"True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else." - Clarence Darrow Now is the time to fight to correct the injustices that have been and will be imposed upon this Country by the Trump Republican Party and the illegitimately constructed United States Supreme Court (USSC). As stated by Alexis de Tocqueville: “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” Management at Miles Peddled (MP) will always fight to repair the faults of this great Country. Welcome to the July 4th Independence and Liberty Edition of MP. This month we will be assigning nicknames and theme songs to some very deserving loyal subscribers. In addition, Management will be addressing steps that can be taken to improve bike safety both on a macro and micro level. Strap in and enjoy the ride. Before we get to the subject matter at hand some postscripts from past issues of MP. Specifically, an update regarding last Month’s symphonic SOUNDS OF THE CITY issue; and, some follow-up to the December 2021 issue entitled LIVIN’ THE FATTIE LIFESTYLE. Please recall that all past editions of MP can be savored at https://www.milespeddled.com. As all the loyal subscribers to MP will recall, the June 2022 edition set forth bike rides in various neighborhoods of the City where the loyal subscribers could take in the SOUNDS OF THE CITY at local music venues. The response to this edition was almost deafening. One melodious response came from the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD (COB) who recommended that the loyal subscribers take in a night of jazz at the JAZZ SHOWCASE located at 806 South Plymouth Court in Chicago. If anybody knows his jazz, it is the COB. Playlist suggestion: COMPARED TO WHAT (LIVE AT MONTREUX JAZZ FEST) by Eddie Harris and Les McCann. Please note that this playlist suggestion is considered by many, but most importantly, MP MUSIC, to be the best jazz song of all time. The loyal subscribers to MP can check out the MP playlist on YouTube. Turning to the fattie lifestyle, two loyal subscribers who have now earned the right to a nickname which will be bestowed in the next section of this issue, recently were in Aspen enjoying the fattie lifestyle. Please see the digital version, gallery section, which contains the picture of these individuals enjoying the fattie lifestyle. Management at MP has one comment for the beautiful young lady in the picture and that is: You are very kind to bring your Grandpa on the bike trip. Playlist suggestion: I’M MY OWN GRANDPA by Willie Nelson. As many of the loyal subscribers to MP will recall, in the spectacular RED, WHITE AND BLUE July 2021 Edition of MP, Management assigned nicknames and a theme song to the charter subscribers. Over this past year, several new loyal subscribers have joined and contributed to the narrative of MP. (As an aside, please note that to date no cash contributions have been made to MP. These would be greatly appreciated.) These new loyal subscribers have now earned a nickname and theme song. Hence, without further delay, Management is pleased to introduce the 2022 MP nickname inductees: · Shannon – JOY: JOY TO THE WORLD by Three Dog Night · Taylor – GRANTLAND: CENTERFIELD by John Fogerty · Jana – RIGHTEOUS MAMMA: RESPECT by Aretha Franklin · Jay – THE ICE MAN: SUPER SKIER by the Chad Mitchell Trio. · Lynn – LADY ESQUIRE: I’LL FIGHT by Jennifer Hudson · Mary – ANNIE OAKLEY: SURVIVOR by Destiny’s Child · Matt – POLISHPRINCE: BEER NEVER BROKE MY HEART by Luke Combs · Steve – CARLO ROSSI: SPILL THE WINE by War For those most recent subscribers to MP, if you stick with the publication your time will come. The timeline to receive a nickname and theme song can be accelerated by a generous cash contribution. For all of those subscribers who are under the age of 40, please note that Management at MP did consider assigning you a nickname and theme song. WONDER WOMAN, however, made it clear that this would be “TOO CREEPY.” Hence, Management has delayed the assignment of a nickname and theme song until the next Board meeting. Stay tuned. Now on to bike safety. Management submits that any intelligent Democrat (redundant) or intelligent Republican (oxymoron); or a thoughtful progressive (again redundant) or a thoughtful conservative (again an oxymoron), should be willing to get behind BIKE SAFETY. This is not a partisan issue. Playlist suggestion: THE ONE ON THE RIGHTIS ON THE LEFT by Johnny Cash. To help save the lives of its loyal subscribers Management will now address two issues regarding bike safety; first, a macro issue and then a micro issue. · LANES: Anyone who has ever ridden in the City know that there are a very few excellent bike lanes (e.g. Elston Avenue). Most so-called bike lanes, however, are nothing more than a white strip on the road which provide absolutely no protection to the cyclist. They are generally used as free parking for delivery men and Uber drivers.
A tragic example of what can go wrong recently occurred in the Uptown neighborhood in Chicago. A mother and father were out for a weekend bike ride with their toddler daughter, who was riding in a bike seat on the Mother’s bike. A utility truck parked in the bike lane forcing the mother and father to bike around the utility truck into traffic at which time the Mother’s bike was struck by a semi- tractor trailer (which was not allowed on the street) knocking the mother down and throwing the baby under the tire of the truck resulting in death to the toddler. This is an all-too-common occurrence in the City. It is now the responsibility of all of the loyal subscribers to MP to contact the CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION and ask for DAVID SMITH who handles the planning and designing of bike lanes in the City. Tell Mr. Smith that you insist that all bike lanes be protected with CONCRETE BARRIERS and this needs to be done as soon as possible. Please see the attached link. https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/06/29/chicagos-protected-bike-lanes-will-all-get- concrete-barriers-by-end-of-2023-city-says/ For those loyal subscribers who live in the City, please contact your Alderman, and make it clear that they need to take active steps to push the CDOT to follow-up on their promise to put concrete barriers on all bike lanes. You would be surprised how fast an Alderman responds to a squeaky bike wheel. · LIDS: The most important step that you can take for your own safety when cycling is to wear a bike helmet. Management at MP loves all of its loyal subscribers and we do not want you to lose your head. Playlist suggestion: DON’T LOSE UR HEAD (FEATURING CHRISTINA MODESTOU) from the Broadway musical SIX. The two requirements when picking a bike helmet are that it fits well and that it is MIPS certified. According to DMANOPEDIA(in part borrowed from Consumer Reports – CR please remember what goes around comes around)the following are some of the better bike helmets: - Bontrager Starvos Wave Cell - Giro Register MIPS - Bell Granite MIPS For those that ride in the City or those that do a lot of night riding you should consider bike helmets that have integrated lights such as: - Nutcase Vio MIPS - LEM Boulevard
For any loyal subscriber who rides with or encourages their children to ride please always make sure that they wear a helmet. Check out the following: - Bontrager Tyro - Garneau Nino - Giro Raze - POC pocito omne spin When considering the bike safety rules outlined above, please always keep in mind the 5 rules of biking, in particular, the third rule which is SAFETY FIRST. Now on to this Month’s trivia/quiz section. Below Management has set forth several famous nicknames. Your job is to connect the nickname with the individual. The answers will be in the postscript section of this Edition. The nicknames are as follows: · Politics - SCRANTON JOE - MANGO MUSSOLINI · Science - THE WIZARD OF MENLO PARK - THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE 20TH CENTURY · Literature - THE BARD OF AVON - DMAN · Sports - THE ANSWER - THE GREAT ONE · Movies - THE LITTLE TRAMP - BOBBY MILK
· Music
- QUEEN OF SOUL
- OLE BLUE EYES
TEASE TIME:
The August 2022 edition of MP will address bike trails that are near some wonderful SUPPER CLUBS. Please note that Master MP will be leading an expedition into Cheesehead Country during the first part of August 2022 to do research on this issue. Thus, all loyal subscribers to MP and THE MAD VIKING (MV) are forewarned that the August edition will be published sometime toward the middle of the month. Relax and have an OLD FASHIONED.
Time to go, but please remember “We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again, some sunny day.” - Vera Lynn
Until we meet again remember to R, R & R!
POSTSCRIPT: Answer to Quiz:
· SCRANTON JOE – Great President Biden
· MANGO MUSSOLINI – Criminal Donald Trump
· THE WIZARD OF MENLO PARK – Thomas Edison
· THE MAN WHO INVENTEDTHE 20TH CENTURY – Nikola Tesla
· THE BARD OF AVON – William Shakespeare
· DMAN – Master MP
· THE ANSWER – Allen Iverson
· THE GREAT ONE – Wane Gretzky
· THE LITTLE TRAMP – Charlie Chaplin
· BOBBY MILK – Robert DeNiro
· QUEEN OF SOUL – Aretha Franklin
· OLE BLUE EYES – Many people mistakenly believe that this nickname belongs to Frank Sinatra, but according to DMANOPEDIA it is more commonly used to describe MASTER MP. Playlist suggestion: BEHIND BLUE EYES by the Who.