Thursday, September 07, 2006
The suburban bicycle commute
This past weekend, a story ran in the Globe and Mail about the bike commute in the suburbs. The title really annoyed me, so I didn't mention the article here. It was my own 5 day protest that I'm sure really hit the Globe and Mail in the pocketbook.
Since I was quoted with such a negative statement, I'll point out that I talked to the reporter for quite a long time and mentioned two or three negative experiences. I was under the impression that I was painting a pretty positive picture of riding in the suburbs. There are definitely some challenges, but the experience is by far an enjoyable one and the reward is huge.
When I said that riding a bike on Yonge at the 401 can be terrifying, I finished the thought with: and that's why I found another route to take. Sure there's much more our various governments can do to make a difference, but I wanted other people to know that riding a bike to work is very possible.
Ah well. It's all part of my free media training program. Next time, I'll come up with some quotable quotes on the positive side.
Fortunately, many others had lots of good things to say that were mentioned towards the end of the article.
"When I drive, I get home mentally tired," says Dr. Levine, who often spends 12 hours on the job. "As long as I'm able to ride, I'll keep riding."
Andrew, another cyclist I know who rides in York Region, was also quoted in the article. You can see his comments here.
Since I was quoted with such a negative statement, I'll point out that I talked to the reporter for quite a long time and mentioned two or three negative experiences. I was under the impression that I was painting a pretty positive picture of riding in the suburbs. There are definitely some challenges, but the experience is by far an enjoyable one and the reward is huge.
When I said that riding a bike on Yonge at the 401 can be terrifying, I finished the thought with: and that's why I found another route to take. Sure there's much more our various governments can do to make a difference, but I wanted other people to know that riding a bike to work is very possible.
Ah well. It's all part of my free media training program. Next time, I'll come up with some quotable quotes on the positive side.
Fortunately, many others had lots of good things to say that were mentioned towards the end of the article.
"When I drive, I get home mentally tired," says Dr. Levine, who often spends 12 hours on the job. "As long as I'm able to ride, I'll keep riding."
Andrew, another cyclist I know who rides in York Region, was also quoted in the article. You can see his comments here.
Darren J 9/07/2006 12:58:00 p.m.
2 Comments:
I'm learning from BikeFriday that the media will print whatever they feel like. I don't think I'll give them as much attention next time - Global made me late last time.
Always, use the press to get your message out because they will always be looking for the stuff that makes a story more interesting and the "Good News" isn't a story.That's why we are constantly hearing about the whining and sniffleing stuff.
On our evening news there was the story about HMCS Ottawa departing Esquimalt Harbour for a 6 month tour of the Persian Gulf. They made it sound like the ship was going to Afghanistan and the Navy was replacing the Army on the ground in Kandahar.The sailors became soldiers without a mention of the truth. They think we are all dim witted and don't make the connect.
Darren, if you talked about the great things about biking they weren't listening, it just doesn't make a story.
How's Suzie?
On our evening news there was the story about HMCS Ottawa departing Esquimalt Harbour for a 6 month tour of the Persian Gulf. They made it sound like the ship was going to Afghanistan and the Navy was replacing the Army on the ground in Kandahar.The sailors became soldiers without a mention of the truth. They think we are all dim witted and don't make the connect.
Darren, if you talked about the great things about biking they weren't listening, it just doesn't make a story.
How's Suzie?
