Monday, July 18, 2011

#carmaggedon..is not just one weekend in el lay

so i'm sure you all have heard by now that our suspicion was confirmed. bikes are faster than planes.

you're welcome.

and i'm also sure that you all know that the real story of this airplane v. bike race is not the race itself, but rather the attention that needs to be paid to a city that does not have adequate public transportation as well as misguided perceptions on what transportation has to be.

even though wolfpack hustle did an awesome thing, i think a stronger statement could have been made in if everyday people (aka NOT strong riders) on their bikes also rode the 40 miles. if this happened, btw, i missed it in my reading of the coverage, so please share in the comments.

oh, and JUST IN CASE you were wondering. carmaggedon did NOT deter the laker girl tryouts!!! omg you guyssssssssss!



please go to la times's site for all things carmaggedon. have a nice day. sun is shining here in SF and am enjoying the view from my bike saddle.

13 comments:

  1. That guy's standup with the girl & her crotch shot is ah-mazing.

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  2. What guy?
    I'm old and easily distracted.

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  3. i bet one of those laker girlz rode her bike to the try outs.

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  4. Bicycle is clearly the king of intercity travel. Now it just needs to be better incentivised like heath insurers offering lower premiums for cyclists or lower taxes?

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  5. Ohmygod! I actually met Lisa Estrada in 1989 or 1990 when she WAS a Laker Girl (and got her autograph - I know - oohlala)... now she's the Director (though she has likely retained that title for some time now, and I'm just out of the Laker Girl happenings - not surprisingly). I suddenly feel old.

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  6. how 'bout a granny bike vs. jet blue ?

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  7. I would like to recreate that race between the jet and the bike in Chicago. From Ohare Airport to Meigs Field! Oh wait, they would have to reopen Meigs Field first.

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  8. dutch bike (omafiets)

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  9. no offense to "granny bikes" (or their gears), but other people ride dutch bikes too.

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  10. "our suspicion"

    Suspicion? It was a sucker bet; especially as the "race" ended up being conducted in the proper manner as I described in my previous comment.

    "other people ride dutch bikes too."

    My "Dutch Opa" was made in Chicago. In 1968. The ethnic German who made it thought of it as an English bike. I've got another that MCA likes to point out as an example of a "European" bike, although it's the very icon of an American bike.

    I'm really getting more and more tired of traditional American bike culture getting assigned to elsewhere. We can roll our own just fine.

    On the other hand it can be ironically amusing that the bikes the reassigners imply are "American" are the actual European imports, as is the culture that goes with them (American racing was dominated by fixed gear until after WWII).

    Anyway, despite being an old fart fixer I'd take up the challenge against the jet on my American English Dutch Opa, but some might then object that I'm not your typical Opa.

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  11. suspicion? yes.

    perhaps i should have said "dutch" bikes?

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  12. The race included not only the Wolfpack Hustle A Team, but a team of public transit riders (L.A. actually has an extensive public transit system) and a woman on rollerblades. The cyclists came in first. The public transit users came in only a few minutes after, and even the woman on rollerblades beat the plane.

    Coverage here: http://www.slate.com/id/2299432/

    It was a wonderful day!

    -MK in L.A.

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