Should Bikers make a Statement on their back?

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

Is it a distraction to the motorist? Is it better to avoid the
potential confrontations, because the cars are bigger? Or is it
cool? What are your thoughts?

As I wrote in one of two other newsgroups (among others no doubt), my
thoughts are that you're looking for a rationalization/excuse to spam us
with your lame, overpriced patches and t-shirts some more and you should
stop it.

Bill "no charge" S.

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

The transportational cyclist's message is conveyed contextually, not
textually. The more one resembles a crackpot, the more the message is
squandered.

Look like you are having a good time; dress like an ordinary person; be
friendly and courteous. That will advance your agenda much more
effectively than any slogans could, no matter how readable.

Chalo Colina

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

Is it a distraction to the motorist? Is it better to avoid the
potential confrontations, because the cars are bigger? Or is it cool?
What are your thoughts?

I would not wear one. You promote cycling better by cycling, in my
opinion, by following conventional cycling rules and being considerate
of other road users. The only t-shirt I would wear might be one from a
bike race.

I did go to my LTS (local t shirt shop) and had one made up that said
"More Gas For You" in big letters. I tend not to wear it now, after
finding I was distracted by the occasional honks of
approval/disapproval from behind. Worst One: The yuppie who squealed
his brakes stopping his SUV right next to me on a shallow uphill on
Nobel Drive to applaud. It may simply be an artifact of perception or
"the study effect," but I think more big pickup trucks jackrabbit from
stops behind me when I wear it. As I've worn it while commuting on
Miramar Road between the Marine Corps Air Station and more flooring
materials stores than you've ever dreamed of, there's a lot of big
pickup trucks out there.

Robert Leone [email hidden]

After about a month, I've gotten no negative reaction to the statement
I'm wearing. No honks, no acknowledgement whatsoever.

Quoted message said:

I did go to my LTS (local t shirt shop) and had one made up that said
"More Gas For You" in big letters. I tend not to wear it now, after
finding I was distracted by the occasional honks of
approval/disapproval from behind. Worst One: The yuppie who squealed
his brakes stopping his SUV right next to me on a shallow uphill on
Nobel Drive to applaud. It may simply be an artifact of perception or
"the study effect," but I think more big pickup trucks jackrabbit from
stops behind me when I wear it. As I've worn it while commuting on
Miramar Road between the Marine Corps Air Station and more flooring
materials stores than you've ever dreamed of, there's a lot of big
pickup trucks out there.

I know that stretch of road; don't like it!

If I /were/ to get a t-shirt made up, it would simply say "3 Feet!" with a
big ol' arrow pointing to my left. (Someone should make /jerseys/ like
that. I'd consider buying 'em.)

Bill "rather be seen than read" S.

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

Is it a distraction to the motorist? Is it better to avoid the
potential confrontations, because the cars are bigger? Or is it cool?
What are your thoughts?

How is anyone going to see my back when I am riding one of my bikes?

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley (For a bit?)

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

Is it a distraction to the motorist? Is it better to avoid the
potential confrontations, because the cars are bigger? Or is it cool?
What are your thoughts?

First, consider the reader; who's out there that you want to reach,
and will they see your message?

Second, consider the message. What can you say that will be relevant
to the reader and not produce hazard to you?

Third, consider the medium; how will you put that message on your back
in a manner that makes it look like a message that *should* be heeded?

Fourth, consider the result you seek. Are you trying to rally the
cyclists to action, or propagandise to the non-cyclists in favor of
cycling? It is possible to do both with some messages. (And never
underestimate the power of humor; people will often read and retain a
message delivered with a joke attached more readily than one that
tried a more direct approach.)

Advertising on the back of a racer is a natural targeted message.
Social commentary (which is how much of the non-riding public would
view many pro-cycling statements) needs to be persuasive to the
susceptible while being inoffensive to the off-target crowd if it's
going to be safe. "Fueled by American Agribusiness Not Foreign Oil"
is one that should be OK virtually anywhere in the US, for example,
and pushes buttons that ought to be effective. It's not funny, but it
employs current keyword phrases that tap into existing popular
cultural special interest group alignments in a manner that could be
productive. Unfortunately, it is also about as dorky as "Whip
Inflation Now", and those of us who were around for the Ford
administration remember all too well what happened with that slogan.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Chalo said:

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

The transportational cyclist's message is conveyed contextually, not
textually. The more one resembles a crackpot, the more the message is
squandered.

Look like you are having a good time; dress like an ordinary person; be
friendly and courteous. That will advance your agenda much more
effectively than any slogans could, no matter how readable.

Perhaps most important, Just Be Out There Riding. Nothing spurs
participation like mob appeal.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Johnny Sunset said:

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation. Obviously our backs are much
larger than a car's bumper sticker, so we should be that much more
effective.

Is it a distraction to the motorist? Is it better to avoid the
potential confrontations, because the cars are bigger? Or is it cool?
What are your thoughts?

How is anyone going to see my back when I am riding one of my bikes?

So print it in a UV-reflective ink and let the Doppler effect shift it
back into the visible spectrum.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 16:00:49 GMT, "Sorni" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

If I /were/ to get a t-shirt made up, it would simply say "3 Feet!" with a
big ol' arrow pointing to my left. (Someone should make /jerseys/ like
that. I'd consider buying 'em.)

I made up some shirts once that had (on the front) "You only wish your
imagination was this good." Unfortunately, the person who wanted them
discovered that the target audience was too dense to figure it out.
OTOH, "You are not imagining this" on the back of a shirt would not be
guaranteed to get a positive response; consider the eaxperated
hyperachiever in the BMW who, having just fought his way through an
hour's worth of commute from the Deep Suburbs, encounters the Final
Insult; some *&^%$#! cyclist in HIS LANE keeping him from speeding
down the final stretch to his destination. The slogan I suggested, on
that cyclist's back, could be all it took to make him go Postal.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

The transportational cyclist's message is conveyed contextually, not
textually. The more one resembles a crackpot, the more the message is
squandered.

History is made by people standing up and making statements
- Our country wouldn't have been founded.
- We'd still have slavery.
- There would be no seat belt laws.
- Civil rights would only be words.
- There would be no EPA

I agree that riding does send out a subliminal message. However many
motorists think: "the poor person can't afford a car", or "he/she must
have gotten their driving license suspended"...

Definitely not. Riders' backs should have their messages restricted to
the purely commercial- the post office, entertainment media, cell phone
companies, that sort of thing.

SocSecTrainWreck said:

Definitely not. Riders' backs should have their messages restricted to
the purely commercial- the post office, entertainment media, cell phone
companies, that sort of thing.

Yes, you should definitely help support our downtrodden corporations by
paying $70+ for a pro team jersey, or one with cartoon characters or
corporate logos.

Seriously, a club jersey with advertising from local businesses may help
personalize you as a local rider and community member, so you seem less
like "the other" to abusive drivers.

Other than that, anti-establishment messages, even mild ones like "one
less car" may be too strident and inviting of abuse from the malcontents
you're bound to meet on the road. As others have said, the best statement
you can make is to simply be out there, as a normal person. So try to
look like one.

Matt O.

oilfreeandhappy said:

Quoted message said:

The transportational cyclist's message is conveyed contextually, not
textually. The more one resembles a crackpot, the more the message is
squandered.

History is made by people standing up and making statements
- Our country wouldn't have been founded.
- We'd still have slavery.
- There would be no seat belt laws.
- Civil rights would only be words.
- There would be no EPA

"Seat belt laws" belongs between slavery and civil rights? You have got a weird
perspective on American history and society.

Quoted message said:

I agree that riding does send out a subliminal message. However many
motorists think: "the poor person can't afford a car", or "he/she must
have gotten their driving license suspended"...

That's only if you LOOK like a bum or a drunk on a bike. Most of us here don't
have that problem.

Dude, get over yourself.

Ron20

oilfreeandhappy said:

After about a month, I've gotten no negative reaction to the statement
I'm wearing. No honks, no acknowledgement whatsoever.

I agree with what you are saying and I ride a bcycle to work 90% of the
time but-
-you are not 'oil free'. Many things you use everyday are a petroleum
product
-unless people just cannot get around in a car, they won't do it just
cuz it's a good idea. You have to look at the way the US was formed
post auto, it's very structure, you see that people aren't going to get
out of the cars until there is a crisis. Unless it's as easy to walk to
your car and drive, people are not going to use alternative forms of
mass transit.

I think your point of view is laudible but unrealistic. A major change
in the very US societal structure, with people being 'based' around a
central point, like the relatively small EU, needs to happen before we
get outta our cars. More likely is alternative fuels, but keeping
autos, unfortunately.

oilfreeandhappy said:

I'm curious what everybody thinks about
bikers wearing clothing that
promotes alternative transportation.

I think riding a bike *is* promoting alternative transportation.

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************