This morning I cycled past a bus shelter near home and noticed that there was a Bikes Belong ad:
Remember Me? I was the first birthday gift that you asked for and actually got. We’d get away and explore new places, limited only by imagination and sunlight. All the other kids wished they were you: lucky, fast, and free. What do kids wish for now?
Turns out it’s part of a national ad campaign “designed to inspire non-cyclists to ride.” I’m not sure that these ads will be that effective, although a second part of the campaign is promised. For the past 10 years Bikes Belong has tried to increase bicycling by promoting “more and safer places to ride.” This usually means grants to support advocacy for bike paths. How about promoting the network of places we already have — the public roads? It turns out that the Bikes Belong Foundation, a non-profit spin-off launched in 2006, has a “Share the Road” project that so far has done one pilot event at Stanford. I hope this effort expands. From 2003 to 2006, Bikes Belong funded a few bicyclist skills training programs, but no longer does. There was no explanation about this change on the website.
I find this ad very annoying. First there is the bike – a kid’s model – to my mind associated with fooling around and doing wheelies. Notice the playground in the background adding to the “bikes are toys” perception. It reinforces the idea that bikes don’t belong on the road.