The Slice: What a concept: Pedaling and packing

Some of the best ideas aren’t necessarily new.

A friend sent me a photo of a Western Washington storefront from 1898. On the window it says “Bicycles and Guns.”

Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?

Quite a few people around here have been struggling to figure out how to encourage the general public to accept bikes as a mode of transportation deserving a share of the road. And while there are signs of progress, a fair number of Spokane motorists still resent cyclists.

That’s why I think local bike riders ought to start carrying guns. What could be more American?

Sure, sure. Some will find this idea appalling. But truly bold proposals always generate criticism at first.

Now I don’t have statistics to support any contention that drivers might be less apt to harass cyclists if they thought the two-wheelers were packing heat. But it stands to reason.

I mean, any motorist who is enough of a moron to try to bully a bike rider probably isn’t going to be receptive to meek requests for courtesy. No, the only thing that guy might understand is the prospect of the offended cyclist opening fire from close range.

And I’ll tell you what. Spokane bike riders publicly embracing firearms might just win some political points with their former antagonists.

Call me crazy. But I have a hunch that more than a few of those drivers most disdainful of cyclists also happen to be big Second Amendment buffs.

So I look forward to a day when peace and harmony reign on the roads. And I can almost hear some homegrown Bubba leaning out of his truck and shouting approvingly to a spandex-clad Spokane cyclist with a bulge in his fanny pack, “From our cold, dead fingers, brother!”

Name-calling: “I can understand the frustration with ‘Spocane’ and ‘Coeur Dalene,’ ” wrote Larry Smith of Sandpoint, who lives on Gooby Road. “I have received mail addressed to me on Booby Road.”

Today’s Slice question (summer rerun from about 15 years ago): How much worse would the air-travel experience have to get before you would consider taking the train?

What if the modern train-travel experience resembled the comfort, efficiency and departure-time options of, say, 1950?