"Moving Targets"

Having braved the streets of New York City on a bike many times, I'm always pleased hear of other survivors. One friend who lived near the Holland Tunnel, a main artery to New Jersey, gave up cycling, insisting "they just won't stop for you." "They" would be the tens of thousands of communters charging forward on GREEN to jam into the tunnel and creep beneath the Hudson River for several miles. And during rush "hour" (4ish to 7ish) you can expect to spend a LOT of time under that river. Air is (hopefully) pumped into the tunnel from someplace where they have extra air. Let's not discuss exhaust fumes.
Now The New York Times 8/10/08 reports that:
131,000 people cycle daily in New York, up 77 percent since 2000. Save gas money, be environmentally correct, lose weight —

And drive everyone crazy while committing suicide?

Only in NYC could a reporter manage the question: "Is cycling good for the environment and bad for mental health?"

Those who have lived in NYC will recognize the photo above as a construction site pedestrian tunnel bypass, through which crowds of nervous people are herded, usually while ear-splitting machinery pounds away on the other side of a plywood barrier. A cyclist is riding against foot traffic though the crowd of walkers.

On a more positive note, if cycling can work on the streets of NYC, it will probably work anywhere...