Friday, April 15, 2011

#30DaysofBiking: Tote Bag Anarchist


I go out to pick up a few things from the grocery store. It's early, so I swing by the coffee shop for a muffin and a cup of ambition. I have a well-insulated thermal cup that I like to think is better for the planet than throwing away a paper cup every day. I ride my bike instead of driving and I've got my fold up tote bag to carry groceries. These are little things but I try to be a small part of the solution or at least a smaller part of the problem.

At the coffee shop, thanks to free wifi, twitter and my minidroid, I read this story and realize I'm some sort of enemy of the state. A woman in NYC has been ticketed for hanging a tote bag off the handlebars of her bike. She could drive her kids to school in an SUV while smoking like a chimney and the state would have no cause to question her behavior. If, while driving, she happened to run over a bicyclist or a pedestrian she could say those magic words "I didn't see him" and probably escape any punishment. But riding with a tote bag? That's serious. We can't have anarchy in the streets.

No, we have something worse than anarchy, we have an ordered system that is seriously out of order. When order goes insane, perhaps it's time for some sane anarchy. Turning a pedal instead of pushing a gas pedal is a revolutionary act. Count me on the side of the revolutionaries.

I go the store, buy my groceries, proudly drape my tote bag over my handlebars and ride home. I'm a tote bag anarchist and I'm not alone.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA
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5 comments:

  1. Small Adventures10:40 AM

    That cop (from the article,the one who wrote the ticket) is such a friggin' moron (rolling eyes). Thanks for the link,my friend :),intersting read,if a bit,well,wrong,LOL!

    Makes me want to strap my Dirt Rag messenger bag to the bars on my SS and ride to the Pony Express (post office-and yeah,I did that already,but without the bag,before I read this).

    Good reads.lately,Kent :)

    Steve in VA

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  2. Anonymous1:16 AM

    I did once see a girl do a header when the bag hanging off the handlebars hit the front wheel and she flipped at around 30 km/hr downhill.

    Sonya

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  3. JuliaR10:37 AM

    I have crashed because of things hanging off my handlebars but I had only myself to blame. It IS dangerous but we can't have the nanny state handing out tickets for stupidity. If they did that, they'd never stop.

    Have you read this (including the internal links)?
    http://letsgorideabike.com/blog/2011/03/is-bicycling-political/
    It's interesting!

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  4. Kevin12:43 PM

    Kent,

    What type of mug contraption do you have for the bike? I purchased a one from REI made for strollers. It fits ok, but doesn't allow for a nice fold.

    thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kent Peterson1:52 PM

    Kevin,

    Go here:

    http://bit.ly/g368fk

    for a better picture of the mug. In the text there is a link to the exact model of Thermos mug I have. I don't use a holder but I padded the mug handle a bit with some inner tube rubber and the mug hangs fine from the handlebars.

    ReplyDelete