Oh, how deep the depths of cycling ignorance within the minds of those who do not ride. Ask any bike advocate and they’ll likely agree, half the work of getting more people commuting via bicycle involves dispelling the myths non-riders have about bicycling. It doesn’t help when people in positions of power make asinine put-downs on bikes or the people who ride them.
Of course, that’s still what many with a national audience often do. This weekend, president Obama’s former senior advisor David Axelrod took to Twitter to voice his confusion over Chicago’s weather, bike share, and helmet use all in one single tweet, eliciting replies from pretty much every-damn-body.
Does any other city have these goofy rental bike stands-people riding w/out helmets, even in dead of winter-or is that unique to Chicago?
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) January 4, 2014