Simplicity is the Key to Successful Living...

“I hope that America is entering a post-’greed is good’ period. I can’t think of a single step that would change the nature of our society more than everyone abandoning their automobiles and cycling instead. There would be less dependence on oil, obesity levels would drop dramatically, and reflective bike clips would replace fancy ladies’ purses as the current must-have fashion accessory.”

    - Nick Dewar

just found this in ReadyMade magazine and thought you folks might appreciate it as turning to this page did bring a smile to my face, the article is online here, and you can download the poster in pdf... it should be a fixed bike if he wants to chat simplicity, but hey, works for me ;)

http://readymade.com/article/poster_children/P2/

www.nickdewar.com

dewar forgot to add how much happier/less stressed everybody would be! plus all the internet friends they could make.

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great post Kattt

am i just mistaken or is there a more extensive article this is part of? If so i can't see it..might just be being blind..

nice one kattt

I cite Hippy as a counter example to this.

yea, thats the last page of the article. at the end of the text on the right it says PREVIOUS 3 OF 3, click previous to start from the beginning, it's actually a really cool concept what they did there, super relevant.

am i just mistaken or is there a more extensive article this is part of? If so i can't see it..might just be being blind..

nice one kattt

Was he also wearing rose tinted spectacles when he wrote the article?

Let's put it into perspective for one moment.
So everybody abandons their cars...what then happens to these cars? Are they bought back by the government, then scrapped? Wasting more resources.
Then just imagine everybody who normally travels by car suddenly getting on a bike and hitting the road...imagine the chaos.
A lot of the people who already ride bikes aren't all that competent on the roads...imagine thousands of cyclists all trying to use the roads at the same time...all trying to turn corners at the same time. The number of accidents would undoubtedly rise...thus putting more pressure on the health service.
Most people already treat rain as if it's hydrochloric acid falling from the sky...can you really see them all donning waterproofs and cycling to work in torrential rain everyday?
It's all to easy to say ditch the cars and get everyone on bikes...but it really isn't that simple.
And i speak as somebody who has never driven a car and always cycled.
But i guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions on the subject.
Anyway...great forum!

Mandywaffle - it's never going to happen anyway so no worries..........

Oh i wasn't worrying...:)

Mandy you've ruined my life! thank you ever so much.

i think he is just imagining a scenario where people cycled everywhere they feasibly and comfortably could, and kept the cars in their garages unless they 'needed' them. a lot of people drive places when they could ride their bikes because they just don't have the knowledge or motivation to get on a bike. if that changed, i'm sure infrastructure would follow suit. for instance, the city of bristol is currently undergoing a multi-million pound upheaval of their road system to make it super cycle friendly. i really believe that cycling will be the future. sure, people will still drive, but think how it has exploded exponentially in recent years? i don't think that nick dewar was imagining a land where cars were left to rot in piles, just a time where people are a little more cognisant of their actions.

But people already think they 'need' their cars everytime they use them...people simply will not use bikes to go to do the weekly shop...sure some do...myself included...but most wont.
After a heavy night out they'll wake up and think "forget cycling today"....if the rise in obesity and deaths through unhealthy life styles isn't motivation enough for people to get off their asses then what really is going to persuade a nation to give up their cars?
People already do their shopping online because they can't even be bothered to get in their cars.
It's just a little far fetched for me i'm afraid.
@Aidan...sorry :(

Small and simple is beautiful

i think he is just imagining a scenario where people cycled everywhere they feasibly and comfortably could, and kept the cars in their garages unless they 'needed' them. a lot of people drive places when they could ride their bikes because they just don't have the knowledge or motivation to get on a bike. if that changed, i'm sure infrastructure would follow suit. for instance, the city of bristol is currently undergoing a multi-million pound upheaval of their road system to make it super cycle friendly. i really believe that cycling will be the future. sure, people will still drive, but think how it has exploded exponentially in recent years? i don't think that nick dewar was imagining a land where cars were left to rot in piles, just a time where people are a little more cognisant of their actions.

Bristol got the money as part of a huge grant (lottery/eu/goverment) I foget who from, but places like Birmingham where Im based which really need the push of development applied too but Bristol won even though its full of Borgious/hipster/crusty cyclist anyway. Plus theres nothing you can redevelop about the hills anyway.

Much sharing the same sentiments as mandy here, we could all imagine any number of fantasy worlds which bear little resemblance/value to reality.

There *are *places where bikes already rule the roads, where people ride in their millions. Ever heard of China?

no where's that?

i don't think he, or i, am saying that every person in the western world is just going to stop driving and cycle everywhere. but more and more people are starting to cycle, even if they still drive their car to the store, maybe each week someone who is not an avid cyclist will cycle 20 miles they would have driven, and drive everywhere else. that shit does add up. it doesn't have to be all or nothing, obviously it's not gonna be. plus, i like the poster.

+1

Middle-class bullshit.

That poster looks like something Goebbels would have come up with.

Small and simple is beautiful

...says Katie Holmes...

ahh good one platini

re 606 that was kinda the point, wartime/populist type graphics, it's explained in the article.

.

sigh....

even though its full of Borgious/hipster/crusty cyclist anyway. Plus theres nothing you can redevelop about the hills anyway.

There *are *places where bikes already rule the roads, where people ride in their millions. Ever heard of China?

Is that a good looking member of the bourgeoisie? Cor, look at that posh bird, she's borgious!
And, no, I've never heard of China but it sounds fascinating, do tell more.

...says Katie Holmes...

ok - rules, exceptions and all that

I should mention, big cities in China are dominated more and more by cars in these times, it's not be best example.

I should mention, big cities in China are dominated more and more by cars in these times, it's not be best example.

You're not thinking of teaching English over there are you JB?

I teaching good Engrish!

Funny you mention that will. I was passing through Yangshuo on one of my forays and saw an English school where they pay you food and lodging to stay and teach for a month or so. You didn't need to be qualified which was just as well. I still remember the name of the college - buckland - only because that's my family name. I'm still thinking about it, the students in that town were pretty pretty.