More Unplumbed Wisdom from Jacquie Phelan

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Fairfax cycling legend Jacquie Phelan provides the “Google Earth” view of bike history with “Ten Things You Don’t Know About Cycling in Marin” in the local weekly, Pacific Sun. The essay is classic Wombat — full of wry storytelling, quicksilver wit, historical perspicuity, unparalleled insights and the quirky word play only Jacquie can conjure up. Highly recommended reading!

Excerpt:

My high school civics teacher drew a pie chart to illustrate what share of our time and energy would be devoted to care and maintenance of a car (about a third of the pie). In the spirit of smart-ass teendom, I snarked, “What if we ride a bicycle?”

Bike commuting was unheard of in Los Angeles, but I knew I could save wages and work fewer hours than my classmates. The same teacher informed us that the U.S. automobile death and maiming toll is around 5 million people per year, dwarfing the devastation of the Vietnam War. Thirty-five years later, the statistic has hardly changed. This situation is considered “normal.” That’s why you don’t know it.

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