If you think cycling isn't a political issue, the latest brouhaha over Berkeley cops fining a student $440 for locking his bike and running a stop sign should prove you wrong.
Campus cops are swarming around students who dare to ride their bikes across a plaza, or -shockers!- cruise through a stop sign when there's no traffic. Berkeleyites are mad!
Just look at the angry arguments on SF Weekly's blog post, "A Bike is not a Car."
Anyone who isn't a cyclist seems to view cyclists as cast members from Death Race 2000. Demonize the wheeled ones while you yack on your cell phone, straddling two lanes in your SUV. Go ahead.
But fining someone for cycling violations, and demanding a driver's license, is not legal, or cool. A 10-year-old kid can ride a bike. You don't need a license to ride a bike, and motor vehicle laws do not apply.
Stop attacking cyclists. Pretty soon there won't be any more oil, and there will be a lot more people cycling by necessity, not just for fun.
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