80ndatel jalgrattaga New Yorkis liiklemine kõlab kahtlaselt sarnaselt tänasele Tallinnale.

In those days, when I got into the park, I thought I had really achieved something, in terms not of stamina or increased heart rate, but of survival. Riding a bike in New York was like spelunking or white-water rafting, and in those days, bikers traveled best at night, when traffic was light. In the absence of bike lanes, we looked for parks to move through; we stayed on the side streets, and most New Yorkers then did not believe bikers should be anywhere in the city, much less on the streets. This was what I was remembering the other day when, as the light changed, I began to pedal and a biker went racing by and nearly killed me.

Täna on seal olukord märgatavalt parem.

Today, the Transportation Department has gotten serious about biking, and in just three years, the agency has painted bike lanes (good), constructed bike lanes separated by parked cars (great) and bike lanes separated by medians or barriers (the best) and installed bike signals, bike signs and many bike symbols painted on the street.

Pikemalt NYTimes’is: The Wild Bunch

Ükskord ma dokumenteerin oma kodu-töö sõidu ära, kõigi jaburduste, kõrgete äärekivide ja mittekusagil lõppevate “jalgrattateedega”.