Chris, I know whereof and whatof you speak. I grew up there. I hated
that town. It is a good place to be "From" so far as I am concerned.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Mr. Polak wrote:

>When I lived in Europe I rode my bike on two-lane country roads from town
>to town just for fun.  I was a teenager, never wore a helmet, and never
>had an accident, never even came close to getting hit.  Some call it luck.
>I was not required to wear a seatbelt in my parent's Fiat either.  We
>lived, survived and had a great time growing up.
>
>I came to US and joined the Air Force.  I would ride on base with
>problems.  I got out of the Air Force and took my passion for bicycles
>onto the city streets of Montgomery, AL.  Oh, boy, what a mistake!  It
>didn't take very long for me get the message from the aggressive,
>territorial and ignorant drivers.  I bought a mountain bike and started
>riding on a local 16-mile trail.  It's funny to think that I'm safer
>riding on a narrow, twisted, rooted and bumpy trail reaching rather
>serious speeds on downhills within feet, sometimes inches, of trees,
>making tight turns on the edges of ravines in place where crashing often
>means you either hit a tree some rock that's hidden under a layer of dead
>leaves than I am bicycling in a "civilized" environment.
>
>A few years ago Montgomery turned down a "rails to trails" project that
>would have given a safe place for many to jog and bike and would have
>opened  up a route to down town where many work.  Why am I still here?
>It's an even longer story that I don't want to bore you with, but I will
>tell you that my Vanagon takes me to the places where I really want to be
>and that makes it more bearable.
>
>Chris.
>
>
>