 2007
Rational DiscourseSorry, bicyclists, you do not own the roads July 31, 2007 In response to your skewed July 17 editorial, "Drivers must share the road with bicyclists," bicyclists do not have a right to the road. It is a privilege, as it is to all motorists. The difference being, motorists pay for this privilege and motorists also pay for all the bike lanes through gas taxes, registration fees, etc. Where does the bicyclist ante up? Maybe a registration fee for cyclists? I'm surprised our Legislature has not discovered this source of revenue. I don't understand why a person would want to go onto a single-lane road, with blind corners, with tires that are too small to handle road hazards and take on a 3,000-pound vehicle traveling at 55 mph, let alone a 50,000-pound gravel truck. I see this all the time. A friend of mine was hit by a passing vehicle's mirror. He does not ride on these roads that are not designed for cyclists "because it is not worth his life." Smart man. If they want to play on the road, expect the consequences. This is called natural selection. -- Alan Bender, Turner (http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007707310305) Cyclists give to road funds August 3, 2007 Alan Bender's July 31 response to the editorial in which the Statesman Journal urged motorists and bicyclists to share the road contains a commonly held misconception -- that bicyclists do not contribute to the costs of constructing and maintaining roads. The sources of money in the state highway fund are gas taxes, weight-mile taxes and registration fees. However, the state highway fund is not the primary source of funds for street construction and maintenance, particularly in urban areas. For example, Salem's share of the state highway fund is not sufficient even to cover the costs of operations and maintenance. The city council recently raided the general fund to pay for street repairs. Developers are generally required to construct new streets to serve their developments, and they pay transportation systems development charges used to fund road-widening projects. Many street construction projects have been funded through bond levies, and the city is considering asking voter approval of another levy. Polk County voters just approved such a levy to fund road repairs. These bonds are paid with property taxes. Ultimately, everybody contributes regardless of their preferred mode of transportation. -- Doug Parrow, Keizer (http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708030310)
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