What it is and a little why

1%?

1% of what?

Thanks for asking!

Before I tell you about that I should tell you . . . I ride a bike. As in "bicycle."

I haven't owned a motor vehicle for something like 18 years now. Oh, I've use them and ridden in them and all sorts of things in them but not every day, not for a while.

I really like not being owned by a motor vehicle. Initially, I spent the money on going a lot further (like to Europe) than I'd ever get in a car. It was good.

Later, I spent the money on a bike. It was even better. So much better that I bought another bike.

When I had 3 (I know, only 3?) I stopped buying bikes and started riding two of them regularly (not simultaneously, mind you). That became most excellent.

At that point I started to see the lack of bicycle "stuff" in Baton Rouge. There wasn't much to see and a lot to miss. That was bad.

But that made me pay attention to biking in the USA and in the world (I draw the line at the top of the troposhere). Sure is a lot goin' on out there, bike-wise. That was good.

I started to see this little chart over and over and over again. Can't find one now, of course, but it essentially said something like this:

40% of the population will never, ever get on a bicycle, period.
40% of the population would like to ride but don't feel "safe enough" to ride regularly or at all
19% of the population will ride when the weather is good or it's not far or just for fun
1% of the population will ride a bike any time, any where, conditions are irrelevant

That seemed right, if not necessarily good.

The more I rode the more I seemed to fit in that last category. Not owning a car or truck or SUV means I have to ride or walk or take the bus (which in Baton Rouge is no mean trick). I became a 1%er. That was good.

Then I thought, why not have a little fun. Next thing I knew I had a "passport" in my hand with a set of rules. At first I thought that was a little weird for me, a book of rules. I'll save the insight for later; for now, know that it's a good thing.

Once I had the outline it seemed very, very good - for very, very few people. Like I said, 1%.

In brief, here it is:

1. If you want to ride, you have to have a "passport." You have to contact DeadRideLive to get the passport. There is no buy-in, yet.
   
2. There are 5 destinations. Each one must be started from your home. If you live outside East Baton Rouge Parish you start from the south steps of the capitol.
3. Each destination is its own ride. You may not combine the destinations into a single ride or any other combination of destinations. One ride, one destination, each ride starts from home.
4. How you get there is your business, as long as it's on a bike. Try not to bleed too much in the process.
5. You have 6 months to finish the rides. Feel free to do it in less.
6. You must obtain something with a date/time stamp on it from the destination or somewhere very nearby. A receipt for a purchase will do. Creativity counts. A photograph with a date/time stamp will do but is not necessarily encouraged - too easy.
7. The passport has all this and more in it, including the "expulsion for asshole-ism" clause.

There is a 1% graphic so there may be t-shirts for the few, the bent, the ones who complete the task.

Want to know more? Contact DeadRideLive.