Dish Network

(I sent the following to the Dish Network contact earlier today. Their page
says I should receive a response within 48 hours....Ed)

As I rode my bicycle to work this morning, a Dish Network truck passed me on
86th Street North in Owasso, Oklahoma. The driver yelled out the window,
"Get off the road!" He turned right and sped off.

Every state recognizes bicycles and riders as legitimate road users, subject
to all the rights and all the responsibilities of any other road user. No
one has a superior right to the road. The concept of unencumbered access to
our streets is fundamental to our way of life. Americans have a right to
use our public roads, a right that is equal regardless of their chosen
transportation mode.

Your Dish Network driver wasn't threatening or abusive. He merely reflected
the common misperception that cyclists have no place on our roads. There's
a simple remedy to this misperception - bicycling education for both
cyclists and motorists.

I'm an instructor with the League of American Bicyclists. We teach
bicycling education courses that are analogous to the driver's ed courses
offered in most schools. The BikeEd program is for beginning and
experienced cyclists, motorists, and parents with children. No doubt many
of your employees use bicycles for transportation and recreation, and with
fuel prices expected to remain high, many more cyclists will be out on our
roads. I urge you to offer bicycling education for all your employees.
Course information can be found at:
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/education/

Ed Wagner
League of American Bicyclists Instructor #1065
Owasso, Oklahoma