When my two daughters were growing up, I often admonished them "... HEALTH AND SAFETY -- happiness I'll have to leave up to you". What I was telling them as a father was, "I must have two things for you -- your health and your safety, so don't do anything foolish to jeopardize either, please -- and try your best to be happy as well."  As a cyclist on the road, you need a sense of safety before you can really enjoy a ride.  On certain country roads, I worry about my safety and it's sometimes impossible to really enjoy myself.  I seem to pedal faster and harder to make it to a road where I know the traffic is lighter and more "sane", but sometimes you have to briefly use those crazy roads.

I think we want to remind motorists that cyclist are normal, caring people -- with spouses, families, sons and daughters, and friends just like them.  We "thrill" at liife and in having a sport or hobby like most people do.  Pay attention to us, watch for us and we will do our part -- to be visible, use a portion of the road responsibly, and do our best to stay out of their way.  Life is not about 100% convenience -- sometimes we each need to accommodate a little.

A city street occasionally slowed by a public rail train, a lake fisherman occasionally disturbed by a passing water skier, a deer hunter flustered by a logging truck... Sometimes things get in your way for a brief time and it's not perfectly convenient, but there are other agendas around town besides our own. Life is not about convenience, it's about working together and "considering" each other a little.  Cyclists and motorists need to remember this and get on each others' side.

Polite & Right is to raise awareness and to raise the standard of behavior on the part of motorists and cyclists alike. There's really no alternative and so much is at risk if we continue doing as we have always done.  The stalemate of each group claiming and insisting on rights, without equally insisting that each behave in a fully responsible manner is a deadly combination. It's also no fun for anyone.

It's definitely going to have to start with us -- the cyclists.  We are the minority, but we are smart, determined, and we won't give up our bikes -- or our need to ride with a sense of peace, safety, and assurance.