From Teenagers to Grandmas

The bicycle can be appreciated by all ages, as two stories demonstrate today.

Photo from Todd of Clever Cycles

I'll start with the heart warming story from Todd of Clever Cycles, and how he toured around Portland with his grandmother in a bakfiet (cargo bike).

But the next morning, against the protests of my wife, grandma and I hatched a plan to line the bak with pillows and a fleece or two, and try. I offered to lift her 110-lb form in and out, but she wanted to swing a leg in herself and work from there.
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We rang the bell a lot and waved; many people were too stunned to wave back. Others cheered. Another white-haired lady called out “Am I next?”

Read the whole story and have a look at the pictures in Grandma got bak.

In the Toronto section of the National Post today, as talked about earlier by Tammy, there's a piece from a 16 year old cyclist, Alex Nevitte, who's commuting to work by bike, asking for some respect from motorists. She makes excellent points that drivers need to hear more often.

I’ve encountered several greedy and unreasonable motorists who never hesitate to take far more than their share of the road and who waste no time screaming at any cyclist willing to demand their fair piece of the road as well. Bicycles are vehicles and so are entitled to a lane of their own just as any other vehicle is.

That's just the beginning. She has clearly thought this through and appreciates the beauty of the bicycle. Toronto needs more people like her. Read the rest.