Fahrradsozialismus

Or One Got Fat, a 1963 propaganda film on bicycle safety.

I’ve never been much of a fan of the horror genre apart from perhaps enjoying them as period pieces in terms of production design & nostalgia for nostalgia sake. I can honestly say, however, that it is by far one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen – and I am including Turkish Star Wars & the 1962 Live action version of Astroboy, despite the fact that I was entranced by its frighteningly mesmerising albeit macabre narration by Edward Everett Horton (not to mention a plethora of good bad puns). You are hereby forewarned.

The messages are of course all perfectly sound, most of which you would expect today from any cycling advocacy campaign or a seasoned cyclist. Its realisation, resides in an entire different dimension of believability.

What construed as friendship or even fundamental human emotions (of course they are monkeys, after all) to the makers of the film is beyond one’s imagination. Just like many a classic horror movie, the members of the gang meet their gruesome demise one-by-one (including being flattened by a steamroller & falling into an uncovered manhole, naturally accompanied by sound-effects of hilarity) through their negligence of safety issues, the rest ride on with steady resolve, seemingly unconcerned towards their destination. The only child arrives safely without harm by following road rules, sits down, and devours the lunch of his companions, hence the title. Upon discovery that this child is in fact human, one probably shouldn’t be surprised at the capability of such cold-heartedness, but I don’t think social commentaries were part of the original intention of the filmmakers.

It really recalls the casualness with which pro-modern fairy-tales portray scenes of unspeakable violence, cruelty & general flagitiousness such as in Hansel & Gretel, The Little Mermaid & Little Red Riding Hood, as allegorical as they maybe, and as it is arguably in this case. Regardless of contemporary sensibilities towards such issues, the inherent experiential difference between the media to me would make the latter far more horrifying, especially as a child.

In addition to what one must be forced to interpret as humour, though undeniably morbid, again we see fear being used to punctuate the message of the film. Exactly how successful it was in enforcing the explicit message is unknown, and I can’t help but wonder just exactly how many children were traumatised & terrified out of cycling forever by this psychedelic Dantean journey through cyclic purgatory.

New years, and its proximal dates, are supposed to be a time for calm reflection over the passing of yet another artificial & arbitrary temporal demarcation, a time to unleash one’s reservations against the over-commerialised way in which people behave & either spoil yourself or people close to you – all in all, a time where the Dionysian should triumph over the Apollonian just a little bit.

That is until reality hits home.

Why is it that during times like Christmas horrific things are more acutely tragic I do not know, but such unimaginable excruciations for those involved makes it difficult to even contemplate the existence of divine providence regardless of religion.

It is however some consolation that the spirit of Christmas is alive & well in this festive Times article about the woes & lamentations endured by the columnist from the heinous acts of cyclists (allegedly) littering. Whilst I’m almost certain that Mr. Parris’ calls for the decapitation of the (alleged) offenders are nothing more than agitation stylistics ever so popular in media today, especially when there’s very little to talk about initially, it is hardly surprising that it came across as being inexcusably vitriolic, as clearly evident in many of the responses. It does make one wonder why such 2-minute hate sessions are still so prevalent even with post-Orwellian awareness, ranging from trivial issues like these to the demonisation of entire groups of people, and exactly what message the author had hoped to spread.

It might be easy to recognise & criticise conceit & bigotry in those with different views, but one can never fully anticipate reactions from others to one’s own, no matter how carefully one tries & how well-meaning it might be. There’s really no fast & hard rules, as the standards will necessarily be personal. Indeed too much hesitance can only lead to complete obfuscation, not to mention being utterly boring, as I am clearly demonstrating here.

Hereafter anything else I might want to add only increases the compunction for rebuttals in whatever succeeding it, and it’ll really get nowhere, which was where it started originally. If there were to be a point at all, it’d probably be the importance of empathy in getting your message through. You will never make everyone happy, and as interesting as agitprop might be, embracing tolerance & compassion can be very effective, too.

Or El socialismo puede llegar solo en la bicicleta in the original Spanish by José Antonio Viera Gallo. Came across this quote whilst search for random associations between political movements & the proliferation of bicycles. My knowledge of Spanish rarely extents itself beyond the culinary fields, and thus I have no idea whether the English rendition is a faithful one or not (If any Spanish speaking readers can help out, it’d be muchos bueno. Gracias!). The most obvious interpretation I get politically is that socialism should take place gradually & not through violent & reactionary social changes, evolution, not revolution - to use an over-used phrase.

Irrespective of what he meant, the quote is quite perfect for what the cycle-socialist cause stands for -as confused and confusing ideologically as it maybe, both literally & in its implied message.

There are increasing number of public demonstrations regarding the better recognition & general road rights for cyclists around the developing cycling cultures such as Critical Masses & more arguably more eye-catching World Naked Bike Ride. One must admire the level of energy & devotion the participants have in events such as these, and the level of exposure alone would indeed have some impact on the public perception of cyclists. However as fond of dynamic or even militant political imagery as I am, personally I tend to favour more subtlety in one’s words & actions in reality. And like all forms of political activism, there’s bound to be some hostile reactions to the act itself, regardless of how well-meaning & logically sound the arguments are. There is a great little discussion over at Zakkaliciousness’ site with some helpful suggestions & insights.

Look at Jesus for example, some of the most beautiful ideas to ever grace this earth, and look what happened to him?! Ok perhaps not entirely comparable, not to mention grossly irreligious, but the point is probably valid. so ardent activism aside, perhaps it also will help to take a rather more relaxed position in the promotion of cycling, a form of political passivism if you will. Instead of organised mass rides of power projection & tours of solidarity, try to influence those around you through your own actions through practical examples of using a bike for everyday purposes & not just something for the weekends. Sure the statement you are making won’t have the same “Shock & Awe” as riding an iridescent pink Penny Farthing through CBD in your birthday suit (though to me probably less confusing), but in the long run the permeation is more enduring.

Like what is said in the Tao Te Ching (or was it an episode of Futurama?)

The best sovereigns rule with insouciance. Once his deeds are accomplished, people will say, “This has always been the way it has been before .”

Since Monday Canberran cyclists have been able to catch the bus for free if they bring their bike along with them.

I always thought it a great idea for buses to have racks for bikes to encourage cycling, though I’m not too sure whether there is any rational rationale behind it. I myself have only used the racks once, and that was when I got a puncture and didn’t have a spare tube with me. Indeed I don’t see myself using it unless this happens again. On the rare occasions where I did catch a bus since I’ve started cycling, I left the bike at home.

It might have something to do with the fact that the bus services in Canberra isn’t exactly what you’d call developed. Many routes come once every 30 minutes during weekdays, and every hour on the weekends, making it quite inconvenient as you’d have to plan rather carefully around the timetables.

Still, irrespective of exactly how efficient & effective such a system is for Canberra, as a highly visible & cycling-specific infrastructure it does demonstrate the government actively promoting bikes as a commuting alternative, and that is something commendable in itself.

More info here at ACTION Buses’ website.

Why like most people today, by make a fashion statement about it of course! By wearing 100% original authenticated official cycle socialist merchandise not only demonstrates your unwavering devotion to the revolution, you’ll also be engaging in a social experiment of capitalist market economy which in the end would undoubtedly prove beyond any reasonable doubt that a centralised collective system is the only way for goods & services to be distributed.

Visit Cafepress to get yours today. Offer strictly unlimited - for a limited time only!

As I’ve only got a basic account, so only one item can be had for each type of product. If you see any design you like but would like it on something else, don’t hesitate to let me know.

There’s an article from the Socialist Left Party of Austria that carries the namesake of this blog (the only other result for Fahrradsozialismus as of 8 September 2007, incidentally), though my initial inspiration came from a term with a more sinister (ironically not in the Latin sense) connotation. Out of sheer curiosity, and armed with what little Germanic fragmentations left scattered in my brain and a dictionary, I was able to figure out the gist of the article.

It focuses on the diminishing number of free city bikes on the streets of Vienna due to theft, with the government claiming that basically people are simply not good/honest enough for the system to work. Whilst the article itself seemed a somewhat feeble criticism of capitalism whilst offering little constructive suggestions itself (apart from introducing an egalitarian distribution system, the answer to all your problems) as to how exactly the system can work. As fond of Utopian ideologies as I am, the article unfortunately did not make the inherent contradictions of capitalist economics any clearer to me. Having heard of such systems before, it did however made me wonder as to exactly how such system works. To my delight I found that the system was not a failure after all and is going strong, though it seems that it is no longer ran by the government, and now attracts a nominal fee (perhaps to the mortification of SLP that a capitalist venture came to the rescue).

The project itself, named Citybike Wien, is simple enough; there are stations around the city where bikes are stored. All you need to do is register an account linked to your bank or credit card either at the terminal or on their website, after which you can then check the bike out. Not unlike short loans in some libraries, the rent rate is free for the first hour, €1 for the second hours, €2 for the third, and €4 for every subsequent hour up to 120 hours, with a flat rate of €600 for bikes not returned after that time, thus making it more ideal for short distance commutes. There are over 50 stations in the city, each housing at least 10 bikes.

The system is of course not unique to Vienna, with similar programs either private or public in other European cities such as Copenhagen, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, and apparently some cities in the United States.

It’d be interesting to see a similar system introduced in cities like Canberra. Hubs are located at major shopping centres & bus interchanges, but with a modified time-frame. The free period is perhaps 4 hours, targeting the tourists & leisure riders, and a nominal fee of say $2 (anything less than a single adult bus fare) for 12 hours usage blocks, for the occasional commuters, allowing people to comfortably cycle from the various bus interchanges to work & back.

This of course needs to be a government-funded or subsidised program, as it’d offer very little if any financial return, but is done as a public service, plus it’d look rather good in any pollie’s portfolio.

It is true that most Australian households already have bicycles, but still relatively few use them for commuting, so the question is that even if such a program is initiated, with such firmly entrenched car culture, are people more likely to cycle to work? That is difficult to answer, but I do know that although most of the bikes are fine for the occasional Sunday outing, but they are not the utility/city bikes designed specifically for commuting. Perhaps such program cannot be introduce alone in places like Australia, but more crucially must be part of a wider scheme designed to alter the perspective Australians have toward commuter cycling.

A spectre is haunting the road – the spectre of cycle socialism. All the powered vehicles have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Holdens & Fords, Nissans & Hyundais, moms in 4WDs & truckies with Semi-trailers. Not too distorted an image sometimes, especially if you are a commuter cyclist in one of the larger cities in Australia. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why only 1.3% of Australians cycle to work[1].

Comrades! Let us rebuke the inherent contradictions of motorised transportation and embraces indefatigably the virtues of cycling!

…or something like that. Politics, like most things in life, it is probably conducive to the general well-being of the individual not to take it too seriously (a sound advice so easily given but so difficult to follow for the hopeless romanticists). There certainly isn’t much - if indeed any - clear political motivation behind this site. The word socialism is used here most carelessly and in its most apolitical & confused sense, interpret it any way you will, for any ideological conjucturalities will be entirely your own.

Being an avid admirer of socialist realism, constructivism and the art of propaganda in general, I have always found the motivation behind, or at least what I interpret to be what should be the motivation behind, propaganda art strangely alluring. There is a sense of conviction that makes the statement, however crude, contradictory or even at times cruel, empowering and empathetic when done successfully. Such sensations are felt throughout life, but are more frequently encountered in religion & radical political movements. Like many, I tend to take a confused, idealistic, and thus often erroneous perspective towards the things I like, so most things I say won’t hold up against logical scrutiny or scientific facts, but to me that alone is a reason to embrace them, simply because of the fragility of what they might represent to an individual. But I digress - if a digression can be made without having establishing any point to begin with. It’s clear by now that I don’t tend to write neither very clearly nor very consistently, or indeed grammaticatedly, and what little sense should have existed often dissipates further as the paragraph progresses amidst random oscillations between bursts of goofy sincerity & torrential wanky cynicism.

So let us try again.

Initially a novelty amongst the social elite, bicycles played an instrumental part in early women’s liberation, and significantly extended man’s mobility without increasing the energy input. With the advent of the affordable automocar however, cycling as a mode of transportation has been on a gradual decline in most English-speaking world, with occasional spikes in usage when petrol prices sky rockets. It is true that cars furthered man’s mobility even more, and at the same time offered far better shelter against the elements with significant increase in cargo capacity, but are essentially very inefficient in terms of output & consumption, though it is difficult to compare figures when many conversions must take place to reach the same unit of measurement, let alone consider other extra-numerical factors. It is not for a humble mortal such as I to deliberate on the sublime that supposedly divides necessity & greed, but in a consumption-obsessed society, it is at least refreshing to even just consider whether such opulence is really necessary for reaching happiness or even just contentment - after all, that’s what we’re all here for right?

A bald man riding a water buffalo once said that excess dulls the senses (or some vague crap like that), without over-analysing what some old geezer supposed to have said thousands of years ago, there is some truth in such moralisations. Being literally reclusive (and increasingly so) at times, I often suffocate myself with useless data, be them from google, youtube, wikipedia, books, movies, etc, and in the end often feel drained & frustrated by the very things which were meant to enlighten, entertain & relax me. Yet when I cycle, even the sight of new buds on a tree, rabbits hopping cautiously away from the bike path, a kangaroo with a joey poking out of its pouch, even reflexive aggressions from magpies & ducks generates a sense of contentment seldom felt through all those artificial complexities. Of course different people will generate different associations from different things, but the sensation is essentially the same.

Through one of those random explorations into eclectic communist propaganda, I found the notion of Juche strangely appealing (in truth, I just liked the sound of the word, it has a certain vitality in the way it is projected, but I feel that way about most Korean words, perhaps one of those cyclical self-reinforcing processes). Regardless of how it is used (or misused) to reinforce the monolithic Kim regime, the “spirit of self-reliance” does describe one of the major motivations behind and indeed the very act of a commuter cyclist quite well, though perhaps experienced more as a passive, personal outlook rather than an active, collectivised ideological movement. Indeed to me there is also something intrinsically elegant about the way a bicycle optimises the usage of human power output.

Of course I will be criticised for not going nearly far enough, and should commute bare-footed & live in a cave (you’ve had it lucky! I’d've settled for hole on the ground!! Luxury! We dreamt of living in a hole on the ground!! and so on & so forth..). Indeed that is the problem with the so-called retro-progressivism, as with all ideologies, is exactly how far (back) do you go? That, I am afraid, will always be a personal question. To me, trying to do what you believe is right is a good start, and there really can’t be too much more to it.

I seem to have great difficulty in forming a single coherent paragraph of any relevace. So here’s another go. If I were Al Gore or Michael Moore, it might’ve gone something like this:

[sombre music, footages of smog/traffic congestions/oil drills]

For the year 2003 the global annual energy consumption per capita was 1,674.4 kgoe[2]. With Qatar topping the list at 21395.8, while an average Bangladeshi uses less than a hundredth of this. Most of the developed world consumes 2-4 times as much as the global average. Well I’m no scientist, and there isn’t an universal standard to measure what is over-consumption. I believe that there most probably never will be in a culture which actively endorses over-consumption. But one must start somewhere.

If I don’t kill myself operating this stats generator, here’s some stats:

In 2000-2001 41% of total energy consumption of Australia went to transportation[3].

In America 35% of the transportation sector consumption is by automobiles[4].

52% of all Australian car journeys are less than 5km[5].

For most people with even below average fitness, 5km means 20 minutes on a bike. The reduction won’t be much statistically, even in percentile terms. But imagine if populous nations like China & India, where amongst other things, air quality & traffic congestion are already near melt-down, were to reach even half the statistics of Australia, it simply would place unimaginable pressure on environment & energy production. It is however hypocritical & unfair for developed nations to caution against the pressure placed by developing nations on fuel supply[6], as it is only natural for those people to desire for a better standard of living with the West as exemplars of prosperity.

While the dinner-table socialist cum environmentalist belonging to the morally superior intelligentsia and bohemian bourgeoisie debating whether it is more environmentally friendly to use organic butter knives or I-can’t-believe-they’re-not-organic-butter-knives knives, whilst planning what to do with those blasted frequent flyer miles[7], it might be nice to know your self-justifications are just a little less contradictory.

[ note to self - forgot to insert joke about the Bush administration; need more buzzwords like eco-sustainability].. and so on

However, my aim is not to promote cycling for environmental or political reasons, for I don’t know nearly enough to make any comment on things like the impact of further mass motorisation on climate change, let alone the wider socio-economic ramifications of cycling as the basis for an grassroots movement of post-anarcho-syndicalist neo-pacificism. Besides, they are far too serious (read overly self-righteous & kinda boring - not that they are not good reasons though) as justifications for cycling. If there’s a definite purpose at all for these verbiated logorrhea, it is to show that regardless of whether you prefer lycra or laces, cycling can be done in style and is enjoyable. But wait, there’s more - at no extra cost, good health is thrown in, and as a compromise between speed & efficiency, it is indeed one of the more optimal[8] [9]. Particularly for Canberrans, with cycling conditions many in Australia and indeed the world could only dream for, it’d seem like a waste not to give it a go.

If this site evoked for just one more person some ridiculously romanticised imagery of cycling, or rekindled that nostalgic ride down memory lane, and made him/her want to hop on a bike (again), then we are a step closer towards our cycle socialist utopia, as much a mirage as it might be.

Cyclists of the World, Unite!

e-mail me at: fahrradsozialismus{.a_t;}gmail.com

[1] Australia Cycling - Bicycle Ownership, Use and Demographics – July 2004 (draft)

[2] EarthTrends, World Resources Institute - Energy Consumption: Total energy consumption per capita

[3] Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet - AUSTRALIA’S ENERGY SECTOR

[4] Energy Information Administration - Transportation Energy Use I can’t locate comparable Australian statistics, but it should be similar.

[5] Cycling Promotion Fund - CYCLING > Moving Australia Forward

[6] CNN.com - China factor driving oil prices

[7] Royal Commission on Environmental Poullution - The environmental impacts of aircraft in flight

[8] Ira Woodhead & Frank Keller - Degrees of Self-powered Mobility

[9] World Watch Institute - Matters of Scale - Bicycle Frame