National Bike-to-Work Week Rap

OK, so National Bike to Work, Month, and Day were completely ignored by Cincinnati City Government, and Hamilton County Auditor Dusty W. “Emerson” Rhodes dissed the whole bicycle movement (frozen in the sixties, he is), and riding to work in a city where the bicycle routes are theoretical and largely unmarked is hair raising and baffling, and bad drivers in their hoopties scream at cyclists to get on the sidewalk, and the local bicycle cops blithely ignore traffic laws. We’re not giving up here. We’re not fair weather riders, and we don’t just ride in Bike Month/Week/Day. Providing we’re not run down by those hooptie ladies, we’ll continue to pedal our virtuous selves to the Library of Great Virtue for the rest of the year. But we will be looking – possibly even agitating – for greater official support for our great work. And we wouldn’t mind a little unofficial support. Readers are encouraged to complain to the mayor, to city council, to county government, to township boards, etc., etc., etc., linking wherever possible to photos of the mayors of Boston and Chicago who are not at all shy about being seen on two virtuous wheels. Let us all have as our goal for the next Bike month to have the various governments go to work to create at least one complete, clearly marked, safe bicycle lane from at least one suburban location to Fountain Square. Sorry to be so grumpy about this, but it’s way past time to get this right. –Nemo Wolfe