I’m not sure how we missed this last year.
For Earth Day 2010, CTC member Audubon Society of RI challenged students grades 3 – 12 to respond to the lead-in “I want to bike and walk but…”
The students addressed their essays, poems or raps to their town’s mayor and submitted their work individually or had it selected by teachers from 27 classrooms in 19 municipalities. The students wrote about barriers encountered in walking or bicycling to school or visiting family and friends and suggested solutions.
You can read a selection of the works received for the contest on the CTC website. It’s not just children I hear these types of comments from. If I could have a nickle for every time I’ve spoken with someone about trying bicycle commuting and they say something along the lines of this phrase, I’d be a rich man. When you approach co-workers, neighbors, and relatives about biking to work, what do you hear? Do most people look at you like you have two head when you tell them you ride your bike to work or the store instead of a car? How do you counter this?