Highway of Fire

City of Dreams

"
Here where you are standing
The dinosaurs did a dance
The indians told a story
Now it has come to pass

The Indians had a legend
The Spaniards lived for gold
The white man came and killed them
But they haven't really gone

We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake
And find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town

From Germany and Europe
And Southern U.S.A.
They made this little town here
That we live in to this day

The children of the white man
Saw Indians on TV
And heard about the legend
How their city was a dream

We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake
And find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town

The Civil War is over
And World War One and Two
If we can live together
The dream it might come true

Underneath the concrete
The dream is still alive
A hundred million lifetimes
A world that never dies

We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake
And find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town "

David Byrne

@ dr evil

So nice to see you posting at Tyee again.

May I offer a small bit of poetry from someone who was upset at the 'flowering' of the 1st Industrial Revolution:

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

just keep the damned cars

off the roads

modifications to Burrard bridge

Why not modify the Burrard bridge ... hang bike lanes off the sides?
The closure of the lane from Pacific creates more congestions, more danger.
I applaude the idea of bike lanes. Just not the way it's being done.

Oh, I'll be in your way

Unfortunately if a cyclist tries too hard to "stay out of the way" (I guess that would be YOUR way Snert), we end up getting passed way too closely, or even hit, by someone who tries to squeeze between the cyclist and the line demarcating the lane we're in. So, the safest way to ride is actually a bit out into the lane, like about a meter, so an overtaking driver will have no choice but to wait until a safe opportunity to pass presents itself, and use some of the adjacent lane to get around us. This might take a few seconds, and some drivers may find their patience tried a bit here. Oh well, that's too bad isn't it? We have every right to ride on roads we're legally entitled to ride on, and drivers can either learn to live with us or, oh I know, get on a bike and join in! If you can't practice some patience and understanding, you shouldn't get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. That would make you a menace to society, and we can't have you being that!

Know your place on the road!

bicycleboy, are you the same guy who zooms down the pedestrian walkways scaring hell out of people peacefully having a stroll?
You know the guy who does not see the need for a bell to warn people?
The guy who does not need fenders and as a result sprays everyone else from your rear tire?
Yeah, away from the cars and trucks you are the menace, as if you are taking revenge on those now slower than you!
I grew up biking in Copenhagen when bikes outnumbered cars 1000 to 1, but even so bikers stayed in their assigned lanes and were courteous to pedestrians as well to the motorists and streetcars.
Here many bikers disregard the simplest rules, such as stopsigns and lights, but throw a tempertantrum if anyone else disobeys rules.

You are the new guys here, so it is you who should try to fit in!

Perhaps you are always trying to prove that you can reach a destination faster than a car would, and often that is the case, but traffic is not a race! it is not about proving a point.

bikes pre-date cars

"You are the new guys here, so it is you who should try to fit in!"

not so, my polluting friend.

the invention, and the common use of the bicycle pre-dates the invention of the two-ton smoker. It was cyclists who demanded that the roads be paved.

Meanwhile, Enviromentalists seek to thwart democracy...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/for-vancouver-mayor-china-makes-an-environmental-leap-forward/article1706300/

and

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2010/sep/16/authoritarianism-ecofascism-alternative

Yeah, Dead right - bicycleboy

I don't need to practice patience and understanding. I've already witnessed the effects of vehicle vs. cyclist. It ain't pretty. In my opinion people who insist on riding in high traffic situations are dumber than bags of hammers. Once again, no sympathy if they get clobbered especially if there is a low traffic route available.

gee, such animus towards cyclists!

All you angry motorists: no, I'm not that scofflaw you asked, then assumed I was/am. I'm someone who rides with due regard for all road users and follows the rules of the road. In fact, I teach people like police, security, ride leaders and others interested in safe and happy cycling how to ride on the roads, and get paid darn well to do it. Yes, I counsel cyclists to seek out lower traffic areas and take a few extra minutes to follow less congested roadways. But I still take a lot of crap from neanderthal jerks who refuse to acknowledge my right to be on the roads. They are ignorant of the law, take offense at my insistence on "taking the lane" when concern for my safety simply trumps my innermost, heartfelt desire to not be a nuisance or bother to anyone. So, until we have a network of separated bike lanes to match each and every mile of road, we will all have to learn to get along. All the cyclists who drive you crazy - the ones who zoom around with little regard for the law, or anyone's safety? Well, they aren't me, and I'd bet more than half of your outrage isn't really based on concern for safety anyway but on naked, ugly jealousy; because ALL cyclist, the good and the bad, make you crazy with our freedom, our ability to bypass your traffic jams that you cause with your giant vehicles, our refusal to do things your way, our refusal to be cowed by your honking and cursing. We stand strong, we are, on balance and in most cases, a pretty darned fine bunch of individuals. Y'see, that self-righteous attitude that also makes you all red-faced and apoplectic with spittle coming out your mouth as you struggle to find the expletives to damn us with? Well, in most cases, and on balance, it's pretty easy to justify when we have you folks to compare ourselves to. Ha!

Separated Lanes are Needed on Busy Streets

@snert

Shops, businesses and other destinations that cyclists are going to are mostly on busy streets. That is why we need separated bike lanes on these roads so they are safe for everyone. When there are separate lanes for bikes, traffic does not get stuck behind bikes. A win-win for everyone.

@Marushka

The double right turn lanes from Pacific to Burrard were really dangerous. Vehicles in the north lane would block the view of cars in the south lane. The intersection was always covered with car bits due to the numerous crashes. Getting rid of one of the turn lanes makes it much safer for everyone.

The city is planning on rebuilding the whole intersection to make it safer and work better. They may be able to address the congestion issues when they do this.

just for the record

BillMelater
I wrote: "You are the new guys here" (HERE).
and referring to other places where the bike traffic was the most common before cars happened (unlike here).

In any event I do bike, and generally I am embarrassed by the jokers who bike these days, it has become another money-pit with special clothes and super expensive bikes all to show off.

bicycleboy &rac

Sounds like you feel that you're the only cyclist on the road which may be fine except you are trying your hardest to rectify that situation. Any more than one occupying the lane expressing their rights and you have a traffic jam in the making.

Separated bike lanes might work in limited applications and the last time I looked cyclists were perfectly capable of walking a half block to a block to avoid riding traffic or will their egos not allow that?

Bikes and Inclement Weather

Lets face it when the weather cools down (anytime after Labour Day) the bicycles will start disappearing from the bike lanes. Hopefully the city is not bamboozling everyone by doing all their counts and surveys for the year during the summer and refer to the data for the rest of the year. Lets face it Vancouver is not bike friendly for most of the year except for the cycling sycophants who will bike with a foot of snow.

bicycleboy

Gee, such animus towards - vehicle operators!

Such narcissistic vanity! And, such glee coming through in the spewing of graphic descriptions of such clearly hated drivers. This baby puppy is obviously in need of some high-priced public psychology, maybe psychiatry. A behavioral group study found all in one too.

As for the arrogant recommendation that the devotees and students of this two-wheeled later-day trailblazer should colonize the asphalt outside of their present demarcated boundaries; one has to seriously wonder if this foolish dictum will be bitterly remembered after the inevitable squashing occurs and when eulogies to the lost adherents are solemnly given.

Whoa, whaddya mean "present demarcated boundaries"?

To clarify: cyclists who instinctively 'hug the curb', so to speak, are putting themselves much more at risk of collision than cyclists who ride a meter or so left of the curb. Maybe there was some misunderstanding? I'm not advocating that cyclists ride to the left of a paved shoulder (assuming it's wide enough to accommodate a rider), or to the left of a bike lane (though there are sometimes situations when this is advisable). Otherwise, I'm not sure what "demarcation" we're supposed to stay inside of - a lane's a lane, and the law says I can use all of it if I see fit. Many curb lanes are wide enough to accommodate a cyclist riding a meter from the curb - and clear of most road debris, sewer grates, slippery muck, etc. - plus a typical motor vehicle. But when it is a narrower curb lane, cyclists are indeed well-advised to occupy that lane and indicate by their presence that overtaking vehicles are not going to be able to squeeze past within that lane and will have to use at least part of the next lane over. Realisticman's assumption that riding in such a highly visible and sensible manner will inevitably result in the cyclist being squashed and eulogized is quite simply wrong, though it does reflect the sort of ignorance of the facts that I have to endure regularly. It is the timid cyclist trying to keep out of traffic's way all the time who stands a far greater chance of meeting with that sort of fate, as over-aggressive motorists will leave no margin of error when passing within inches and someone, God forbid, makes a mistake (all too often the cyclist loses control upon being so startled).

And yes, the glee. Well, when you've been literally terrorized by motorists who think it's okay to "teach you a lesson" using 2+ tons of steel hurtling through space at 50 to 100, then perhaps a bit of well-chosen jibes are allowable, no? Let me ask you carbon curmudgeons this: what would you rather: being called a name that insults your race, religion or sexual orientation, which can land the abuser in jail if caught; or having a vehicle doing 60 pass you from behind, without warning, honking the horn to scare you into maybe wiping out, all while traveling at speed yourself on a bicycle? In short, such harassment of cyclists is clearly a hate crime, if not outright terrorism, (though the police in your town will invariably refuse to see it as such). To terrify the cyclist surely is the desired outcome, no? So indulge me my gleeful taunts. At least I'm keeping it clean and free of thinly veiled vicarious death threats, eh fellas?

free of thinly veiled vicarious death threats,

Even though The Cycle Jihad is fully under way kindly stop trying to drive a wedge between occasional road users and the vast majority. Perhaps a re-write of this is what should be considered:

"the safest way to ride is actually a bit out into the lane, like about a meter, so an overtaking driver will have no choice but to wait until a safe opportunity to pass presents itself, and use some of the adjacent lane to get around us. "

Seek some counsel for that need to gleefully spout bike-rage (that might become a hate-crime too) before the foam builds up around the sides of your mouth. I wouldn't doubt that the vast majority of vehicles that pass you are perfectly pleasant and it might help with your irrational paranoid fear of being terrorized.

credit where due

You are right Realisticman, the vast, vast majority of motorists show plenty of consideration, care and respect, not just towards cyclists, but pedestrians, and other drivers. I'd estimate that the deviant types I've referred to constitute less than 0.1% of drivers out there. That said, I interact with thousands of motorists a week. So, what, you don't believe me? You think these incidents of harassment that carry potentially deadly consequences, relatively rare as they are, are not happening, and that my descriptions are the fruit of a delusional paranoid mind? Ask anyone who rides a whole bunch and they'll give you similar examples. Or perhaps you do believe it happens but in your heart you can't help but think I/we "have it coming".

Such incidents may only befall a cyclist once year or two, but it only takes one mis-step to end my days on Earth. So forgive me the push-back I give those, like you, whose anti-cyclist invective may appear to be feeding the attitudes that physically endanger me. You use the phrase Cycle Jihad, for example, which suggests you put me in the same camp as suicide bombers. Okay, so who's paranoid? Who's spouting hate? I'm in a defensive stance, more or less, and drivers are the ones wielding deadly force.

bicycleboy

Interesting how you twist tough love into hate. Just remember, you're the one that can wind up in the hospital with a broken back or worse. Better still it may be somebody you know and love who isn't quite as skilled as you think you are.

I've been driving for over 40 years and, touch wood, I haven't hit a cyclist yet but if one does something stupid in front of me they could be toast and, they may even be in the right. The more bikes you place in traffic the more bicyclist are going to get hurt.

Thanks Snert!

Again, a common misconception. Why exactly do you think cycling is so dangerous? Do you have research to back this up? Does it just look that way? I won't pretend that the statistics are conclusive, but many do suggest that riding a bike is actually a safer deal than being in a car. It depends on how you break down the data, since cyclists are taken in one gulp in studies, and children and mountain bikers are lumped in with us conservative commuters. Stats on drivers are far more detailed, and age, gender, years experience are all taken into account. I guess it's so insurance can be tailored to the individual. Anyway, cycling is not in itself a dangerous activity. It does appear to be so from the driver's seat though, I agree. When I drive a car I see cyclists and think, "Really? That's me?" Yeah, it does appear precarious. But from the saddle of a bike one can see and hear so much more than you can from a car. Bikes are small, slippery and very slow compared to cars. Cars, on the other hand are big, fast and hard to miss. Good luck to you!

Good luck to you too

"Bicycle crashes

According to a Department for transport report cyclists have in the UK a killed and serious injury (KSI) rate per million vehicle kilometres that is a half of the rate for Motorcyclists and eight times the rate for Motorists. [1]

The first recorded bicycle accident is probably a collision in 1842, reportedly between Kirkpatrick McMillan, an early rider of the velocipede, and a young girl in Glasgow. The report, however, is vague and the identification disputed.

Causes of crashes vary according to local conditions. A study conducted in 2000 by SWOV (Institute for Road Safety Research) in the Netherlands found that single bicycle accidents accounted for 47% of all bicycle accidents, collisions with obstacles and animals accounted for 12%, and collisions with other road users accounted for 40% (with the remaining 1% having unknown or unclassified cause)."

wiki

and fortunately we don't go as far either

...and depends how you interpret the data. Cars often travel far greater distances. It's common to drive 30, 40 or 200 kilometers, far less to do so by bike. A more realistic method of comparison is time, not distance traveled.

Who's buying bikes

"In any event I do bike, and generally I am embarrassed by the jokers who bike these days, it has become another money-pit with special clothes and super expensive bikes all to show off."

Interestingly, in speaking with a sales manager for a well-known local bicycle manufacturer last week, he noted that one of their fastest-growing product segments are mid-range (price-wise) road bikes. The reason they are seeing growth in this area is the growing number of people who are getting into cycling to participate in fund-raising rides for various charitable causes.

It seems people aren't riding to show off, but to help out.

The clothes are there for a reason. They are the right thing for the job, just as my foul-weather gear is the best choice for sailiing, or my ski clothes are the best choice for a day on the slopes, and my business clothes seem the most 'suitable' haha for a meeting downtown. Surely there are bigger issues to address in our transportation network than what other people chooce to wear to engage in physical activity?

Proud of my spandex, dammit!

Right on Chris! Nor will I be shamed by so-called "real cyclists" who think I'd have more integrity if I rode a beat up 'vintage' 10-speed, wore woolly (low-visibility) clothing and sported a hokey/ironic cartoon alligator squeeze horn on my handlebars! I wear the high-tech gear because it gets me that 20 kilometers to work and 20 back in a modicum of comfort. The bike I ride is worth every penny of its $3,000 value, not because I like to show off but because it performs as it should. The reverse snobbery among the cycling community is tiresome indeed. Ride and wear what you like and if you want to be truly cool, try putting on a practical helmet instead of one of those ventless domes that looks pretty but cooks yer noggin!

Dear Angry Car

Dear Angry Car drivers,

Patience people...

I drive a car sometimes too but prefer to take the higher road and presume to be careful and give pedestrains, cyclists (and often other cars) the right of way ahead of myself. It really doesn't harm me in any way or even waste that much of my time. So what's the problem with sharing the road?
Does it compromise your ego too much?

Guess what, inside that depersonalizing, protective metal skin, you're human too. Is it only the car protecting you that elevates your life to a higher value than cyclists? people who think that way obviously see little value in themselves beyond their possessions.

an observation

Funny how most, shall we say, "pro-cyclist" comments here that refer to motorists single out only the angry and aggressive drivers for criticism; while most "anti-cyclist" comments would portray cyclists as a single, monolithic entity. We're a mixed bunch actually: some are lousy, erratic riders doing their best to give us all a bad name; some are timid and frightened to a fault, and will likely pay a price for their lack of confidence; and many of us do obey the law, and ride in a safe and predictable fashion. But none of us can possibly hope to satisfy the dearly-held wish of the virulent anti-cyclists and disappear from the roadways. That would seem to be the thrust of the haters' vitriol: "Go away and stop being a damn nuisance!" Well, we're not going away, and you must know that! Your protestations are all in vain, and your rhetoric only hardens our resolve. In fact, the insults, declamations and on-road harassment have turned many a neutral, pacific cyclist into card-carrying members of The Resistance, so do yourselves a favour bike-haters and stop creating converts.

Dear Angry Car drivers

Well, to be fair, if you're out on the freeway and can raise your average speed to 130 km/h rahter than 100 km/h, you could save nearly 3 minutes!!! on a 20 km trip.

I do get frustrated by the people who continually seem to be in a rush on residential streets. The difference between travelling 50 km/h and 30 km/h for 200 metres (a couple of blocks) is ten seconds. When I see people impatiently trying to pass cyclists on side streets narrowed by parked cars on either side, it's not hard to share the view that the lives of non-motorized road users seem to have less value than the unmitigated joy of reaching the next stop sign a few seconds ahead of the biker.

Cyclists are to pedestrians as motorists are to cyclists.

You know how cyclists complain about larger, faster, heavier cars crowding them and not allowing them to use the road safely? Think of why you don't like that. Got that list? Those are my reason for disliking cyclists who ride on sidewalks.

It's not legal to ride a bike in a crosswalk or a sidewalk in Vancouver. Even if you're just riding a block. Even if you're just on your way to Designated Bike Route Street. It's not legal, and I'm sick of having to shoulder check on sidewalks for Zippy the Fixie Boy or bicycleboy's less courteous chums barreling down the walk that's about a wheelchair width wide. I want to be able to walk without having to worry about getting clipped by handlebars, or have to share my protected space with vehicles. And as you all like to remind us, bikes are vehicles with every right to use the road.

The road. Not the sidewalk, not the crosswalk.

The cycling lobby in this town does precious little to create a culture of respect towards pedestrians amongst their 2 wheel vehicle brethren. I've poked through the city's website, and the VACC site. VACC doesn't give any information about the sidewalk/crosswalk prohibition or pedestrian safety on its site. The city buried the traffic laws prohibiting sidewalk riding under three layers of links.

And sweet lord, in the west end and on the west side, sidewalk riders are a half dozen per mile walked. If you lack the skill, experience, or just plain guts to ride in the street, find your solution in the street, not on the sidewalk.

Now, to speak to the excuses:

-Cars are a bigger safety threat to pedestrians than bikes, and if the cyclist is hit by a car they can die, but if a pedestrian is hit by a bike, we are only injured.

This attitude is self serving and patronizing to pedestrians. First, cars don't drive on sidewalk. They don't pass within 6 inches of me when I use the sidewalk. Cars are not present on sidewalks and they are not a threat to my safety when I am on a sidewalk. Also, “They're worse!” is not an excuse for bad behaviour.

Second, it is not acceptable to expose someone else to injury to protect yourself. Pedestrians have been killed by cyclists; it is a self serving myth that bikes are not dangers to pedestrians. If cyclists fear car collisions, don't transfer that risk to the senior citizen walking to Safeway.

Or, walk to get where you want to go. It offers all the benefits of cycling with virtually no expense, pollution or need to manufacture a vehicle or speciality equipment.

If a cyclist feels they must use a sidewalk for whatever reason they can dismount and walk their bike.

-“I'm only going a block”! Take an extra 30 seconds and walk the bike.

-“I'm careful around pedestrians!” Yeah, that's what car drivers say about you. I trust cyclists as much as you trust motorists.

But as a pedestrian, the sidewalk is mine. Get the hell out of my protected space.

Where's the debate?

Sounds like the event is going to be pretty much a love-in. Everybody on the panel thinks bikes and cycling is great. I do too, but I know without come contrasting opinions, it's going to be pretty dull. Worth $28?

Dear Walker

I really can't agree more. I was walking up Comox the other day and heard a squeaky chain behind me and had to quell the urge to clothesline the punk who zipped around me a second later. I then watched as he and his buddy startled the heck out of a couple walking a baby stroller about 50 meters on. Cyclists on sidewalks is another symptom of how bikes are viewed, even by some cyclists, after decades of car culture dominance. As long as bikes are not viewed as "real" transportation, there will be plenty of folks who misuse them, and plenty others who refuse to give them any kind of regard. I part ways with many of my fellow bike advocates on this: to police I say "enforce the laws. Bust those who ride on sidewalks, run red lights, and ride in cross-walks." Oh, and make sure you also go after drivers who speed, fail to signal, idle over 3 minutes, use hand-held cell phones, drive cars that wouldn't pass safety standards, change lanes in intersections, fail to yield right of way, violate noise laws, etc., etc., etc...

Spandex Shmandex

Try your clever high road comments when having to take a toddler and infant to the doctors. Besides, who with small kids can afford a $3k bike - whoever do you represent anyway?

easy there Capilanobaby

No need to be so defensive. If I had a couple babies I would probably take them to the doctor's in...A CAR! Yes, that's right, a car! Wow. But I don't have kids, for better or worse. Nor do I have/need a car. That's my life. You got yours (and I'm sure it's very fulfilling and so forth. I got no beef with you, honest!). Geez, so I ride a bike that works for me and wear clothes that perform functionally in the rain and cold. Would you have me compromise on this and not be able to get to work and back without risk of hypothermia or pneumonia!?

But for what it's worth, I spend a lot less on my bike than anyone I know who owns a car (most of whom are also childless. What's their excuse I wonder). No gas, insurance, parking, major repair bills, car payments. This huge savings allows me to buy good sensible stuff to get me places. I guess that makes me an elitist, unsympathetic cad.

Separated Lanes are Needed on Busy Streets

@Walker

Bicycle groups have been encouraging the city for the last 20 years to create separate bicycle and pedestrian paths on the Burrard Bridge as sharing narrow crowded sidewalks is dangerous for both cyclists and pedestrians. The trial has worked well. Unfortunately in spite of the efforts of cyclists to reallocate 2 lanes on the bridge so there could be separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians on both sides of the bridge, the city chose instead to ban pedestrians from the east sidewalk.

Separated bike lanes on busy streets are needed to get cyclists off the sidewalk. Unfortunately, drivers are often unwilling to share the road and illegally or carelessly intimidate cyclists off the road. Pedestrians, motorists and cyclists all deserve their own safe space.

Oh and by the way, it is motorists who are the real danger to pedestrians. Around 10 pedestrians are killed each year in Vancouver by motorists. I have never heard of a pedestrian being killed in a crash with a cyclist in the city.

Have you ever wondered why...

somebody would present themselves directly in front of a heavy moving vehicle when they are not certain the operator has seen them and is taking the proper steps to avoid hitting said person.

I suspect that pedestrians are their own worst enemy with the only exception being where a vehicle goes out of control and consequently becomes unpredictable.

Both rac and bicycleboy might very well be skilled riders but that does not mean those newer riders that are being encouraged to take to the streets will be at the same level.

The right way to do this is to widen the sidewalks and put the bike lanes there. Just MHO

who will have the last word?

This is my first time taking part in a PIAF (that's Pointless Internet Argument Forum in case you were thinking French cabaret singer). It's been swell fun. I guess I've learned a thing or two and hope to see all of you at the Playhouse Theatre on October 24 where we can all check out how cities can change to accommodate drivers, cyclists and pedestrians; and maybe, just maybe keep from falling into the abyss of sprawl and core rot that has taken so many metropoli, especially on this here continent. Maybe if you have a differing view of what makes for a healthy urban environment you can have a chance to have one or more panelists answer your questions. Until then, happy cycling!

Woody Guthrie loved cars - not bikes!

Hey all you revolutionaries - put the people in cars, not on bikes. After all, your hero Woody Guthrie sang about how beautiful cars are:
Woody Guthrie Riding in my car (Car Song) Lyrics:
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brm, brrrm b' brrrm,
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm b' brrrm,
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm b' brrrm.
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm.

Take me riding in the car, car;
Take me riding in the car, car;
Take you riding in the car, car;
I'll take you riding in my car.

Click clack, open up the door, girls;
Click clack, open up the door, boys;
Front door, back door, clickety clack,
Take you riding in my car.

Climb, climb, rattle on the front seat;
Spree I spraddle on the backseat;
Turn my key, step on my starter,
Take you riding in my car.
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/U6YA ]

Engine it goes boom, boom;
Engine it goes boom, boom;
Front seat, backseat, boys and girls,
Take you riding in my car.

Trees and the houses walk along;
Trees and the houses walk along;
Truck and a car and a garbage can,
Take you riding in my car.

Ships and the little boars chug along;
Ships and the little boats chug along;
Boom buhbuh boom boom boom buh boom,
Take you riding in my car.

I'm a gonna send you home again;
I'm a gonna send you home again;
Boom, boom, buhbuh boom, rolling home,
Take you riding in my car.

I'm a gonna let You blow the horn;
I'm a gonna let you blow the horn;
A oorah, a oorah, a oogah, oogah,
I'll take you riding in my car.
Lyrics: Riding in my car (Car Song), Woody Guthrie [end]

good old days gone for good

Cars, cigarettes, red meat, Republicans...ah for those innocent, good old days before we knew all that crap was sure to kill us.

I'm sure my main man Neil Young was a big fan of Woody's too, and here's something from him, tho' a bit more up to date:

Vampire Blues

I'm a vampire, babe,
suckin' blood
from the earth
I'm a vampire, baby,
suckin' blood
from the earth.
Well, I'm a vampire, babe,
sell you
twenty barrels worth.

I'm a black bat, babe,
bangin' on
your window pane
I'm a black bat, baby,
bangin' on
your window pane.
Well, I'm a black bat, babe,
I need my high octane.