You might've noticed an unlocked girls Sears 12-speed crapbox hybrid bike in random places downtown. It's there for the taking, accompanied by a sign that reads:
RIF 0001 Ride it Forward. Hop on this bike and ride it to where you want to go. Leave it in a prominent place. Send details of your trip and pictures to rideitforward@gmail.com. And to follow its progress, go to www.rideitforward.blogs
The concept is a little like bookcrossing (leaving books around town hoping people find them and discuss their experience on their website) meets bicycle eco-do-gooder Maoist Utopianism.
Tragically, after a couple of encouraging days of impromptu bike sharing, RIF 001 has disappeared.
Ride it Forward founder, president and chief strategist Mark Boghen tells Coolopolis, "Whether or not the experiment has been strangled in its infancy or is still continuing out there in the urban petri dish, we don't know.
"Feedback has been so powerfully positive from everyone who's heard of the idea that we are feeling kind of loathe to leave this at one bike and out. If a week or two goes by without hearing from RIF 0001, we may consider scrounging up other bikes, making some small adjustments to our launch method (PR first?) and restarting."
So donate a bike. Support this excellent urban ecologically-friendly sociological experiment.
it is a very inspirational idea!
ReplyDeleteI've been to towns where bikes are free for the taking (well, not the taking, but the using) before, but none that were "tracked". Let's hope they aren't discouraged, and an 002 model shows up soon.
ReplyDelete(saw your entry via my Google alerts)