For every Vancouver & area driver who complains about cyclists, ask yourself how you're coping during this massive "unseasonable" heat wave? I'll give you three guesses as to the root of such extreme temperatures: climate change, climate change, climate change.
You're perfectly content to sit in traffic on any other day of the month, while your vehicle vomits thousands of pollutants into the air every second. There is no question whatsoever that car culture has been one of the leading contributors in climate change and environmental devastation, and yet so many drivers are content to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the problem.
Even when the fruits of our obsession with fossil fueled machines [ie. record high temperatures in Vancouver] are smacking us in the face, we still cling to our symbols of luxury and convenience. "No one is going to take away my right to drive!" "You wouldn't catch me on a public bus, no way." That's not to say that cars don't have a usefulness in society--service vehicles, emergency vehicles, public transport, etc, etc are are necessary. This is directed at the guy who needs to get in his car and drive two blocks down the street to get a latte at Starbucks. This is for the girl who would rather spend 10 extra minutes getting ready in the morning and drive to work, rather than leave a bit early and take transit. This is for the people who demand more old buildings be torn down to make way for parking lots, while we have a serious affordable housing crisis.
I'm certainly not debating that there are some cyclists who lack etiquette, but that applies to drivers, pedestrians, even the guy in front of you at the bank--some people are just plain selfish. At the end of the day, the more people on bikes, on buses and on the sidewalks, the better our quality of life becomes.
Instead of working yourself up into an angry frenzy, why not try leaving the keys at home for a change, and becoming part of the solution?
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