With a literary nod to one of my favorite cycling websites, Cars R Coffins, I give you a verse from Planetary Man (Hombre Planetario), an epic poem composed between 1957 and 1963 by Jorge Carrera Andrade. Apparently, the Ecuadorian poet and diplomat drank the same water as the Minnesota bicycle/punk crew. Long before the age of the Ford Livingroom, he could see that car manufacturers were eager to fill the streets with the creature comforts we associate with home, to the detriment of whatever else is in the way. XII Hail to the car makers Who have populated the planet With rolling bedrooms, […]
The Outspokin’ Cyclist: Hybrid car pitch a step backwards
Phillip BarronThe Herald Sun September 14th marked the 108 year anniversary of the first pedestrian death at the hands of an automobile in the United States. On September 13th, 1899, Henry Bliss stepped from a streetcar on Central Park West, in New York, and was struck by a taxicab. He died of his injuries the next morning. The event was reported on the front page of the New York Times. In 2005 alone, 39,000 automobile crashes in the United States accounted for 43,000 deaths. Given the anniversary of Bliss’ death, it’s appropriate to think of September as an automobile awareness […]