@meganL@mas.to
@meganL@mas.to avatar

meganL

@meganL@mas.to

Disabled Masters student @ UC Davis. Speaker on Accessibility in Higher Ed/Cycling/Plant Science. Speaker on carob.

#Accessibility #Botany #Cycling #SciComm #NoBot #NoBridge

Most of my posts are not asking for advice so please don't offer it unsolicited. When I'm asking for advice, I usually ask quite explicitly.

Banner = 2 UC Access Now buttons, with a seal that's a parody of the University of California's. It says "Let There Be Access > ADA" Profile = HG Peters drawing of Wonder Woman

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

Andres4NY, to bikenyc
@Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it avatar

Man, in is way overdue for bike parking.

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@Andres4NY True, but I also look at that photo and think there isn't much room for wheelchair users or pedestrians, either.

All the more argument to go no cars on that street.

ascentale, to random
@ascentale@sfba.social avatar

@pete asks about group rides with electric + non-electric cycles:

Q6. We have problems making group MTB rides work when eBikers join us for fastish-paced rides: essentially they’re too fast on the ups and too slow on the flats for group cohesion. Anyone have any tips for making mixed eeb/regular groups work?

]

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@ascentale @pete A6. I think a problem with being inclusive in rides in general is that there can be a big difference in pace. One thing that might be helpful, depending on the design of e-cycles they're using, is that the e-cycle controls often make me forget that I have actual gears I can use within any given level of e-assist. (cont'd) #BikeNite

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@AngelaAntunovic @ascentale @pete I should be more explicit as to how this applies to the question: if you're just using e-assist levels to switch when terrain gets harder or easier, the increment jump can be large. If you shift gears within an e-assist level before you finally feel forced to switch e-assist levels, the increments are smaller. It allows you to dial in your effort level better. And this might help with closing up the gap between e-cycles and acoustics on hills. #BikeNite

ascentale, to random
@ascentale@sfba.social avatar

@MartyCormack asks:

Q4. Most cyclists drive motor vehicles at least sometimes, and some more frequently.

How has your cycling affected the way you drive? Are you slower and more careful? Do you do anything differently when encountering cyclists on the streets?

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@ascentale @MartyCormack A4. Not so much changed as formed it - I've been cycling ever since I was old enough to ride a bicycle unassisted. I learned to drive when I was 15 - 16. So I learned to drive as someone who'd already done bicycle touring on busy streets and rural roads.

Driver education tells us to look around constantly but lots of ppl don't do it. I do. (cont'd)

ascentale, to random
@ascentale@sfba.social avatar

This is a question from @RossA that I had missed from a while ago:

Q3. I'm currently struggling to find the ‘mojo’ to get out cycling regularly. What do others do to keep the cycling fresh and fun?

(If I've missed your question before, don't feel bad if you need to remind me as I have missed a few. Using the BikeNitePQ hashtag helps)

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@ascentale @RossA A3. When I developed a lunchtime exercise habit back when I worked a 9 - 5 job, it really put me in touch with seasonal changes, especially of plants. I had to take the same route due to lack of time for lunch. So I got to observe changes in the same front gardens over the weeks. I learned a lot!

So I'd say that plant and/or animal spotting can really make it more interesting. I also do infrastructure spotting - "reading" our sub/urban and rural landscapes.

meganL, to cycling
@meganL@mas.to avatar

Today's Biking In LA roundup of cycling stories from all over (but still very North America-focused. "SaMo" = Santa Monica, California):

https://bikinginla.com/2024/05/17/samo-approves-bicycle-anti-harassment-ordinance-brit-press-demonizes-bicyclists-and-wilmington-ciclamini-sunday/ @mastobikes @fedibikes @bikenite

meganL, to random
@meganL@mas.to avatar

Someone doesn't know how if statements are supposed to work.

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

At the bottom in small print, it says "The owner of this form has not provided a privacy statement as to how they will use your response data. Do not provide personal or sensitive information."

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

I just replied to the same email they sent the survey link to me with. The one thing I wanted to give them as feedback in response to their questions about why I hadn't kept my membership.

"What has kept me from renewing with all plant science professional orgs has been the lack of accessibility & inclusion for disabled people. The ageism towards older students is also not helpful or welcoming."

#Ableism #DisabledAndSTEM @academicchatter

meganL, to random
@meganL@mas.to avatar

If you've never before been the sort of person to call/write your representatives and/or the President, it might intimidate you to do so. Don't be intimidated. They're supposed to be working for you - they're your employees.

Resistbot is a tool that can be helpful for people who don't like making phone calls. You can do it a variety of ways, following the bot's prompts https://resist.bot/

If you want to contact the WH directly, they have some tips here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/write-or-call/

meganL, to random
@meganL@mas.to avatar

#DavisCA is still car-centric.

Customers of Dutch Bros drive-thru coffee on this very dangerous corner near I-80 routinely hang out into the street in both directions - sometimes several car lengths. City doesn't see that as a regular annexation of public space by a private business, nor pay attn to the danger it creates.

Meanwhile, wheelchair takes up 4/5 width of the narrow sidewalk & the business has put rocks in the landscaping to keep the public from doing the reverse to them.

meganL, to music
@meganL@mas.to avatar

A fan from Norway who got on Conan's podcast, mentioned he was a rapper, Conan joked about singing with him & getting a #1 hit, and later Conan goes to Norway as part of "Conan Must Go" and cuts some purposely comical vocals that the fan actually mixed in really well.

This is surprisingly catchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc1gkLfz0xg

meganL, to random
@meganL@mas.to avatar

I'm sad to report that "Bike-Friendly" Davis has at least one Incel Camino. I'm so glad I wasn't on my quad at the time I spotted this.

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

I wish I could remember the other great Cybertruck nicknames out there. If you have some, put them in the replies. The more withering, the better.

ai6yr, to random

Remarkable how out-of-the-mainstream utilitarian cycling seems to be in my neighborhood. Strong car-centric culture in Southern California, for sure. (yes, I was, until recently, part of that). 🤔

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@ai6yr I think the pandemic really showed me that people are more "monkey see, monkey do" than I had ever suspected.

People really do look around to determine what "the majority" or whoever's got the most social capital is doing, then follow that. Rather than make their minds up based on evidence and ethics.

skinnylatte, to random
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io avatar

I’m mostly not on Reddit anymore for MH reasons but I miss reading about stuff like this. Straight man is worried about his wife going to.. literature events

https://www.reddit.com/r/AITAH/comments/1ctf64b/aitah_for_asking_my_wife_not_to_hang_out_with_her/

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@skinnylatte "If my wife has any exposure to a more egalitarian way of life, she might leave me"

meganL, to disability
@meganL@mas.to avatar

Again, I state:

Compare the speed with which businesses & institutions are adopting AI (despite its inaccuracy and lack of ethical provenance) to the footdragging that makes businesses & institutions inaccessible even 34 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law.

I don't want to hear a fucking word about accessibility being an "undue hardship" ever again.

@disability

ai6yr, (edited ) to cycling

Achievement unlocked. Went to the farmer's market on a combo of bus and bike. Learned many lessons...

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@ai6yr This is why I urge folks to ask even if they think they'll get a no. They don't know what the demand is if cyclists don't ask.

Drivers are always very vocal if they think there's not enough parking.

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@stuartl @ai6yr That is precisely the kind of thinking car-centric planners, architects, and engineers have.

Even ones that install cycle racks often cram them in as if the cycles hovered in from above, not taking into consideration the likely routes cyclists will take to and from them and how much room they're going to need to lock up.

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@ai6yr Especially with a sport-looking car like that I am so tempted to hit it with paintballs when they drive it like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXJJKq2v4d4

meganL, to random
@meganL@mas.to avatar

Right-wing bankrolling stuff in your town. "Moms for Liberty" astroturf group puts wedge in the door for right-wing "rights" organizations to scare your county into giving them money and avoiding actually holding them accountable for their stochastic terrorizing of librarians. https://web.archive.org/web/20240516200929/https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/yolo-county-settles-moms-for-liberty-civil-rights-lawsuit/article_07d0b3f0-124e-11ef-849a-c723cf89a5f8.html

evacide, to random
@evacide@hachyderm.io avatar

When I talk about digital privacy, there is always some smug genius who shrugs and tells me, "Who cares? We all know we don't have any privacy anyway." Nothing could be more wrong. Convincing you that the fight is already over to the way people in power get you to stop resisting.

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@evacide Thank you for saying this. I've been replying this way to people - less concisely and eloquently - on this subject for some time now.

The right to privacy does exist - not enough people defend it from the onslaught. Thank you for the work you do.

meganL, to cycling
@meganL@mas.to avatar

Just got back from the Davis Ride of Silence, which was organized by the Davis Bike Collective.

The organizers reached out to relatives of those killed, so at two of the sites, we met friends & family of people killed by drivers while riding their bikes in Davis.

This is the ghost bike for Dr. Marilyn Olmstead and her friends & family were there with us along County Road 100A, next to a farm field.

https://chemistry.ucdavis.edu/remembering-marilyn-olmstead/obituary @mastobikes @fedibikes

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@mastobikes @fedibikes All the friends & relatives who met us at ghost bikes were clearly moved and said they were moved. They weren't all necessarily cyclists themselves. I think the organizers reaching out to them where they knew how to really made an impression and created some bonds that hopefully continue building more understanding in our society at large.

#DavisCA #Cycling #TrafficViolence

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@mastobikes @fedibikes This was the first stop - where a ghost bike already existed since the '90s. The cyclist was killed by a hit & run driver of a tomato processing truck (later caught).

Our group had a hard time pulling aside at this dangerous corner because, as you can see, there isn't good pedestrian safety either.

When you read press releases that Davis, Calfornia is at the top of some cycle-friendliness list again, realize that in many respects #DavisCA is still car-centric. #Cycling

meganL,
@meganL@mas.to avatar

@mastobikes @fedibikes Ghost bike for Tris Yasay, killed by a still-unnamed UC Davis driver employee in May 2022. UC Davis cops/fire were first to respond so all evidence was collected by UC Davis investigating itself. Unsurprisingly, no charges were made by the DA. And instead of examining its own vehicle fleet & retraining its drivers, UC Davis had its cops apply for a grant to "educate cyclists" about safety.

"Platinum Bike-Deadly"

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