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Bicyclists and Pedestrians: “Purposefully Cowardly”

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I loved this expression, purposefully cowardly, as a description of the care pedestrians and bicyclists must take when traveling the highways and byways.

It was used by Neal Pierce in an interview he had with J. David Santen, Jr., in the March 13th, Oregonian, inPortland article, “Why parks? Neal Peirce has some answers.”

Excerpt: “[Santen] You wrote recently that 2008 might be the year of the bicycle, and point to Portland as a place that has worked to make biking safer. I recently bought a bike and a trailer for small children — it’s still kind of scary.

[Peirce] I’ve ridden my bike for 40 years in Washington, and I’ve never had an accident. You have to be careful. Learning to be purposefully cowardly is a good thing.”

Bicyclist legal guide: Pedal Power

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