Just When You Thought The San Diego Reader Couldn't Get Any Worse

I usually try to keep this blog pretty on-topic (i.e. old bikes) but occasionally I allow a random rant to creep in. This week's San Diego Reader, the most pointless media source in town, is the subject of this particular rant. The cover story this week has the ridiculously terrible title, "I Would Rather Be In Here Than Standing in the Fast Lane." The cover photo features a giant truck looming over a small car. The title and picture don't seem to go together, but I was hoping it would be about road rage or transportation alternatives, or something. Then, I open to the story inside, which features a giant photo of a wrecked bicycle in the middle of an interstate. Ooh, I think, maybe a story about how bicycles aren't afforded their rightful status as transportation in this car-oriented town. Nope, none of the above. It's a relatively pointless story about the people who "manage" traffic, CHP, and CALTRANS. No mention of alternative transit strategies, no probing questions about why exactly we as a culture are so obsessed with automobiles, and not one word about bicycles. Why the mangled bike in the center of the freeway? I'm tempted to say that it's just another example of how our car-crazy culture disregards the legitimacy of alternative transportation, but then, I don't think the Reader is even paying enough attention to make a statement on the issue one way or another.