Never Retire: Do They Hate Tourists In Spain?

Probably not, though I'm not 100% sure. But I do know that I got punched in the face in San Francisco

This is what I’m going for. So happy to hear it. As we ride what is now a 13-day publishing streak.

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When I lived in San Francisco, I was what you might call a “bike zealot.” If I wasn’t walking, I was riding my bike. Often to school where I studied urban planning. To some extent I was part of San Francisco’s once-rebellious bike culture.

Zealot because… if you were in a car, you were the enemy. While I can’t provide a definitive yes/no answer to the question that fronts today’s newsletter installment, I can use my experience in San Francisco—and beyond—to lead us in what I’m confident is a logical and—quite possibly—the correct direction.

Because so many people on bikes considered—(and, I am sure, in some parts, still consider)—people in cars the enemy, there was lots of tension in the air that sometimes became palpable.

But it went both ways.

Drivers historically and notoriously treat cyclists like shit simply for existing. They often lash out aggressively towards cyclists, which only helps amp up the toxic dynamic. On more than one occasion, I had too close for comfort encounters with angry drivers.