Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I've been riding the (push) bike a bit. You see more things than you do in a car and I tend to wonder: "was I like that/did I do that when I was 20?" Sometimes I wonder "am I turning into an old fogey?". I also wonder how long we can do this to ourselves before the environment gives up and collapses.

I have seen/felt:

1. The wind, fresh air and sun (and wondered if car-dwellers realise they are missing out?)
2. The coolness of the forest (we have some tall trees here and when you ride through them the temperature drops 2-3 very noticeable degrees and you wonder about nearly treeless suburbia and all the air con running to cool what could be cooled naturally)
3. The smell of foul exhausts - we really haven't fixed this one, have we? Drivers may be unaware, but walk or ride along a road and take a look and a whiff of what still spews out the exhaust - it can't be improving our environment, can it?
   
4. The idiots on the roads
• the P-plater in the massive V8 tank who overtook me at full throttle doing at least 90 in a kid-filled 50 zone - why?
• the same P-plater who spun and almost smoked the inside real wheel on a tight left hander - showing off to the 6 and 7 year olds playing nearby what his foot can do with an accelerator?
• the Mitsubishi sedan that had rolled (or was just poorly parked?) across 2 driveways, sideways, the unfortunate thing being the brick retaining wall in between - and the front wheels high in the air
• another V8 driver who choose again to do around 90 in a 70 zone and come within a metre of me and another rider (riding legally on the shoulder, single file). Yes, my friend, you are a weak coward, an intimidating bully and a complete loser - or just completely unaware of what you are doing and a danger - in any case - to us all

Yes, I'm getting to be an old fogey. But when I was 20 there was around half the population in Sydney - and fewer cars. Petrol was cheaper but cars were dearer. You could still fix cars and keep them running - unlike today's more efficient manufacturing process which combines as many functions into one piece as possible. It's cheaper to build but it costs the community dearly in destruction of our environment. We really should stop and think - soon - what we want to leave our kids. A choked, polluted car park, or a forest with fresh air?