Comments on: From the Atlantic to the Pacific: Summer bike ride both ‘grueling’ and ‘exhilarating’

By: Sanford Slabaugh

Sanford Slabaugh — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 22:53:05 +0000

“‘You look like good people” etc. Individually there could be elements of truth in your postulations. However, there is a huge aspect that you could be completely overlooking, which is that by the very definition of criminality, criminals are lazy and do not want to do what it takes to succeed in society. With that in mind, do you actually think that criminals are going to bike even five miles, self contained (with saddle bags), much less across a state/nation. Really? The mere fact that you are undertaking such a prodigious and enormously, physically difficult project tells everyone that you meet that there is something out of the ordinary about, and not in a bad way, but probably a good way. This leads us back to the “does this sound like something that a criminal would attempt”?

Then too, unlike cities, especially large cities, rural people have a culture of cooperating and helping strangers. This is completely the opposite of how urban folk interact. In the cities, people purposely avoid all eye contact, because everyone is personally unknown and suspect.

Then too, there is the fact that there are wide differences among individuals. On the scale of the qualities of friendliness, self confidence, trust, etc., those that are high will be much more likely to help you than those who are low in those qualities, or those that just don’t have the time.

By: Cyclists

Cyclists — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 20:16:17 +0000

In reply to Annora Nelson. As Charlottesville has demonstrated this past weekend- it is clear that the east coast has not dealt with its deep prejudices more than anywhere else. Each of our own communities (including 91��Ƶ) have much work to do in addressing the problem of racism and prejudice. This bike trip helped us get out of our comfort zones and view these personal, local and nationwide prejudices in a different way.

By: Annora Nelson

Annora Nelson — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 10:19:29 +0000

I am wondering about the statement, “…many parts of this country are still very far away from recognizing and confronting some very deep prejudices.” Do you really believe that it is a matter of location? Because I live in a small town in the west, am I inherently more prejudiced? While I agree that world experiences increase awareness of self and lessen prejudice, I don’t know why the east coast should lay claim to more tolerance. I would be willing to bet that there are more people in urban areas that have travelled less than 100 miles from their home in their lifetime than there are in rural areas. Please do not blind yourself to your own prejudices while searching for prejudice in others.