It's a fact that not everybody is made to cycle. I know Sancho Panza,
a very pragmatic man, would rather drive. And most people would rather
classify you as "off the wall" if you decide to challenge the world
and do what's right. But you know the saying, "a man gotta do, what a
man gotta do."

We've got to contact this Quixotic man --a government minister-- with
the Revolution, particularly fitting for a Banana Republic like
Nigeria...

The most amazing fact about Nigeria is not this Quixotic man, but the
fact that the Nigerian people don't want to hear about it. It sounds
so much like Americans and Obama...

Of course, it takes more than one man to change the people; it takes a
revolution!


Nigerian Transport Minister Out Spoken On Bike

Nigerian Transport Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, is emerging as one of
Africa’s most vocal proponents of cycling.

In a refreshing departure from the “Wabenzi” (a local colloquial term
for African civil servants who travel in Mercedes Benzes) Maduekwe and
his staff can regularly be seen pedaling through the streets of Abuja
en route to meetings, with their formal clothes and papers strapped to
their rear carriers.

Maduekwe maintains that Nigerians should embrace cycling as a partial
solution to growing gridlock that is crippling Nigeria’s economy. His
zeal for cycling is neither diminished by nay sayers who accuse him of
pursing quixotic ends, nor by bad weather, as he recently cycled
through a torrential downpour on his way to a cabinet meeting. "Rain
doctors did their worst, I defied them. In this business, rain does
not really matter," said Maduekwe.

In June, Maduekwe was even hit by a bus and into a ditch while cycling
to work. This only led him to redouble his efforts to establish
bicycle route networks in Abuja and Lagos.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey you, monkey in the car, stop feeding the lion. It's time to leave
your cage and join the bike revolution!

The reason why so many people drive and crave for ever bigger vehicles
may be quite simple: They want to be like their leaders. And if their
leaders drive --or are driven in-- SUVs and Mercedes, all the wannabes
below are in line for their big, exotic vehicles. You know the saying,
MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO.

So it is quite reassuring that this Nigerian Transportation Minister --
in a country swimming in oil-- decides to ride a bike, even when
swimming against the current of public opinion in a country where the
middle class wants to live like in the West. China may be another
wannabe and I'm sure their leaders don't ride Flying Pigeons...

Anyway, it's everywhere and we must ask our leaders what they drive.

You may be a happy sheep, but I'm not a happy monkey always being
ignored. Are you with the troop or the herd?

***

The Hungry Lion scares many people...

The video shows a battle between a pride of lions and a herd of water
buffalo at South Africa's Kruger National Park at watering hole.

"Sometimes it feels like we're being eaten alive by the powerful in
our fight for equal rights. Nursing homes, hospitals, and insurance
company lobbies contribute mightily to re-election campaigns and in
return, legislators pass laws that favor them, not us. They seem
invincible."

(There are 3 easy steps to this post: Statistical data coming from
Europe, man wanting to know about the rest of the world, and me giving
my insightful and unbiased analysis of the situation)

"Cycling fatality rates in the United States far higher than those in
Europe"


Originally Posted by Dannihilator
"I'd also like to see this study to include other regions other than
Europe and North America."

***

I bet Nigeria is not as safe as America. But I may be wrong.

We can probably use a CIVILIZATION SCALE to match those countries
where cyclists are more respected --or not.

This article argues that the scale of civilization is given by the
economy of energy consumption, in which we cyclists excel by being
able to ride about 3 miles on a banana (depending on the size of the
banana). We are the ones marking the next milestone in progress...

All of Civilization runs on Energy Resources. The efficiency of
utilization and recycling mandates the cost of living. Therefore, The
Scale of Civilization is gauged on this efficiency. Currently this
efficiency is 2.3%. All of Civilization with all that this entails
have been developed with 2.3% efficiency. Thus by raising this
efficiency we lower the cost of living and approach the unfettering of
our innate capabilities. By only doubling efficiency to approximately
5%, all of humanity will receive all needs (Food, Shelter, Clothing).
Raising the efficiency even higher will produce an abundance never
before realized. Only the imagination can speculate on the bounty of
an attainment. Maybe then our civilization can truly experience
"Progress."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We quit going down Mexico way to watch the dinosaur fights after they
wiped them out and replaced them with wimpy little bulls. Ahh, those
were the good old days. Besides they can be found easily on American
roads.