Eternal Vigilance and Tenacity

I know a man who has trained domestic cats that do an entire circus act including jumping through hoops of fire*. Remarkable really. I have had a number of cats in my lifetime and as anyone can attest, they are extremely difficult to train or discipline. Much as it has been said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance - it is also the price of having a disciplined feline. Cats are extraordinarily persistent, patient and unrelenting in getting what they want and ultimately will wear an owner down the moment he or she relaxes.

New York City is also quite unrelenting. Thieves never give up, new measures to secure property are foiled, drug dealers move back into areas cleaned up, new variants on vandalism arise. Only massive diligence and constant attention have a permanent effect. Few areas of the city get that kind of attention. When things do improve, the tendency is to relax. And then that damn cat is back on the kitchen counter.

There is a lot of whining and howling from bicyclers in New York City who want to see a more bike friendly city. Understandable, since on the surface of it, bicycling would seem like a wonderful mode of transport, like it is elsewhere. Efficient, clean, lean and green. I love bicycles and have always had one in the city although I use it much less frequently now.

However, and New York is the city of howevers, bicycling in New York has had a plethora of problems and roadblocks, daunting to all but the toughest and most tenacious. The dangers and deaths are realities - see the ghost bike of Derek Lake here. Two of my coworkers are regular bikers and commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan daily. One has pledged that she is essentially boycotting the city's transit system due to cost. It requires the use of heavy locks, chains and bravery to navigate the streets of New York.

Bicycling has seen numerous setbacks and obstacles to progress. In other parts of the United States and Europe we see many innovative and progressive ideas regarding bicycle use and storage. Hearing of things like The Yellow Bike Project of Portland Oregon or the BikeValet Automated parking system of Europe (there are plans to install this in NYC) just adds insult to injury for the New York cyclist who only aspires to getting from here to there safely and parking without their bike being stolen or vandalized.

But the bike community in New York City is militant and relentless. Recently a number of steps forward have been taken. Bike lanes have been more seriously implemented and new legislation has been passed: buildings with freight elevators are required to allow employees to bring their bikes upstairs and parking garages of certain sizes are now required to offer parking for bicycles - see the NY times article here. Many question, though, whether $68.89 per month is progressive or draconian. Rates as high as $160 per month have been reported.

Ultimately, improvements and positive change in New York City are incremental and arduous as we move two steps forward and one step back. Whether cats, freedom, crime or bicycles in New York, the price is always eternal vigilance and tenacity ...

* The act is known as Dominique and his Flying House Cats. Dominique LeFort performs regularly at Westin Pier for Sunset Celebration adjacent to Mallory Square in Key West, Florida. Valery Tsoraev with Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros Circus has an act with trained house cats. Yuri Kuklachev, a clown with the Bolshoi Circus, created the Moscow Cats Theatre featuring 120 domestic cats. Gregory Popovich started Comedy Pet Theatre with 14 cats, eight dogs, three rats and two pigeons.

Other Bicycling Posts: Derek Lake (ghost bike), Orange You Glad, Get Well Curve, Jungle Gym, Left For Dead, Urban Bike Polo, Wild Crash, Art Bikes, Penny Farthing.