Next Left Notes Is A News Magazine Devoted To Direct Action
Activists Promote Alternative Transportation Through Cross Country Bike Ride
By Paul J. Comeau
New York, NY. May 12, 2006
Student activists from Pace University in New York City, and Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT will be bicycling cross-country from NYC to Portland, OR this summer as part of the Bikes Against Big Oil campaign, to express concern over rising gas prices as oil companies continue to show windfall profits. Lauren Giaccone, a student at Pace University in New York City, said this about the campaign:
?We are riding to spread awareness of alternatives to cars as a primary means of transportation, and to encourage people, especially those living in major cities, not to sit back and let the big oil companies shaft them in this way. People are disillusioned that a solution can be reached in the near future, because the government has done nothing to help them. The government could easily step in to regulate gas prices if it wanted to, and without sacrificing environmental safety standards?
The students are calling for the public to take action by boycotting major oil corporations, actively seeking alternative or mass transportation solutions, and by demanding that the government step in to regulate the issue without sacrificing the environment. The cross-country ride is serving both as a symbolic act for the riders, and is one of the many ways they will be trying to reach out and engage the public on the oil/gas issue.
The riders will be leaving from New York around June 1st, making their trip in short stages with stops in major cities along the way, both to rest and to do outreach to the public. The riders are encouraging locals in these cities to organize spontaneous bike rides to occur on the days that they will be riding through, similar to the Critical Mass bike rides that occur in major cities once a month. There will also be bike workshops in certain cities, but final details have yet to be confirmed.
The first major destination is Washington, DC where a large-scale demonstration is attempting to be organized. After DC, the riders will head west along a mapped bicycle route known as the TransAmerica Trail, stopping in major cities near their projected route, including St. Louis, MO, and Pueblo, CO.
Other riders are welcomed and encouraged to accompany the team on any of the stages that they will be riding, and anyone interested in riding the whole distance is welcome to contact the team. Full details on their route, and on the whole campaign as it develops can be found on their website: www.bikewarriors.org.
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